Strategic Planning in the Pharma Industry: Driving Success in the Global General Medicines Sector

Introduction

Strategic planning, as it pertains to the daily work of a Strategy Lead within a Global General Medicines division, can be defined as a methodical process designed to set long-term objectives and determine the best approach to achieve them in the context of numerous therapeutic areas such as Diabetes, Cardiovascular, and Transplant. For those responsible for strategy in this field, it involves a profound analysis of the current market landscape, forecasting future trends, making informed decisions to stay ahead of industry changes, and prioritizing initiatives that will drive growth and innovation.

As a Strategy Lead working within the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in general medicines, establishing a strategic plan involves integrating scientific advances, understanding health economics, navigating regulatory environments, and focusing on patient outcomes while keeping the business objectives in perspective. It centers on creating a roadmap that not just advances the company’s market position but also ensures that its therapies address the emerging healthcare needs of populations.

Key Components of Strategic Planning:

To effectively support the strategy transformation and oversee strategic initiatives, the Strategy Lead would engage in several core components of strategic planning:

1. Environmental Scanning: Identifying and analyzing external opportunities and threats that could impact the division's goals.

2. Internal Analysis: Understanding the division's strengths and weaknesses in the context of its capabilities and resources.

3. Strategic Direction: Setting clear visions and missions that align with the broader goals of improving patient care in general medicines.

4. Goal Setting: Defining measurable strategic goals that are ambitious yet achievable and can guide the division's efforts.

5. Action Plans: Developing specific action steps with timelines that transform strategies into executable tasks.

6. Resource Allocation: Determining and securing the needed physical, human, and financial resources to execute the strategies.

7. Performance Monitoring: Establishing KPIs and review processes to track progress and adapt strategies as necessary.

8. Communication: Coordinating with cross-functional teams and ensuring all stakeholders understand and are committed to the strategic direction.

Benefits of Strategic Planning:

For the Strategy Lead in Global General Medicines, strategic planning provides considerable benefits:

1. Clear Focus: Helps in setting priorities and directing resources towards achieving the most critical objectives concerning patient health outcomes and business growth.

2. Alignment: Ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals, promoting cohesion and synergy across different functions.

3. Proactive Approach: Positions the unit to anticipate changes in the healthcare landscape and respond swiftly to potential challenges.

4. Optimal Resource Use: Aids in utilizing resources efficiently, avoiding wastage, and maximizing return on investment.

5. Competitive Advantage: By anticipating future trends and setting a clear vision, a strategic plan can provide an edge in the competitive global medicines market.

6. Decision-Making: Simplifies the decision-making process by providing a framework based on comprehensive analysis and set objectives.

7. Organizational Learning: Encourages continual assessment and learning, fostering an environment of innovation and continuous improvement.

8. Risk Management: Helps identify potential risks and develop contingency plans, reducing uncertainties and mitigating possible threats.

For the Strategy Lead involved in such a complex and ever-evolving sector, strategic planning is a pivotal tool that ensures all aspects of the business move cohesively towards achieving a common vision of advancing healthcare and creating sustainable business value.

KanBo: When, Why and Where to deploy as a Strategic planning tool

What is KanBo?

KanBo is a comprehensive work coordination platform designed to facilitate project management, task tracking, and collaborative workflows. It offers a visual approach to organizing tasks and strategic initiatives, which is essential for managing complex projects and aligning team efforts with strategic objectives.

Why?

KanBo provides a structured yet adaptable framework suitable for strategic planning efforts within the global general medicines sector. It enables the seamless integration of tacit, explicit, and just-in-time knowledge, allowing strategy leads to make informed decisions quickly. The flexibility to adapt workspaces, cards, and timelines supports dynamic strategic planning processes, ensuring that teams can respond to changes in the healthcare landscape.

When?

