Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - September 2008 - (Page 13) Strategy Fundamentals capabilities of a typical pharma company don’t pass muster. Few sales teams do, most supply chains mirror competitors rather than differentiate and even clinical development, the crack troops of a research-based firm, may struggle to demonstrate real differences from their competition. This is unsurprising, since the incestuous, closed nature of our sector has a homogenising effect. Yet, in the best firms, VRIO competencies do exist and competitive advantage can usually be traced back to them. Uncontested market space is usually found when firms find their VRIO competencies and apply them. In my work, I often find such competencies at the interstices of the organisation, in the so-called ‘boundary-spanning’ skills that link the different parts of the value chain. I’ve seen them in marketing (in insight creation) and in clinical development (in study design and execution). My work does not extend much into operations finance or human resources, but I’m sure they exist there too. So if VRIO competencies are the key to blue ocean strategies and competitive advantage, what should a pharmaceutical executive do? Based on what I’ve seen, the answer seems to be to look for those areas of weakness common to most pharma companies, typically found at the internal boundaries of the organisation. Then, using concepts like boundary-spanning skills, fix those weaknesses so that they become a relative strength. When, as my workshop delegates found, those strengths are understood and used, the result is not only a strong strategy but one that side-steps the competition rather than assaulting them head on. ■ About the author Dr Brian D. Smith is a visiting research fellow at the Open University Business School, Europe’s largest. He is the author of over 100 books and papers in the area of competitive strategy. He also runs PragMedic, a specialist strategy consultancy. He welcomes comments and questions to brian.smith@pragmedic.com. 14 BioFutures Gerhard Symons’s second report on pharma in Russia. 16 Critical Vision Jacky Law joins Pharm Exec Europe as a columnist. 18 Executive Profile Pharm Exec Europe talks to NNIT’s CEO, Per Kogut. 22 Regulatory Affairs Will the FDA/EMEA joint inspection programme work? http://www.catalent.com http://www.catalent.com
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