Case Study Description of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)
Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel to its effort to develop anti-aging therapeutics? And, should it in-license a second drug development candidate?
Swot Analysis of "Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)" written by Toby Stuart, James Webber includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Entrepreneurship, Growth strategy, Leadership, Risk management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals
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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals
Strengths Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Weaknesses Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals, firm in the HBR case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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 - Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) | 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals in the consumer business. Now Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Manufacturing automation
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged), Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Regulatory challenges
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
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. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals.
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.
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. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) .
Environmental challenges
– Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals 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. Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) 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 Pharmaceuticals Nutraceuticals needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.