Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology
Monsanto has one product, Roundup, accounting for 30% of company net income and is going off patent. How should the company position itself and its products in the future?
Swot Analysis of "Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology" written by Ray A. Goldberg, Thomas N. Urban includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monsanto Roundup facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monsanto Roundup, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monsanto 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monsanto 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 Monsanto Roundup
Strengths Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Monsanto Roundup in Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Monsanto Roundup in the sector have low bargaining power. Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Monsanto Roundup to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Monsanto Roundup 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 Monsanto Roundup in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Monsanto Roundup has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Monsanto Roundup has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Monsanto Roundup to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Monsanto Roundup in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Monsanto 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Learning organization
- Monsanto Roundup is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Monsanto Roundup is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Monsanto 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Monsanto Roundup
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Monsanto Roundup does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Monsanto 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Monsanto Roundup is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology HBR case study mentions - Monsanto Roundup takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Monsanto Roundup has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Monsanto Roundup 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Monsanto Roundup, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology, 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Monsanto 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Monsanto Roundup products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Monsanto Roundup needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology, is just above the industry average. Monsanto 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Monsanto Roundup is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Monsanto Roundup needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Monsanto Roundup to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Monsanto 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Monsanto Roundup 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.
Opportunities Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology | 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology are -
Buying journey improvements
– Monsanto Roundup can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Monsanto 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Monsanto 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Monsanto Roundup to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Monsanto Roundup can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Monsanto 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Monsanto Roundup has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Monsanto Roundup to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology case study. Monsanto Roundup can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Monsanto 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Monsanto Roundup 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Monsanto Roundup can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Monsanto 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Monsanto Roundup 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Monsanto Roundup can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Monsanto Roundup can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Monsanto Roundup operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Threats Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Monsanto Roundup business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Monsanto Roundup with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Monsanto Roundup in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Monsanto 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. Monsanto Roundup can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Monsanto Roundup can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Monsanto 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.
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 Monsanto Roundup.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Monsanto Roundup has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Monsanto 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.
Increasing wage structure of Monsanto 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 Monsanto Roundup.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Monsanto Roundup is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Monsanto 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 Monsanto 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Monsanto Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Co.: The Coming of Age of Biotechnology 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 Monsanto Roundup needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.