Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century
Yosef Akhtman, CEO and cofounder of Gamaya, and Igor Ivanov, Gamaya's business development manager were elated at the latest news coming from Brazil. After a year of field tests, things were finally falling into place and Gamaya was now able to demonstrate credibly the contributions its drone-born miniaturized hyperspectral cameras could bring to local sugar cane farmers. It was not only the hardware that made Gamaya so special, but also the data analytics that converted the rich data images into valuable crop management information that could immediately be converted into field actions. The client in this case was also an investor in the venture and, as one of the most visible and acclaimed Swiss entrepreneurs, his validation was worth a lot to the company, and that could be a turning point for the company. Even though it had won prizes in venture competitions and research grants from the University lab, this was the first significant investment from a professional investor, and Yosef knew it would open doors for further funding rounds. Questions abounded though: Should they continue to focus on sugar cane farmers or should they move to other crops and geographies? Was the business model appropriate for their activities? How long would it take for the delivery medium, various drones at this point, to be replaced by mini-satellites offering almost real-time monitoring on a larger scale?
Swot Analysis of "Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century" written by Benoit Leleux, Jung Eung Park includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gamaya Yosef facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Organizational culture, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices,
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%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gamaya Yosef, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gamaya Yosef 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gamaya Yosef
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Gamaya Yosef
Strengths Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gamaya Yosef in Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gamaya Yosef to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gamaya Yosef to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Gamaya Yosef
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gamaya Yosef does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gamaya Yosef 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Gamaya Yosef is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Gamaya Yosef has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gamaya Yosef digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gamaya Yosef 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gamaya Yosef 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Gamaya Yosef is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Gamaya Yosef 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 Gamaya Yosef in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Gamaya Yosef in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Gamaya Yosef 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 Benoit Leleux, Jung Eung Park 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.
High brand equity
– Gamaya Yosef has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gamaya Yosef to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century, is just above the industry average. Gamaya Yosef 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Benoit Leleux, Jung Eung Park suggests that, Gamaya Yosef is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century HBR case study mentions - Gamaya Yosef 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gamaya Yosef 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. Gamaya Yosef 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya Yosef has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gamaya Yosef is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gamaya Yosef products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gamaya Yosef needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Gamaya Yosef 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century, in the dynamic environment Gamaya Yosef has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gamaya Yosef has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gamaya Yosef, firm in the HBR case study Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century | 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Gamaya Yosef can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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
– Gamaya Yosef 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gamaya Yosef to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gamaya Yosef in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Gamaya Yosef 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gamaya Yosef 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
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 Gamaya Yosef in the consumer business. Now Gamaya Yosef can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gamaya Yosef 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gamaya Yosef has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gamaya Yosef to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century case study. Gamaya Yosef can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Gamaya Yosef to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Gamaya Yosef can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Gamaya Yosef can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gamaya Yosef to increase its market reach. Gamaya Yosef 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gamaya Yosef is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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.
Threats Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century are -
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 Gamaya Yosef.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gamaya Yosef 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gamaya Yosef 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century .
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 Gamaya Yosef in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gamaya Yosef with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Gamaya Yosef 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
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 Gamaya Yosef business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Gamaya Yosef
– 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 Gamaya Yosef.
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. Gamaya Yosef 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gamaya Yosef can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Gamaya Yosef 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. Gamaya Yosef can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya: Taking Farming into the 21st Century 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 Gamaya Yosef needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.