The New Product Development Process and
Merck and Company
Introduction The business environment of the 21st century is very different from the business environment 200 years ago. Since the Industrial Revolution until today, businesses have developed more and more products to meet the needs of an ever increasing world population. The cycle of business has been changed dramatically since the invention of the Internet, which has shortened the selling cycle and made it more convenient for consumers to shop from the comfort of their own homes . When online shopping, consumers are more likely to purchase a product spontaneously, or discard products more frequently, which results in a need for more products to purchase.
…show more content…
After successful research projects are identified, these projects are further analyzed for profit potential. The precise marketing segment to which the project will be marketed is identified and analyzed. Market analysis includes health demographics, market trends and societal influence. The project is also analyzed for substitutes along with longevity. Pfizer and Bayer are top competitors of Merck and Company. These companies tend to closely mirror each other in products and marketing techniques (Merck and Company Research, Discovery and Development (n.d))
Project Planning Following the specific identification of a profitable project, the organization then begins to plan to implement production, marketing, and other components in creating the product. Project planning is essential to organizations since projects are seldom successful unless a proper plan is in place. Planning can include finding suppliers to supply the raw materials for the product, securing facilities to store the product, determining how the product will be marketed and packaged, determining where the product will be manufactured, and determining where the product will be distributed. A concept for the product is developed as well during the project planning process (Donnelly, P.J.,2011). At Merck and Company, project planning is an extensive process. On average one in every ten persons in the US are using medication on a regular basis (Merck and Company Research, Discovery
According to MarketLine, the world online retail market expanded by almost 18% in 2010 and is predicted to reach close to $435 billion in sales. The market is expected to reach a 90% growth by 2015 and exceed $827 billion in sales. Listed in an article “Ecommerce Growth Statistics”, the average amount spent by each consumer is expected to rise from $1,207 per year to $1,738 per person by 2016. That is a significant increase. That shows that people prefer to shop online than going to the actual store in today’s society. Shoppers will spend on an average of $327 billion online shopping in 2016, which is about 45% from $226 billion in 2012. It is very evident that consumers will drive ecommerce into the future; especially e-retail. In just a few years, purchases online will be more profitable than ever, with others products and services available to purchase such as mobile and social allowing consumers to shop to their convenience. For retailers and
There are multiple health concerns worldwide and more and more drugs are needed every day. Many drugs however, are extremely expensive to develop, test, and produce. According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (2002), it costs up to $802 million to bring a new drug to the market. In 2002, pharmaceutical companies spent $34 billion in research and development (Center-Watch, 2003). In addition to the costs, the overall time from the discovery to approve and market the drug can take up to 15 years.
Those target markets who rely on Johnson & Johnson health and medical needs are mostly patients, doctors, nurses and civilians. Therefore, the company need to sustain their products and services over all these years to ensure that lower income people and underprivileged patients are able to access on their medicines. This however requires the company to balance patient’s access and competitive dynamics in line with their need as the company need to have enough resources to keep on being innovating, creating new and better medicines and at the same time making sure there will be a fair return to the shareholder as well. Johnson & Johnson also work closely with the governments, physicians, non-government organizations and the international donors all around the world to provide its products within an affordable prices to its
Online commerce was introduced to consumers in the mid-1990’s, and in the years since, it has grown exponentially. It started out virtually nonexistent and has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Nearly every retail sector has entered online commerce; clothing, electronics, home, health and grooming items, even food and groceries are starting to gain traction online. Online commerce sites rival traditional brick and mortar stores such as Walmart and Target, as well as other big-box stores. As online retailers such as Amazon continue to expand, many brick and mortar stores have been making their way online, indicative of an increasing movement towards online commerce. With more than 80% of the online population having made an online
The purpose of this paper is to research, analyze and whether to recommend Merck & Co. to potential investors. I will be using both qualitative and quantitative analysis based on previous years of data for the company. I will provide efficient background information (life cycle analysis) including a brief history of Merck & Co., it’s stock chart since being added to the market, any advantages or disadvantages it has within its industry and important news that may affect a potential investor’s willingness to buy or sell this stock.
The company mission statement indicates that it envisions becoming a principal pharmaceutical manufacturing corporation with a special dedication to advance innovation in medicine with the
The clinical research market is a very vast and ever changing market. There are continuous evolutions taking place and there are always new products coming into market everyday. Though it takes many years for a drug to come into market there is a continuous research going on. There are advancements taking place continuously in this industry, which is not possible without the main players and stakeholders within the industry. These stake holders range in a broad area which include site management organizations, researchers, developers, regulators, participants, government agencies etc.
The trend toward shopping using the Internet is growing faster than expected (Cramer, 2014). Since Internet has become popular medium for people to shop, more companies then launched online shopping platform. With this new platform, they were able to do sales directly to their customer.
Research and Development: Merck is a research-driven company that has a new research and development model incorporating its business strategy. Merck hopes to improve the success of is R&D and to reduce costs by focusing on therapeutic areas that have unmet medical needs, and scientific and commercial opportunity. It plans to develop products within these therapeutic areas that are highly valued by patients and doctors.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and other pharmaceutical companies have very limited space for the development of competitive advantage. This is due to the limitations set in patents available for new pharmaceuticals. Most chemicals in pharmaceutical products have an equivalently functional substitute making it possible to have multiple products on the market that have identical uses and outcomes. This being the case, pharmaceutical companies can’t rely on one particular product to provide competitive advantage.
* Large Balance, $1.4B in goodwill on Merck’s Balance Sheet – the goodwill on Merck’s balance sheet is primarily attributable to past acquisitions.
First, it takes an extremely long time to develop a new drug, and only a very small portion of all projects is successful. Projects that the company starts today will determine its financial performance 10-15 years later. Therefore, careful planning of R&D projects is very important for the long-term stability of the company.
Bayer AG is fully committed to expanding its business operations through pharmaceuticals, consumer health, and crop science. Bayer AG understands that in order for the company to successfully expand its Pharmaceuticals department they must properly invest in research, development, and marketing of innovative medicinal products. In addition, Bayer AG is developing clinical programs, which will enable the company to provide various of its products to a greater number of people. Bayer AG ability to identify areas in medicine that remain untapped is crucial to the firm’s long term sustainability. For example, Bayer AG has identified the fields of cardiology, oncology, gynecology, and
Project management has been defined as the process that involves the application of different processes, methods, knowledge, experience and skills for purposes of achieving the objectives of the project. On the other hand, a project is always defined as a unique and a transient endeavor that is undertaken to achieve an organization’s planned goals that could be defined on the basis of outputs and benefits. The process of managing a project entails the development of an effective project plan, a process that entails the definition as well as the confirmation of the project goals and objectives. The plan also gives a clear outline of how the project objectives will be achieved, identification of the tasks as well as the quantification of all the needed resources. The plan also plays an important role in developing an appropriate budget for the project as well as the most appropriate timeline that will be taken to complete the project being carried out.
Technological advancements have taken the world by storm. The daily chronicles have a different story to tell with every dawn of a new day about a technological invention and/or innovation. Doing business has become competitive more than ever. This phenomenon has created a business environment that follows the cliché, the survival of the fittest. It is in this spirit that businesses have adopted technology to survive and remain relevant in the dynamic consumer environment. This is especially so because the world has become a global village where information, ideas and products flow between different continents have become seamless. The internet has made it easier and cheap for manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers to