Swot Analysis of "Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman" written by Andrew Wasynczuk, Shaun Patrick Hughes includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Treu Hoffman facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Treu Hoffman, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Treu Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Treu Hoffman
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Treu Hoffman
Strengths Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Treu Hoffman in Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Treu Hoffman has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Treu Hoffman in the sector have low bargaining power. Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Treu Hoffman to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Treu Hoffman 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Treu Hoffman in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Treu Hoffman
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Treu Hoffman does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Treu Hoffman is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Treu Hoffman has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Treu Hoffman 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Treu Hoffman is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Treu Hoffman digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Treu Hoffman 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Treu Hoffman to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Treu Hoffman to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Treu Hoffman 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 Andrew Wasynczuk, Shaun Patrick Hughes 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.
Learning organization
- Treu Hoffman is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Treu Hoffman is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Treu Hoffman is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Treu Hoffman, firm in the HBR case study Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Treu Hoffman 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 - Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Treu Hoffman 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman HBR case study mentions - Treu Hoffman 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.
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 Treu Hoffman supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Treu Hoffman vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Treu Hoffman 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman, is just above the industry average. Treu Hoffman needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrew Wasynczuk, Shaun Patrick Hughes suggests that, Treu Hoffman 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Hoffman has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Treu Hoffman 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.
Opportunities Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman | 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Treu Hoffman in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Treu Hoffman can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Treu Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Treu Hoffman to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Treu Hoffman 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Treu Hoffman 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Treu Hoffman 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Treu Hoffman 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 Treu Hoffman to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Treu Hoffman can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Treu Hoffman 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, Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Treu Hoffman can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Treu Hoffman 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.
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. Treu Hoffman can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Treu Hoffman can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Treu Hoffman operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Threats Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman are -
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.
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 Treu Hoffman business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Treu Hoffman is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Treu Hoffman
– 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 Treu Hoffman.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Treu Hoffman 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.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Treu Hoffman in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Treu Hoffman needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Treu Hoffman 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Treu Hoffman 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. Treu Hoffman can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Treu Hoffman 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Treu Hoffman in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Treu Hoffman.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Pharma: Role for Alex Hoffman 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 Treu Hoffman needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.