Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A)
University of California, Berkeley-Haas collectionThe Napo Pharmaceuticals case study provides students with an example of a biotech company that has pursued a triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit while making life-saving drugs like crofelemer to deal with diarrhea in adult HIV/AIDS patients and potentially diarrhea for children and other neglected diseases around the world. The case study focuses on CEO and founder, Lisa Conte's challenging road to the point where she and her distribution partners achieved FDA approval for the drug. The case study outlines the issues such mission-oriented biotech companies faced in the more typical profit-oriented world of biotech. Please note: this case also has a supplementary case available. The (B) supplement can be found using product number B5785.
Authors :: Kristiana Raube
Topics :: Leadership & Managing People
Tags :: Joint ventures, Research & development, Social responsibility, Venture capital, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A)" written by Kristiana Raube includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Napo Biotech facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Research & development, Social responsibility, Venture capital and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Napo Biotech, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Napo Biotech 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Napo Biotech
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 Napo Biotech
Strengths Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Napo Biotech in Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Napo Biotech in the sector have low bargaining power. Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Napo Biotech to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Napo Biotech is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Napo Biotech digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Napo Biotech 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Napo Biotech is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Napo Biotech 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 Napo Biotech is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Napo Biotech 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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.
High brand equity
– Napo Biotech has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Napo Biotech to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Napo Biotech is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Napo Biotech 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Napo Biotech in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Napo Biotech to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Napo Biotech to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Napo Biotech 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Kristiana Raube suggests that, Napo Biotech 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 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 Napo Biotech supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Napo Biotech vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Napo Biotech is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Napo Biotech needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Napo Biotech to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Napo Biotech 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Napo Biotech has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Napo Biotech even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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 Napo Biotech has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Napo Biotech needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Napo Biotech, firm in the HBR case study Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) HBR case study mentions - Napo Biotech 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.
Opportunities Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) | 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Napo Biotech can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Napo Biotech operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Napo Biotech 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Napo Biotech is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Napo Biotech to increase its market reach. Napo Biotech will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Developing new processes and practices
– Napo Biotech can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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. Napo Biotech can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Napo Biotech 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, Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A), 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. Napo Biotech can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Napo Biotech 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Napo Biotech 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Napo Biotech 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. Napo Biotech 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.
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 Napo Biotech 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.
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 Napo Biotech in the consumer business. Now Napo Biotech can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) are -
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. Napo Biotech needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Napo Biotech can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Napo Biotech 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Napo Biotech with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Napo Biotech is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Napo Biotech 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Napo Biotech 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Napo Biotech 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Napo Biotech 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) .
Environmental challenges
– Napo Biotech 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. Napo Biotech can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Napo Biotech has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Napo Biotech needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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 Napo Pharmaceuticals: Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profits (A) 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 Napo Biotech needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.