Medtronic Case Study

This situation analysis can be done using the 5c's. The 5 attributes of this analysis are Company, customers, competitors, collaborators, and climate. Under the first attribute to the company, it can be identified that this particular commercial entity invests heavily on research and development so that an innovative culture can be initiated in the company. Also, it focuses on large scale production to gain economies of scale. As a result, in the global sphere this company has a positive reputation. under the second segment of customers, the targeted market segments for Medtronic are both high and low end. Mainly families who have children are the Dobbin consumer base for the company and they require concern and commitment from the entity in terms of enhancing physical as well as emotional wellbeing. However, price sensitivity is higher among the customers despite the high frequency purchase. Hence the demand for its products is elastic. The 3rd segment of competitors is an attribute that gives this company high pressure of rivalry. Some of the main competitors of Medtronic are Boston Scientific corporation, Stryker corporation, Johnson and Johnson, Smith plus Nephew and many more. As the products cannot be differentiated on a high level there is a threat of decreased profitability. Next comes collaborators who are directly linked with the value chain factors of the company. This particular entity puts higher emphasis on the local responsiveness in their international operative domain to choose their collaborators more critically so that the downstream and upstream activities can be kept up float with flying colours. Finally, the context attribute usually measures the external environment of a business. If currently this particular industry is undertaken for analysis, it can be said that after the COVID-19 pandemic demand for medical equipment has increased rapidly. along with it the social and cultural domain of the countries around the world has become more health conscious which is circulating this demand. despite having a critical geopolitical and international economic domain in the post pandemic. This industry has numerous opportunities to grow further from the market objectives and consistent technological up-gradation.

The industry structure of medical equipment is similar to that of an oligopolistic market. There are a couple of firms which hold the highest shares and dominate the operations in the market. The rest of the firms have their own significant shares but if compared to the competition those are negligible. This is the most profound economic feature of this particular industry. Medtronic is a somewhat mid-level entity which is not acquiring the highest share in the international market but through its resource allocation and optimal operation the company has a potential to become market leader.

Medtronic Strategic

Under the business level strategies, the company has initiated affordable cost and experienced employees to serve their clientele. alongside marketing the company is heavily dependent on SEO and digital marketing. It has also accelerated their social media and influencer marketing to gain momentum in the ecommerce strategies and to attain the competitive advantage in the market. Moreover, the company hires selectively the best talent so that their product division becomes industry leading and the patients can attain highest satisfaction. On the other hand, in terms of corporate level strategies, Medtronic has created a decentralised operating model that will innovate and allocate both physical and human capital based on the market data collected. That means the company has initiated its global expansion aside from existing 150 countries. The more it will spread globally the more its reliability will rise and slowly from a middle level entity this company will attain the leader position in the oligopolistic competition.

Competitive Analysis and Advantage in the Industry

The competitive analysis of the company can be structured using the Porter 5 forces model. According to this theoretical framework, the company faces a low level of consumer bargaining as it operates in an essential goods industry. However, in case of the suppliers’ bargaining power, the same cannot be said. As there are certain suppliers that produce specific factors of production, naturally they gain an upper hand in the industry. Next, the new entrant threat is moderate because the operating cost of this industry is pretty high and the market structure is oligopolistic, which possesses a high entry barrier. Similarly, the substitute threat is also moderate because the products of Medtronic are desired globally and certain specifications have made the company unique, which cannot be substituted. Nevertheless, the industry competition is huge in terms of acquiring the highest market share.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis of Medtronic will analyse the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Some of this company’s strengths are, strong brand proposition, using brand equity for market expansion, a movement towards leadership position, a positive reputation in the global sphere, an extended consumer base, extensive research and development department, positive financial returns and an innovative culture. On the other hand, there are certain weaknesses this company faces. The part unit revenue accumulation is low, despite taking measures, employee retention is high, a non-flexible supply chain and sub optimal customer service. using the strengths this company can take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Those are: low end market growth, local level collaboration, increased demand after the pandemic government restrictions for the new entrance. However, the weaknesses will create certain threats for this company in their situational stance. This company faces criticism from sustainability practitioners. Also, there is a shortage of adequate talent when the rural market is becoming stagnant and the urban market is saturating.

