Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil
In 2003, Monsanto's patented "Roundup Ready" technology was used illegally on 70-80% of the soybean area in southern Brazil. Under pressure from U.S. soybean growers, who were paying to license the technology, the firm implemented an innovative delivery-based collection system in Brazil. Growers paid a post-harvest "indemnity" fee for those soybeans grown with illegal seed. Although there were initial concerns by farmers and grain companies--who collected the fee on Monsanto's behalf--the system worked smoothly, with over 97% of the farmers "self-declaring" their Roundup soybeans the first year. Jerry Steiner, executive vice-president of commercial acceptance, must decide if the situation in Brazil is stable enough to support a significant increase in breeding and biotech spending to develop products specifically designed for the Brazilian market. In addition, outlines situations in Argentina and India, and asks if the world's leading biotechnology firm should develop similar delivery-based systems.
Swot Analysis of "Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil" written by David E. Bell, Mary Shelman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Brazil Roundup facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Brazil Roundup, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Brazil Roundup 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 Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Brazil Roundup
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Brazil Roundup
Strengths Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Brazil Roundup in Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Brazil Roundup in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Brazil Roundup has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Brazil Roundup to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Brazil Roundup is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Brazil Roundup has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Brazil Roundup to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Brazil Roundup to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Brazil Roundup is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Brazil Roundup 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 David E. Bell, Mary Shelman 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Brazil Roundup has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Brazil Roundup has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Brazil Roundup 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Brazil Roundup digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Brazil Roundup 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 Brazil Roundup in the sector have low bargaining power. Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Brazil Roundup to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Brazil Roundup has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil Roundup, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Brazil Roundup has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Brazil Roundup is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Brazil Roundup needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Brazil Roundup to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Brazil Roundup has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Brazil Roundup has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Brazil Roundup even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil, is just above the industry average. Brazil Roundup needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Brazil Roundup needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Brazil Roundup 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Brazil Roundup 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 - Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Brazil Roundup has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil | 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 Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Brazil Roundup can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Brazil Roundup has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Brazil Roundup to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Brazil Roundup 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Brazil Roundup has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Brazil Roundup to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil case study. Brazil Roundup can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Brazil Roundup to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Brazil Roundup to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Brazil Roundup can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Brazil Roundup is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Brazil Roundup in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Brazil Roundup can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Brazil Roundup operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Brazil Roundup to increase its market reach. Brazil Roundup 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Brazil Roundup 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, Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Brazil Roundup can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Brazil Roundup has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil are -
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. Brazil Roundup 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Brazil Roundup with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Brazil Roundup has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Brazil Roundup needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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. Brazil Roundup needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Brazil Roundup is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Brazil Roundup high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Brazil Roundup in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Brazil Roundup 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Brazil Roundup can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Brazil Roundup 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. Brazil Roundup can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing 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 Brazil Roundup.
Increasing wage structure of Brazil Roundup
– 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 Brazil Roundup.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil 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 Brazil Roundup needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
