Case Study Description of FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments
In mid-2013, as FasterCures celebrated its 10th anniversary as a center of the Milken Institute, Executive Director Margaret Anderson thought about what the organization should do to ensure it had even more impact in its next 10 years. FasterCures was a non-profit "action tank" whose mission was to speed up the process of moving new therapies from discovery to patients in need. Although their annual conference ("Partnering for Cures") to improve how government research was organized was a huge success, Anderson considered refocusing their resources on greater challenges.
Swot Analysis of "FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments" written by Richard G. Hamermesh, James Weber includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fastercures Anderson facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Policy, Research & development and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fastercures Anderson, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fastercures Anderson operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fastercures Anderson
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Fastercures Anderson
Strengths FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fastercures Anderson in FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Fastercures Anderson has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fastercures Anderson to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fastercures Anderson in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fastercures Anderson is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Fastercures Anderson is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fastercures Anderson has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Fastercures Anderson is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Fastercures Anderson in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fastercures Anderson to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fastercures Anderson to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Fastercures Anderson is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Richard G. Hamermesh, James Weber can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fastercures Anderson has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fastercures Anderson has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fastercures Anderson digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fastercures Anderson has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fastercures Anderson in the sector have low bargaining power. FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fastercures Anderson to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments, in the dynamic environment Fastercures Anderson has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fastercures Anderson has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Fastercures Anderson is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Fastercures Anderson has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fastercures Anderson has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard G. Hamermesh, James Weber suggests that, Fastercures Anderson is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Need for greater diversity
– Fastercures Anderson has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Fastercures Anderson has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Fastercures Anderson has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Fastercures Anderson supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fastercures Anderson vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fastercures Anderson has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Fastercures Anderson 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fastercures Anderson has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fastercures Anderson to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments case study. Fastercures Anderson can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Fastercures Anderson has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Fastercures Anderson in the consumer business. Now Fastercures Anderson can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Fastercures Anderson can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fastercures Anderson can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fastercures Anderson can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fastercures Anderson operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fastercures Anderson has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fastercures Anderson to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Fastercures Anderson can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Fastercures Anderson can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Fastercures Anderson can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Developing new processes and practices
– Fastercures Anderson can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fastercures Anderson can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fastercures Anderson to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fastercures Anderson can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fastercures Anderson demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Fastercures Anderson needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Fastercures Anderson
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Fastercures Anderson.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Fastercures Anderson business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Environmental challenges
– Fastercures Anderson needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Fastercures Anderson can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Fastercures Anderson with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Fastercures Anderson needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fastercures Anderson has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fastercures Anderson needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Fastercures Anderson will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fastercures Anderson is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fastercures Anderson can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fastercures Anderson high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Fastercures Anderson needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
