HomeResearch & Knowledgeback to HomeStrategyback to Research & KnowledgeZuellig Pharma (A): A case for transformationback to Strategy

Case Study

Zuellig Pharma (A): A case for transformation

By Katharina Lange, Tawfik Jelassi and Pallivathukkal Cherian Abraham

11 pages

December 2020

Order this case study

Reference: IMD-7-2240

Case (A) describes the situation facing John Davison after joining the company in December 2014 as the new CEO. A failing ERP implementation had led to serious operational issues in Singapore (its home base) and the Philippines (its biggest and most profitable market). Affected hospitals and doctors had complained directly to the Zuellig family, who owns the company. The board fired the two Co-CEOs who had been running the company and brought John in to turn it around. The company had lost ground with the ratio of operating profit to Gross Operating Revenue (GOR) dropping from 30% in 2009 to 14% in 2014. Increased competition leading to falling margins had contributed to this, as had a lack of focus on improving productivity. The company’s most important clients, such as GSK, were threatening to take their business elsewhere if Zuellig Pharma did not fix its operational problems. The organization was fragmented, with a very small head office, disparate processes across the country operations, and no central leadership of key functions such as operations and quality assurance. The board had lost confidence in the leadership team which, in turn, felt that the board was interfering too much and not giving them the freedom to address the problems at hand. The company had invested in a number of businesses it saw as complementing its main distribution core, but these were sub-scale and (with one exception) loss-making. The leadership team needed to urgently develop a turnaround plan.

Learning Objective

Turnaround management: Balancing short-term operational excellence with long-term strategic transformation; Balancing exploitation versus exploration.
Moving relationships from transactional to strategic in order to create a value ecosystem.
Transforming corporate culture.
Digitalizing the business model

Keywords

Strategy, Leadership, Transformation, COVID-19

Settings

South-Eastern Asia, Singapore
Zuellig Pharma, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals
2014 – 2020

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note

IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

This case study is part of a series

Keep reading

Article

Are you sick as a parrot? 4 ways to sharpen your language skills and become a more effective leader

Avoid soulless management speak. Learn how leaders can use authentic, engaging language to connect, motivate, and inspire their teams effectively.

Communication Culture Leadership Team Work-life Balance

By Peter J. Meyers

in I by IMD

Case Study

Chugai (C): Navigating the next century of global innovation

Strategy Mergers and Acquisitions Organizational Culture Global Business

By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng

Case Study

Chugai (B): Alliance with Roche to be among the best

Strategy Mergers and Acquisitions Organizational Culture Global Business

By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng

Article

Think you don’t play favorites? Think again

Are you unknowingly playing favorites at work? Take this quick test to uncover bias and learn proven strategies for fairer leadership.

General Management Leadership Team

By Ginka Toegel and Jean-Louis Barsoux

in I by IMD

Video

Christophe Fouquet - CEO of ASML

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet shares how the company became Europe’s most indispensable tech firm and what’s next for EUV lithography innovation.

Leadership

By Jean-François Manzoni

in I by IMD

Case Study

Chugai (A): Overcoming adversity with a transformative leap

Strategy Mergers and Acquisitions Organizational Culture Global Business

By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng

Case Study

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech

Strategy Innovation Digital Talent Management

By Murat Tarakci

Case Study

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech

Strategy Innovation Digital Talent Management

By Murat Tarakci

Case Study

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech

Strategy Innovation Digital Talent Management

By Murat Tarakci

Case Study

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech

Strategy Innovation Digital Talent Management

By Murat Tarakci

Are you sick as a parrot? 4 ways to sharpen your language skills and become a more effective leader

By Peter J. Meyers
in I by IMD

Summary

Avoid soulless management speak. Learn how leaders can use authentic, engaging language to connect, motivate, and inspire their teams effectively.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Communication

Culture

Leadership

Team

Work-life Balance

Browse all topics

Chugai (C): Navigating the next century of global innovation

By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng
Case reference: IMD-2711 ©2025

Summary

Chugai C focuses on the company's future as it celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025. In 2021, Chugai launched its ambitious 'TOP I 2030' growth strategy, aiming to transition from Japan's top innovator to a global leader. The strategy sets two primary targets: doubling RD output and launching one in-house global product annually by 2030. These goals are supported by three key drivers: a RED SHIFT toward early-stage research, comprehensive Digital Transformation DX, and Open Innovation. The case examines the progress made and the significant challenges that lie ahead. These include intense competition from firms in China and India, technological disruption from AI-driven drug discovery, geopolitical risks and cultural barriers to attracting global talent. The central question posed is whether Chugai's proven model for success can sustain its bid for global leadership in an era of unprecedented market shifts.

