Johnson & Johnson Value Chain Analysis Summary

Prescription drug abuse in the United States has officially been declared an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics, 2013). Due to the increase of prescription drug abuse, prescription narcotics have been considered the new “gateway” drug to heroin addiction. The prescription drug epidemic is being fueled by prescribers and physicians that are not utilizing proper guidelines when prescribing narcotics to patients. A major concern is that doctors are shying away from utilizing therapy and counseling, which could alleviate the use and abuse of prescription medication. With the increase of prescription medication flooding the population, this has lead to society’s concern that doctors are

Value chain analysis is a set of inter - linked value creating activities performed by the organisation that begin with inputs, go through processing and continue up to outputs manufactured to customers. It is the set of activities that creates additional value for the customer. Value chain plays a central role in improving cost efficiency, quality and customer responsiveness. Each activity in the value chain adds to the value of product in each process from its creation to delivery. According to Porter’s value chain analysis company activities are divided in Primary and Supportive activities. Primary activities are directly related to creation of product, process sale and services. Supportive activities are provided to sustain primary activities. For a worldwide retail outlet like Target to add a value on its product depend upon the continuous supply of cost effective merchandise and add value to the costumers.

Under Armour, Inc. (Under Armour) is a leading sports apparel and equipment manufacturing company founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a 23-year-old former University of Maryland football player.. He revolutionized the sports apparel industry by creating a superior, moisture-wicking, performance T-shirt, made of synthetic fabrics. Under his leadership, the company grew from a 17,000-dollar business in 1996 to a 4.83-billion-dollar empire.

Nanda has designed an innovative alarm clock named Clocky. Clocky has a unique function that it can jump off a nightstand and roll around the room to wake people up, arousing attention and interests of the public. However, Clocky is still a prototype and it was not yet commercially available. Precise marketing positioning, promotion means, distribution channels and pricing are crucial in order to make profit from the sale of Clocky. This report includes the evaluation of the current marketing strategy adopted for Clocky as well as suggestions of marketing segmentation in Hong Kong.

Merck has a few weaknesses to consider such as the various controversies they have had in the past. One example is the product of VIOXX, which had risks of heart attacks and strokes and several people were injured and died using the drug. There has also been limited reports of confidence to the investors of the firm. The liquidity of the company is also low and expenses on research are very high. This makes it a key concern when developing the product because there will be a large amount of research involved in developing SafePet. In the past, Merck has faced serious government charges due to violations of rules and regulations. This makes for large expenses on paying fines and court charges. This is a key weakness when considering this company for the development of SafePet injection as funding will be needed. Another key weakness for SafePet is that the injection will have to be given at a veterinary hospital. This may make it an inconvenience for on-the-go pet owners. However, the product will be designed like other flea and tick products, meaning they will not require an exam for the injection (Haseeb, 2016).

The value chain model of Amazon in itself is internally and operationally the best that adds value and maintains competitive advantage. The primary activities include Inbound logistics for example quality control, receiving, raw materials, control and supply schedules; Operations for example packaging , maintenance, quality control; Outbound Logistics for example finishing goods, order handling, delivery, dispatch, invoicing; Sales & Marketing for example customer management, order taking, promotion, market research, sales analysis; Servicing for example warranty, maintenance, education and training. Support activities of Amazon include administrative and finance infrastructure; human resources management; product & technology development and procurement. This leads to less cost and more profit margins.

A huge sum has been invested, so now it is really crucial for the product to succeed. Moreover the current product mix is not sufficient to bring long term profits for the company. As far as short term goals are considered, management wanted a successful launch for the product which will provide the right marketing and target of the new product line. While the long term goals involved adding variety and diversity to the product line to achieve a long term sustainable growth rather than just achieving short term

Primary Activities - these are directly concerned with creating and delivering a product (e.g. component assembly). They consist of:

Porter developed the value chain to help determine the internal activities for a competitive advantage, and which are not. The method includes breaking the company into five "major" and four "support" activities, and then looked at each one to see if they give a cost advantage and quality advantages.

Porter’s 5 forces model below describes the competition and the relationship among the different players. (IATA, Profitability and the air transport value chain, 2013)

Value Chain Analysis is crucial tool, because it can be applied to all primary and support activities. In primary activities the key for the company is to allocate funds accordingly to the inbound logistic which works in implementing total quality management, to operations with activities such as automation for fast production of athlete apparels, to outbound logistics by having reliable distributor network, to marketing and sales through developing promotion budget, developing sales budget, sales forecasting, and price positioning. In the support activities, I would recommend the company to invest more in Technology Development, and Human Resource Management. Under Armour could increase its innovative drive by creating new products in order to stay on top of the game. The company could also invest on human resource by recruiting high caliber workers, training, and have attractive compensating employees to lower turnover and talents, which could be taken by its

The main value adding processes for these product streams were determined to be firstly, innovation through research and development through investment in SAIT and R&D centres worldwide. Secondly, customer service which is enhanced by providing multi-platform service options and consumer focused development through feedback facilities. Finally, that value added to consumers by sustainability measures, including recyclable packaging, a green supply chain and bio-product

Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was started in the year 2007. In its formative days Flipkart mainly dealt with books but now, it has expanded to electronic goods and a variety of other products. Primary categories of products sold at Flipkart are:

The value chain analysis indicates the firms that strive to create superior products or services through focused differentiation strategy. To ensure the activities are tailor to the strategy Value Chain is used.

Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational organization that was founded in 1886. This company consists of pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods. Johnson & Johnson has been headquartered in New Jersey. This organization has operations on over 57 countries and their products are sold on over 175 countries. Their calendar has a worldwide sale of $65 billion for 2011. Johnson & Johnson also have many first-aid and household products among their range. For example a Band-Aid line, medications, baby products, skin and beauty products, facial wash and contact lenses. They have three extended divisions to their organization which is Consumer healthcare, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. It was named after Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson. It produced its first products in the year 1886 and incorporated in 1887. The very first president of Johnson & Johnson was Robert Wood Johnson. He attempted to improve sanitation practices. Robert eventually passed away in 1910. Thereafter his brother James Wood Johnson became the new president until 1932. Roberts’s granddaughter Mary Lea Johnson was fortunate enough to become the first face of Johnson & Johnson’s when she was an infant. His great-grandson then shot a documentary called “Born Rich” about the experience of growing up as an heir to one of the world’s greatest organizations, Johnson & Johnson’s.