Abbott ARCHITECT
c4000 Clinical
Chemistry Analyzer
Presented By:
Kaleana Plares, Kamilla Sedov, Meher Nigar, Juan Martinez-Mejia, Emilie Claire Schneider
San Jose State University - MBT Fall 2021
About the Company
● multinational medical devices and health care company based in the United States
● create breakthrough products in a variety of capacities
○ diagnostics, medical devices, nutrition, and branded generic pharmaceuticals
● currently sells 1,500 products with more than 400 currently in development
● Abbott Core Laboratory is an offshoot
○ “personalized laboratory and diagnostic solutions”
Vision
● Focused on providing products
that allow good quality of life
● Want to connect patients with the
information and health care
providers necessary to manage
their health
About the Product
● ARCHITECT c4000 Clinical Chemistry Analyzer
○ high-quality testing results and rapid STAT turnaround time for in vitro
diagnostic use
● The listing price of one unit is approximately $180,000
● accessories and consumables, additional revenue
● “manufactured, marketed, and sold worldwide” to “blood banks, hospitals,
commercial laboratories, clinics, physicians’ offices, retailers, government
agencies, alternate care testing sites, and plasma protein therapeutic companies”
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
1. Product performance
a. High throughput testing even with the use of a single operator
2. Broad market coverage
a. Market share is approximately 21% = Second-largest market leader
3. Good materials management systems
a. There have been no recent significant availability problems or supply
shortages for raw materials or supplies.
4. Valuable walk-away time for users
a. The user can walk away from the instrument during analysis and prepare
further samples or obtain new reagents, calibrators or controls.
Weaknesses:
1. Diversifying product lines
a. The company continues to drive market expansion and adoption of Alinity
systems which takes marketing resources away from the ARCHITECT line
2. Manufacturing challenges
a. The manufacturing of c4000 analyzers is a highly complex process, due in
part to strict regulatory requirements
3. Competition among similar products
a. The ARCHITECT c8000 and c16000 have higher throughputs and sample
capacity which are more popular due to their efficiency
4. Debt
a. As of December 31, 2020, Abbott's consolidated debt was approximately
$18.7 billion
Opportunities:
1. Growing demand for routine diagnostic tests
a. Global market for in-vitro diagnostics is projected to grow from $84.5 billion in 2020 to
$96.0 billion in 2025
b. U.S. market alone is projected to grow from $26.9 billion to $35.3 billion
2. Expanding into foreign markets
a. Global clinical chemistry analyzers market size is projected to reach $15.2 billion by
2026 from $12.3 billion in 2021
3. Scientific progress
a. Abbott commits substantial efforts, funds, and other resources to research and
development to continually improve their systems
4. Financial advantages over competitors
a. The Protect Medical Innovation Act repeals the excise tax on the sale of a medical
device by the manufacturer, producer, or importer
b. Eliminating the excise tax made manufacturing the ARCHITECT c4000 cheaper
Threats
1. COVID-19
a. Sales decreased 2.8% in 2020
b. Less routine testing was performed in hospitals and other laboratories due to
COVID-19
2. New products by competitors
a. Abbott cannot predict with certainty the timing or impact of the introduction of
competitors’ products
3. Economic conditions of other countries
a. Unfavorable economic conditions in certain countries may increase the time it
takes to collect outstanding trade receivables
4. Legal regulations
a. Abbott’s facilities, procedures and suppliers are subject to ongoing regulation,
including periodic inspection by the FDA and other regulatory authorities
Marketing Materials and Analysis
Target Audience:
● Global
● Lab professionals and purchasing personnel
● Hospitals; clinical, commercial and government labs; alternate care testing sites;
plasma protein therapeutic companies
Does the value being pushed by the company match the target persona?
● Customers value efficiency, ease of use, and accuracy
● The ARCHITECT c4000 is marketed as “a simple and consistent user experience”
● c4000 maximizes ease of use through common reagent sharing, sample carriers,
software and instrument consumables
Marketing Campaign: Trade Show
● July 21, 2009: AACC Clinical Lab Expo
● Showcase and test a new product
● Engagement with target audience
● Build customer base
● Attendee list: pre-marketing and follow-up
● Potential sales
● Marketing research
Marketing Campaign: Press Release
● Summarizes the announcement
● Highlights product features
● Published in BioSpace and ThomasNet
Press Release Highlights
● Increased efficiency and cost-saving
● Simple to operate
● 3D Robotic Sample Handler
● No clinically significant sample carryover
● Ideal for reliable results in small spaces
Marketing Campaign: Brochures
● Targeted at healthcare professionals
● Communicates facts, technical features, advantages
● Images serve functional purposes
Alinity replaces Architect
Improvements based on customers’ needs:
● Achieve measurably better performance
● Maximize lab efficiency by reducing hidden costs
● Minimize errors
● Respond to changing needs and volumes
Architect vs. Alinity
● Up to 800 tests/hour ● Up to 1,350 tests/hour
● Sample Capacity: 100 ● Sample Capacity: 150
● “Integration without compromise” ● “Unprecedented integration”
● “True family commonality” ● “Error-proof design” & “accurate results
across platforms”
ABBOTT’s Marketing Strategy
SWOT analysis:
● Strength: reliability and performance
● Weakness: technological obsolescence
● Opportunity: growing demand for diagnostics
● Threat: new competing products
Strategy:
● Minimum marketing activity
● Small-medium sized labs
● Existing customers
● Consistency and simplicity
● Direct sales and distributors
Brochure Distribution
Campaign (cont.)
● “True Family Commonality,
Integration Without Compromise”
○ boasts a seamless experience
among all Abbott diagnostic
tools through clinical chemistry,
immunoassay, and integration
platforms
Suggest Alternative Strategies
Summary
Conclusion: Our strategy analysis fits our market research.
● The ARCHITECT c4000 is in the decline phase
○ Abbott is trying to get the most out of this product with the existing customer
base
■ Allows for minimum marketing expenses
● Customers value efficiency, reliability, and ease of use
○ The c4000 offers this at a lower price point than newer series
● Abbott is already a global company, so expanding into the foreign market is a
great opportunity
