Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation
Greg Simpson was the chief executive officer of Simpson Seeds Inc. (SSI). He and his two brothers, second-generation owners of a family farm, had started the seed company. From humble beginnings in Moose Jaw, SSI had grown to be the largest privately owned lentil exporter and seed retailer in Saskatchewan, Canada, distributing pulses to nearly 80 countries worldwide. Simpson and his brothers had recently added a new red lentil-splitting plant to the family business; however, the new plant required leadership. The brothers were also considering how to continue the family legacy. Transitioning management and leadership of SSI would not be easy. Five of nine cousins from the third generation worked at SSI. Would the new plant be the ideal launching pad for the third generation, allowing them to learn how to lead and manage a segment of the family business? Simpson and his brothers were scheduled to meet on Monday, when Simpson was to deliver a proposal for succession planning. Vanessa M. Strike is affiliated with University of British Columbia.
Authors :: Vanessa M. Strike, David Bentall, Christine Lowe
Swot Analysis of "Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation" written by Vanessa M. Strike, David Bentall, Christine Lowe includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Simpson Ssi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Succession planning and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Simpson Ssi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Simpson Ssi operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Simpson Ssi
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Simpson Ssi
Strengths Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Simpson Ssi in Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Simpson Ssi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Simpson Ssi is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Vanessa M. Strike, David Bentall, Christine Lowe can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Simpson Ssi are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Simpson Ssi
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Simpson Ssi does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Simpson Ssi has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Simpson Ssi digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Simpson Ssi has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Simpson Ssi in the sector have low bargaining power. Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Simpson Ssi to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Simpson Ssi in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Simpson Ssi to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Simpson Ssi to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Simpson Ssi is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Simpson Ssi is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Simpson Ssi in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Simpson Ssi has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Simpson Ssi to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Simpson Ssi is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Simpson Ssi needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Simpson Ssi to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Simpson Ssi, firm in the HBR case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Simpson Ssi is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Simpson Ssi supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Simpson Ssi vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Simpson Ssi has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Simpson Ssi has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Simpson Ssi 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation, it seems that the employees of Simpson Ssi don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Simpson Ssi has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Need for greater diversity
– Simpson Ssi has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Opportunities Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Simpson Ssi can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Organizational Development segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Simpson Ssi has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Simpson Ssi to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation case study. Simpson Ssi can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Simpson Ssi can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Simpson Ssi can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Simpson Ssi to increase its market reach. Simpson Ssi will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Manufacturing automation
– Simpson Ssi can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Simpson Ssi can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Simpson Ssi is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Simpson Ssi can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Simpson Ssi in the consumer business. Now Simpson Ssi can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Simpson Ssi to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Simpson Ssi can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Simpson Ssi can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation are -
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Simpson Ssi business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Simpson Ssi demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Simpson Ssi with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Simpson Ssi is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Simpson Ssi will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Simpson Ssi
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Simpson Ssi.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Simpson Ssi in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Simpson Ssi needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Simpson Ssi can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Simpson Ssi.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation, Simpson Ssi may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Simpson Ssi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Simpson Ssi needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Simpson Seeds: Growing the Next Generation is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Simpson Ssi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