KanBo should be utilized during all phases of the strategic planning cycle - from the initial definition of strategy to the implementation and monitoring of strategic initiatives. It serves as a continual resource for documenting progress, coordinating tasks, and ensuring that all team members are aware of their roles and responsibilities. The accessibility of real-time data and performance indicators allows for ongoing assessment and adjustments.

Where?

As KanBo supports a hybrid environment, it can be used both on-premises and in the cloud, offering versatility in various work settings. Strategy leads in global general medicines can access KanBo anytime and anywhere, enabling strategic planning and coordination across different geographic locations and departments within the organization.

Strategic Planning Tool

KanBo, as a strategic planning tool, assists in defining the organization's direction, optimizing resource allocation, and applying control mechanisms. Its visualization capabilities, through Gantt and Forecast charts, aid in illustrating timelines and projecting future performance. By streamlining communication and collaboration, KanBo ensures alignment with common goals, helping strategy leads to drive organizational success in an often volatile healthcare environment. It encapsulates all necessary aspects of an efficient strategic planning process and is positioned to support continuous adaptation to external influences, technological advances, and competitive pressures in the global general medicines market.

How to work with KanBo as a Strategic planning tool

As a Strategy Lead in Global General Medicines, it is imperative that you orchestrate a cohesive strategic plan that leverages real-time insights and ensures company-wide alignment. Using KanBo for strategic planning can streamline your process with visual workflows and collaborative features. Below are instructions on how to work effectively with KanBo to aid in strategic planning.

1. Define Your Strategic Objectives

Purpose: To establish clear and measurable goals that the organization seeks to achieve.

- How: Create a Workspace dedicated to strategic planning. Name it according to the fiscal year or the planning horizon.

- Why: A dedicated Workspace serves as a central hub for aligning activities with overarching goals, providing a birds-eye view of the strategic direction for all stakeholders.

2. Conduct Environmental Scanning

Purpose: To gather relevant information that could impact the strategic direction of the organization.

- How: Within the strategic planning Workspace, create a Space called "Environmental Scanning". Use Cards to categorize information into areas such as market trends, competitor analysis, and regulatory changes.

- Why: Capturing this information in KanBo provides a dynamic, real-time repository for external knowledge that is essential for making informed strategic decisions.

3. Create a SWOT Analysis

Purpose: To identify internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Opportunities and Threats.

- How: Create a Space titled "SWOT Analysis", with Lists or Groups named Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Add Cards for each factor identified.

- Why: Utilizing KanBo allows team members to contribute and view the organizational SWOT, fostering an inclusive and comprehensive understanding of the strategic landscape.

4. Formulate Strategy

Purpose: To develop strategic options and select the most viable course of action.

- How: Establish a Space named “Strategy Formulation”. Use Cards to outline various strategies, and assign responsible persons or teams for each.

- Why: Strategy options are easily tracked, responsibilities are clear, and collaboration is facilitated, streamlining the selection process and ensuring alignment.

5. Allocate Resources

Purpose: To ensure that the necessary resources are provided to implement the chosen strategy.

- How: Create a Space called "Resource Allocation". Use Cards for budgeting, human resources, technology, and other areas, detailing the resources needed.

- Why: KanBo provides a transparent and editable platform, allowing for efficient resource planning and adjustments as needed for strategic initiatives.

6. Implement and Coordinate Strategy

Purpose: To translate strategy into actionable steps and ensure that departments are coordinated in execution.

- How: Develop a "Strategy Implementation" Space with workflow-enabled Cards to represent strategic actions. Use the Gantt Chart view to establish timelines.

- Why: This supports efficient project management within common milestones, aiding in synchronization of efforts and time-bound completion of strategic actions.

7. Monitor and Control

Purpose: To track progress against objectives and make adjustments as necessary.

- How: Incorporate a “Strategic Tracking and Review” Space, using Cards to monitor KPIs and milestones. Utilize KanBo’s Forecast Chart and Activity Stream for real-time monitoring.

