Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada
The Canadian brand manager of Zelboraf had to decide how to introduce and price Zelboraf in the Canadian market. Zelboraf was a breakthrough discovery in treatment for melanoma cancer patients. Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche) began developing Zelboraf in 2005. During the clinical trials, the drug yielded such positive results in targeting late-stage (metastatic) melanoma cancer that Roche ended clinical trials early in order to expedite FDA approval and market launch. A competitor was developing a drug-Dabrafenib-that targeted the same segment of patients with B-RAF genes. It was unclear if this specific market segment could support two similar products. It was also unclear whether Dabrafenib's Canadian market launch would affect the likelihood that Zelboraf got on the approved drug list to secure government reimbursement. The brand manager and her team also needed to determine the right price point for Zelboraf. Roche had to set a price that ensured profitability, but did not compromise Zelboraf's competitive position.
Swot Analysis of "Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada" written by Mark Zbaracki, Jedy Wang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Zelboraf Roche facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zelboraf Roche, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zelboraf Roche 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zelboraf Roche
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 Zelboraf Roche
Strengths Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Zelboraf Roche in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Zelboraf Roche 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
– Zelboraf Roche has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Zelboraf Roche has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Zelboraf Roche is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Zelboraf Roche is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Zelboraf Roche 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.
Learning organization
- Zelboraf Roche 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 Zelboraf Roche is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Zelboraf Roche 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
– Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Zelboraf Roche to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Zelboraf Roche to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Zelboraf Roche
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Zelboraf Roche does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Zelboraf Roche has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Zelboraf Roche to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Zelboraf Roche is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Zelboraf Roche needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Zelboraf Roche to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Zelboraf Roche 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Zelboraf Roche is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Zelboraf Roche 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Zelboraf Roche products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Zelboraf Roche needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada, it seems that the employees of Zelboraf Roche 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Zelboraf Roche is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Zelboraf Roche 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. Zelboraf Roche 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada HBR case study mentions - Zelboraf Roche 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Zelboraf Roche 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada | 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Zelboraf Roche 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 Zelboraf Roche to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Zelboraf Roche to increase its market reach. Zelboraf Roche 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zelboraf Roche 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Zelboraf Roche 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 Zelboraf Roche 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Zelboraf Roche 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.
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. Zelboraf Roche 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. Zelboraf Roche 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Zelboraf Roche has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Zelboraf Roche to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada case study. Zelboraf Roche can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Zelboraf Roche 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Zelboraf Roche 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Zelboraf Roche can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Zelboraf Roche 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Zelboraf Roche can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zelboraf Roche operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Threats Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Zelboraf Roche 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Zelboraf Roche 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.
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 Zelboraf Roche in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Zelboraf Roche is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Zelboraf Roche 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. Zelboraf Roche can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Zelboraf Roche with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Zelboraf Roche.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Zelboraf Roche 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada .
Increasing wage structure of Zelboraf Roche
– 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 Zelboraf Roche.
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 Zelboraf Roche business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada, Zelboraf Roche may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Hoffmann-La Roche: Pricing the Zelboraf Melanoma Treatment for Canada 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 Zelboraf Roche needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.