Reference IMD-2711

Organization Chugai Pharmaceutical

Industry Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

Mergers and Acquisitions

Organizational Culture

Global Business

Browse all topics

Chugai (B): Alliance with Roche to be among the best

By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng
Case reference: IMD-2710 ©2025

Summary

Chugai B examines the pivotal strategic alliance formed in October 2002 between Chugai Pharmaceutical and Swiss giant Roche. Facing constraints in RD funding and global reach, Chugai's President Osamu Nagayama sought a partnership to achieve the firm's ambition of becoming Japan's number one pharmaceutical enterprise while preserving its autonomy. The case examines the unique business model by which Roche acquired a 50.1 equity stake while Chugai retained its management, public listing and corporate identity. This structure created a powerful synergy: Chugai gained exclusive rights to develop and market Roche's innovative products in Japan, while Roche leveraged Chugai's RD pipeline for its global distribution network. The case details how the alliance transformed Chugai from Japan's 10th largest pharma firm into its market leader in oncology and by market capitalization by 2024. It provides a rich context for analyzing how strategic partnerships can bridge resource gaps, foster a 'capability revolution,' and accelerate a company's path to becoming a global innovation powerhouse.

Reference IMD-2710

Organization Chugai Pharmaceutical

Industry Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

Mergers and Acquisitions

Organizational Culture

Global Business

Browse all topics

Think you don’t play favorites? Think again

By Ginka Toegel and Jean-Louis Barsoux
in I by IMD

Summary

Are you unknowingly playing favorites at work? Take this quick test to uncover bias and learn proven strategies for fairer leadership.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

General Management

Leadership

Team

Browse all topics

Chugai (A): Overcoming adversity with a transformative leap

By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng
Case reference: IMD-2709 ©2025

Summary

Chugai A traces the transformative journey of a leading Japanese biopharmaceutical firm from its founding in 1925 to the early 2000s. Starting with founder Jz Ueno's vision to 'create medicines that benefit society,' the case details the company's evolution from an over-the-counter OTC drug importer to a research-driven enterprise. Key milestones include the shift to prescription drugs in the 1960s and a strategic pivot to biotechnology in the 1980s. Despite Japan's limited biotech expertise at the time, Chugai successfully developed groundbreaking therapies by forging global partnerships, such as with the US-based Genetics Institute, and laid the foundation for its leadership in biopharmaceuticals. The case highlights visionary leaders like Jz Ueno, Kimio Ueno, and Osamu Nagayama, who drove pivotal strategic transformations in response to environmental and policy changes from 1925 to the 1990s. The central conflict focuses on how President Nagayama, upon taking office in 1992, navigated the limitations of the traditional business to seize the immense opportunities in biotechnology, ultimately realizing the firm's ambition to become an international enterprise.

Reference IMD-2709

Organization Chugai Pharmaceutical

Industry Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

Mergers and Acquisitions

Organizational Culture

Global Business

Browse all topics

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech

By Murat Tarakci
Case reference: IMD-2698 ©2025

Summary

In April 2021, Sava oban, the newly appointed EVP of Intertech, faces a perfect storm of Turkey's economic crisis and the global scramble for tech talent. This forces him to confront an operational meltdown at Intertech, the IT subsidiary of DenizBank. The massive talent exodus results in a 60 turnover rate, which threatens to derail critical projects as Intertech is now competing with both local firms and global giants hiring remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. With traditional solutions proving insufficient, Sava proposes a radical strategy: pivoting from being a direct IT provider to an orchestrator of a platform ecosystem. The case challenges participants to map the practical steps necessary to build the ecosystem from the ground up by learning how to create trust with skeptical clients, internal teams and wary partners in the high-stakes fintech sector.

Reference IMD-2698

Industry Information Technology;Finance and Insurance, Financial Services

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

Innovation

Digital

Talent Management

Browse all topics

Building an IT ecosystem at Intertech