Ranking the Strategies with Using SWOT and Fuzzy Analytical Network Process (The Case Study: A Company Producing of Pharmaceutical Raw Materials)

The SWOT technique has been used to formulate strategies of a raw materials pharmaceutical producer in Iran.

One of the main weaknesses of the SWOT method is that it does not rank the strategies, especially if there is a dependency between the criteria. The study also provides flexibility in the model for contribution of data such as knowledge, experience and human judgment which results in operational strategies and precise responses in the model we applied fuzzy analytical network process (FANP).

 The priorities of the strategies in this case study are: 1- Adding high-profit margin products, 2- Increasing product efficiency and capacity, 3- Focusing on marketing and allocating a portion of sales percentage- 4- Focusing and investing on exports 5- Improving the R&D process 6- Reducing the cost of sales and ultimately selling price 7- Removing products that have no economic justification.

Applying the Analysis Network Process (ANP) causes the assumption of dependency among factors, sub-factors, and options in the Analytical Hierarchy Process, and the application of fuzzy theory eliminates the inaccuracy of the decision makers' inaccurate views.