- Why: Enabling a quick pivot in response to internal or external changes, tracking progress ensures that the strategy remains relevant and impactful.

8. Gather Feedback and Learn

Purpose: To obtain insights from implementation and foster continuous improvement.

- How: Create a dedicated "Feedback and Learning" Space. Use Cards to collate feedback, lessons learned, and areas for improvement.

- Why: This reinforces a culture of continuous learning and improvement within strategic management. Real-time insights drive responsive adaptations to the strategy.

9. Communicate Results and Insight

Purpose: To share outcomes, insights, and adjustments with stakeholders for transparency and engagement.

- How: Utilize the Activity Stream to communicate updates. Create Summary Cards in each Space that reflect key takeaways, decisions, and next steps.

- Why: Effective internal communication promotes understanding and buy-in from all stakeholders, ensuring cohesive movement towards strategic goals.

By following these steps in KanBo, as a Strategy Lead, you will have a structured and interactive approach to strategic planning that harnesses collective knowledge and agile methodology. KanBo’s visual platform will help integrate various departments to achieve strategic goals effectively.

Glossary and terms

Glossary of Strategic Planning and Work Coordination Terms

_Introduction:_

In the context of strategic planning and work coordination, it is essential to understand the terminology that describes various concepts, methodologies, and tools used within an organization to align its strategy to its goals. Below is a glossary of key terms frequently encountered in these fields. These terms help facilitate effective communication and understanding of the processes and practices essential for organizational success.

- Strategic Planning: A systematic process that organizations use to envision a desired future state and then create a plan to achieve that future with specific goals and objectives.

- Work Coordination: The process of organizing and harmonizing the efforts of different individuals and departments to ensure that tasks are completed efficiently and objectives are met.

- Hybrid Environment: An operational setup that combines on-premises infrastructure with cloud services, allowing for a flexible approach to data management and application usage.

- Customization: The ability to modify or tailor software applications or processes to meet specific organizational needs or preferences.

- Integration: The process of linking different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally to act as a coordinated whole.

- Workspace: In work coordination platforms, a workspace is a virtual area that brings together all resources, discussions, and activities related to a particular project or team.

- Space: A division within a workspace designed to organize and manage tasks, often aligned with specific projects or objectives. Spaces provide a collaborative environment for managing workflow.

- Card: A digital representation of a task, idea, or item that needs attention or action. It includes details such as descriptions, deadlines, attachments, and comments.

- Card Relation: A feature that allows for establishing dependencies or connections between cards, aiding in the visibility of task sequences and priorities.

- Dates in Cards: Time-specific elements assigned to cards indicating deadlines, milestones, start dates, and reminders to help manage schedules and priorities within a project.

- Responsible Person: The individual assigned to oversee and ensure the successful completion of tasks denoted by a card. This person is accountable for the card's progress.

- Co-Worker: A team member who collaborates on a task and shares responsibilities for its completion. Co-workers contribute to the progress of cards they're associated with.

- Child Card Group: A collection of related sub-tasks (child cards) associated with a larger task (parent card), allowing for detailed task breakdown and tracking.

- Card Blocker: An impediment or challenge that prevents a card's task from progressing. Various types of blockers can be identified, allowing teams to address and resolve issues more efficiently.

- Activity Stream: A real-time list or feed of all actions taken by team members, such as updates on tasks, new comments, and status changes, providing visibility into the project's progress.

- Gantt Chart View: A visual display that lays out project tasks along a timeline, providing an overview of the project schedule, durations of tasks, and overlapping activities.

- Forecast Chart View: A predictive tool within work coordination platforms that shows the projected timeline for project completion based on past performance and current progress.

- Time Chart View: A space view that offers insights into the time spent on tasks by tracking metrics like lead time, reaction time, and cycle time, assisting in process optimization.

Understanding these terms is vital for individuals who aim to excel in strategic planning and work coordination, as they provide the foundation for effective organizational management.