PESTLE Analysis

As per the pestle analysis, firstly the political factors that can impact the operational city of Medtronic are trade regulations and government intervention. secondly the economic factors are currency market fluctuation, a huge change in USA administration, COVID-19 induced recession and Brexit. The social factors are, increasing health consciousness all over the world and concentrating more on safety and assurance of a product quality. Next comes the technological factors which are mainly focused on the immense growth of digitalisation and the last few years and the evolution of monitoring systems dependent solely on data. legal factors which influence the operations of Medtronic are the tax regulations and the patent specifications in every country. Finally, for environmental factors the heavy commitment towards sustainable practices and strong regulations to protect the environment can halt the production process of Medtronic if the company operates with a high percentage of carbon footprint.

Target Market Analysis of Medtronic

The target market of Medtronic can be divided into 4 parts, geographic demographic, psychographic, and behavioural. The geographic characteristics of the target market is mainly the 150 countries where this company operates in. for the demographic characteristics mainly people between ages 30 to 60 are considered. In the case of psychographic characteristics, People who are more health conscious and want to have medical equipment available in their homes are considered. Finally, for the behavioural target market, People are focused who have any chronic illness and need the medical equipment sold by the company. In order to address all of these targeted segments the company has applied the strategy of a 5-year plan to become a more affordable and reliable brand worldwide. Also, the company has positioned itself through biomedical engineering technology practice.

Marketing Mix of Medtronic

The product mix of Medtronic consists of advanced surgical technology, which provides biomedical engineering facilities to the consumers. mainly in the areas of cardio, neuro and general surgery, this company produces the highest number of products. In case of pricing strategy, the company has undertaken competitive pricing. from its market penetration and shareholding domains the company charges a little bit higher than its competitors so that it can sell better standard products. The promotional advertisement plan of this company is more dependent on e-marketing. This means online purchasing is both practised and encouraged in this company. alongside the marketing team always channel their efforts for B2B marketing.

Medtronic Competitive Analysis

Based on the analysis so far, a competitive assessment can be formed. Compared to the competitors the marketing mix of Medtronic faces certain criticism. The company has kept its pricing high and for promotion they have only focused on online mediums. Whereas the competitors have targeted both online and offline mode of promotion and have adopted a low-cost strategy. However, in terms of price and place, Medtronic has an upper hand because it has a wide range of product lines which are supplied to 150 countries. Next, if the strength is to be compared then with the companies mentioned above Medtronic faces a neck-to-neck competition for market share acquisition. Yet due to its product range the company has a higher level of reliability. Similarly, if weaknesses are to be compared then Medtronic possesses the threat of highest employee retention in the industry. Based on these specifications the competitive advantage disorganisation possesses can be identified as an extended product division and heavy investment on research and development to create an innovation driven culture.

Key success factors

Some of the key factors of Medtronic’s success are, global financial optimization programme, intelligence automation, SAP integrated solution, Successful innovation through research and development incorporation, shared value creation through collaboration in partnership, heavy incorporation of artificial intelligence and data analytics and diversified product range.

Problems and Issues in Medtronic’s Organization

Despite having a competitive advantage in the market and successful operations throughout almost every country of the world, Medtronic faces problems inside their organisation. has already identified above the company has a high employee turnover rate which decreases talent acquisition for the company. Aside from that as the company is a data driven entity cyber threat is a burning issue inside the organisation. Also, in the last year the company has received warning letters from American regulators regarding their product quality. Furthermore, the company fails to integrate other companies through strategy collaboration. Finally, the return on investment was subsequently low in the past 2 years for this company.