Business Strategy

 

Five Forces Analysis (Porter’s model)

Force	Rating	Explanation
Threat of New Entrants	Low	In the health industry, it is very difficult to break through those barriers.  New companies face; strict regulations, high capital investments, and the challenge of earning patient trust. This benefits HMH as they have a well-established reputation and resources.
Bargaining Power of Buyers	Medium to High	Insurance companies and patients heavily influence what effect they have on HMH. This is due to the simple fact that with several healthcare options, patients can choose where to be treated based on cost and quality.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers	Medium	Pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturers hold a bit of power. However, a well established health system like; HMH is able to have the wiggle room to negotiate terms and costs.
Threat of Substitutes	Medium	Rehab facilities, Urgent Care centers, General practices, and Telemedicine provide alternative healthcare solutions. This could potentially drive patients away, nevertheless hospitals are super essential.
Industry Rival	High	The healthcare field is extremely competitive, with private practices, hospitals (like RWJ), and urgent care. This keeps HMH on their toes, which pushes them to innovate and stay ahead of the game.

Profitability:

Many can agree that going into the Healthcare industry and establishing one’s own practice is extremely difficult. As it requires a large amount of capital investment, and gain the trust and loyalty of patients. Nevertheless, it is undeniably profitable and HMH stands out as one of the leading players in the region.

Competitive strategy in healthcare

Our company, Hackensack Meridian Health Is a very well-established company and brand that focuses on following a focused differentiation strategy. It seems that this approach seems to work consistently for the company because it is always highly ranked in New Jersey. We believe that Hackensack Meridian Health focuses on building their already well-established foundation by offering better products and services within the New Jersey area. They do not offer lower costs in the nation or New Jersey specifically, and rather focus on offering high quality patient care, innovation, and a strong community presence. This strategy addresses the threats from the five forces in a neat and concise way. Although the threats of rivalry and substitutes still remain high, choosing to use a Focused Differentiation strategy is a great approach for this company. For the threat of new entrance, Hackensack Meridian Health's strong branding, reputation, and advanced systems like Epic, make it very difficult for other companies to compete. For the threat of bargaining power of buyers, because of Hackensack meridians Health’s strong community presence and history within NJ, patients are less likely to shop around based on price, because they trust the quality of Hackensack Meridian Health's products and services. For the threat of bargaining power of suppliers, the company size and superior technology give them the advantage when working with suppliers. When it comes to the threat of substitutes, it is a little difficult for Hackensack Meridian to compete, especially with the rise in telehealth. But Hackensack Meridian Health uses its own digital services combined with their brand reputation and quality care to its advantage. When it comes to rivalry, the health care industry can be very competitive, but Hackensack meridians focus on innovation and personalized care, keep it ranked as one of New Jersey's best companies for healthcare. Overall, this strategy positions Hackensack Meridian Health for a long-term success and highlights the company's already existing strengths.

Value chain and business processes

As posed by Michael Porter, the company value chain is a network of value creating activities that can be used in visualizing a company’s business processes. There are five primary activities in the value chain, and four support activities to go along with them.

First among them is inbound logistics, which is identified as acquiring supplies and raw materials to be used in the business activities going forward. Second in line would be operations, which is the process of using the raw materials acquired in the first step to create a finished product or service that will be dispensed in the next step. The next step would be outbound logistics, which would be distributing said finished product or service. Marketing and sales would come next, which would be the promotion of the products and services to different market segments. The final step of the five primary activities is service, which offers support to those who have bought into the product or service after the fact. An example of such would be the owner of a new computer calling tech support due to a software issue of some kind.

Some business processes to be noted are the material ordering process, which encompasses most of, if not all, the inbound logistics activities and is characterized by purchasing raw materials from different vendors for later use in the development of products and services. The manufacturing process which comes after is using those same raw materials to add value to a product through different activities such as constructing, painting, and packaging a product for sale later. Another business process is the sale of a product, which encompasses ordering the product for later resale, storing it in house for customers to pick up, selling the product to the customer and later addressing any issues the customer may have after the fact with the item. 

For our project, a dynamic business process we will be reviewing will be case management. In a hospital setting, especially in Hackensack Meridian Health locations, case management is the process and department which regularly associates with patients and family alike. Aside from the actual medical staff, they are the ones who will be receiving words of and addressing different problems that a patient may have had during their stay. Additionally, they coordinate with the nurses in charge to ensure the most effective treatment possible when admitted, and they inform and assist in the patients transition out of the hospital with the proper care and services they need when gone. The inventory process is also a massively important process which the company uses. Acquiring inventory is especially important in a hospital setting, having access to the latest in medical technology is massively beneficial to the health and comfort of the patients that they are entrusted with caring for and the required medications needed for the patient to help deal with their varying conditions.

 

Role of MIS in supporting strategy and competitive advantage

        At Hackensack Meridian Health, they use a few different information systems to keep everything running smoothly. For day to day clinical work and managing patient records, they rely on Epic, which helps with things like scheduling, billing, and keeping track of medical histories. For teamwork and communication between staff, Microsoft Teams is a go to tool it’s used for meetings, quick updates, and staying connected. On the marketing side, they use platforms like Instagram and Facebook to share health tips, promote services, and connect with the community. Each system plays a big role in keeping things efficient and organized.

 

Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), has adequately utilized information systems to strengthen its placement in the healthcare industry. As of April 2025, HMH has the largest and most efficient health network in the state of New Jersey (Hackensack Meridian Health, 11 Apr. 2025). The fully integrated health network; connects 18 hospitals, 7,000 physicians, and 36,000 team members, while seamlessly providing coordination and communication across establishments. A resourceful network helps provide smooth care, reduce delays, improve communication, and/or share expertise. It’s safe to say a lot of citizens avoid going to the hospital, as there is always a misconception regarding how long one takes to be attended to or simply feeling apprehensive. Thus, this patient-friendly healthcare system removes such worries. HMH, also uses technology and new strategies to reinforce better relationships between doctors, team members, and insurance providers. This strategy allows HMH to have the possibility to bring care directly to a patient's home. Although HMH has yet to fully develop this idea, it is undeniably something unheard of, brimming with potential to expand and set them apart in their advancements for competitive advantage.

 

Citations:

Hackensack Meridian Health. "HMH Named One of Fortune’s Most Innovative Companies." Hackensack Meridian Health, 11 Apr. 2025, https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/news/2025/04/11/hmh-named-one-of-fortunes-most-innovative-companies.

Healthlink Advisors. "Fearless Innovation: Making a Difference by Adapting the Health System Operating Model." Healthlink Advisors, https://healthlinkadvisors.com/perspectives/fearless-innovation-making-a-difference-by-adapting-the-health-system-operating-model.