Eli Lilly and company were founded in 1876 and were established by a chemist, Eli lily. It was his name after which the company was ultimately titled. Eli lily is a worldwide famous pharmaceutical company and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It operates in 17 other countries too, having offices and manufacturing plants their, but has a wide distribution chain covering almost a 125 countries. It is honored to have the status of being able to develop first human insulin using the DNA recombinant technology and currently it is the largest manufacturer and seller of psychiatric medicines. In 2010, it generated revenue of almost $23 billions. Presently, it employs around 38,500 people from across the globe. It also had the honor of being among the fortune 500, ranking 148th company amongst other US businesses.
Eli Lily and Company Strengths
Probably the biggest strength of Eli lily is its global presence. By operating in so many countries, it has become widely recognized and famous company and controls a hefty amount of market share.
The employee and management team are very strong. Native employees from different areas are employed so that they could better understand local demands and produce accordingly.
Furthermore, Eli lily uses extremely technological machines for the manufacture of medicines and its products are known to be highly standardized. Nevertheless, its medicines have always had good reports and feedbacks. The EPS (Earning per Share) of the company also increased significantly and is now $3.53 per share. [sky]
Eli Lily and Company Weaknesses
Being a well known medicine producer, it is unique and alone in manufacturing some of the drugs. Lately, storage problems, medicine rots and distribution losses convinced the company to discontinue some medicine production. One of those medicines was Alzheimer’s late stage drug. Discontinuing such medicines had two adverse effects. Firstly, the company lost market share for that medicine and secondly, its worldwide demand and revenue minimized.
Although there is a huge demand for its medicines in developing countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, it is still reluctant to invest, expand and diversify into the expanding markets of these countries.
Opportunities for Eli Lily and Company
Consequently, the new emerging markets in the developing countries are the best opportunities for Eli lily to grow. Furthermore, its introduction of new medicines for curing diabetes and newly found diseases can benefit it and increase the demand for its medicines, thereby leaving it in a strong position. It can also diversify in to manufacturing latest pharmaceutical equipment like robot surgeons or blood pressure checker, etc. It can invest more into the R&D department so that it can focus on being more standardized.
Threats for Eli lily and Company
Slight growth in market share of competitors like AstraZeneca and Pfizer can put it into trouble. Also, the price of its pharmaceutical outputs is higher as compared to other manufacturers. An Economic recession in the world may cause people to turn to alternates who offer medicines in lower prices than Eli lily does. This is perhaps the greatest threat that it may face in the short run.
References
Eli lily SWOT analysis, by Adam. Retrieved from:
http://www.freeswotanalysis.com/health-pharmaceutical-swot/186-eli-lilly-swot-analysis.html
SWOT analysis on Eli lily and Company. Retrieved from:
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/principles-management-p-o-m/208457-swot-analysis-eli-lilly-company.html
Eli lily and Company. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Lilly_and_Company
Lilly. Retrieved from:
http://www.lilly.com/about/Pages/default.aspx