Assignment:
For this assignment, you will take on the role of an employee of health company Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP). You have been assigned to assist Barbara Printup (Senior Director of Marketing) in crafting a launch strategy for Metabical - a new weight-loss drug.
The Chief Executive Officer of CSP is facing important decisions regarding the rollout of Metabical. Your goal is to provide Barbara with data-driven recommendations she can then present to the CEO. These recommendations need to be backed up with relevant data to ensure effectiveness and persuasiveness.
You may choose to create either a slide deck (5-slide minimum) or a written brief (5-page minimum) for this assignment. Relevant information, such as models, calculations, and analysis results, should be included in appendices.
For this assignment, create a slide deck or written brief that addresses the following 5 topics:
1. Frame the problem. Utilize your work from Assignment 1 for this topic. Consider incorporating feedback from faculty into your document.
Guiding Questions:
a. What is the problem, clearly stated?
b. What are the key variables you will need to study?
c. Who is the stakeholder and what decision will they make based on the analysis results?
d. What are the multiple ways you might solve this problem?
e. What type of analytical story will you want to tell in solving this problem?
f. What previous findings or experiences related to this problem are conveyed in the case study, or exist in the business industry?
2. Solve for demand.
Guiding Questions:
a. Barbara has asked you to estimate the demand for Metabical. What are the forecasting options you should contemplate? For each option, what is your estimate of the target market?
b. For each forecasting option, how many packages will the target market buy in year 1? How do the purchasing assumptions change in Year 2? What is your forecasted demand for each of the first 5 years?
c. Which of the forecasting models do you recommend to estimate the demand for Metabical, and why? In addition to your forecast results, what data supports your recommendation?
d. Why is providing sound guidance on expected demand important?
3. Formulate a sound pricing strategy recommendation.
Guiding questions:
a. Barbara has also asked you to evaluate pricing options for the Metabical drug. Which pricing strategy would you recommend, and why?
b. Is there any additional information you need to frame or solve the problem?
c. Based on the demand forecast you chose in question 2, what are the forecasted sales in year 1? What are the forecasted sales in year 2? What are the forecasted sales up to year 5?
4. Make a sound packaging recommendation. Assume that count size is based on a blister pack of seven (7) tablets that can be in turn packaged into a SKU with 1, 2, or 4 blister packs.
Guiding Questions:
a. What considerations need to be taken into account when making the packaging decision?
b. What additional data would you want, and what analysis would you perform to be able to better answer this question?
5. Using your demand forecast and pricing recommendations from questions 2 and 3, estimate CSP's return on investment (ROI) over a 5-year period that meets the company's expectations.
Guiding Questions:
a. What are your cost assumptions? Do you anticipate any changes in year 2 and beyond?
b. What is your estimate of total costs at the end of 5 years?
c. Calculate the ROI for the Metabical drug. If the ROI achieved is less than 5%, what steps of your analytical process would you need to revisit?
Readings:
Metabical: Pricing, Packaging and Demand Forcasting for a New Weight -Loss Drug
By John A. Quelch
Heather Beckham