Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India

Potatoes are grown across 130 countries and form the largest non-cereal food crop consumed in large per-capita measures in some of the Eastern European and South American countries. India is the world's third-largest producer of the crop and is estimated to consume about 25 million tonnes each year. Calcutta-based Sumangal Industries Limited launched a high yield investment program under the banner of the Flexi-Potato Purchase Scheme. Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), took exception to the company's collecting uncollateralized deposits from the members of the public without due registration, and issued prohibitive orders.This case puts the facts underlying the offering in perspective and conducts a micro-economic analysis to assess the strengths of the business proposition. The statistical analyses reveal that the volatility and predictability of seasonal pricing patterns that the company seeks to exploit may not continue beyond the short-term. Further, the early success of the scheme is likely to attract entry into the segment, thereby squeezing arbitrage margins and enhancing business process costs. This case also lays out facts relating to exogenous influences on the local potato market and encourages policy makers to adequately inform potential investors as a means to empower them to make sound resource allocation decisions. The conclusions of the case could be applied beyond West Bengal, and beyond India, to other agricultural produce and pyramidal investment schemes, qualified by local conditions.

Authors :: Srinivasan Sunderasan

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: , SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India" written by Srinivasan Sunderasan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Potato Crop facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, 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%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Potato Crop, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Potato Crop 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Potato Crop
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Potato Crop

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Strengths Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Potato Crop in Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India Harvard Business Review case study are -

Organizational Resilience of Potato Crop

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Potato Crop does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Learning organization

- Potato Crop 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 Potato Crop is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Potato Crop digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Potato Crop 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Potato Crop has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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.

High brand equity

– Potato Crop has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Potato Crop to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Potato Crop 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Potato Crop to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Potato Crop to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Potato Crop in the sector have low bargaining power. Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Potato Crop to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Potato Crop has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Potato Crop 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Potato Crop 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 Potato Crop 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.

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Weaknesses Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India are -

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Potato Crop has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Potato Crop 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Potato Crop 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Potato Crop 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India, is just above the industry average. Potato Crop 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India, it seems that the employees of Potato Crop 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Potato Crop 's lucrative customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Potato Crop 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Potato Crop products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Potato Crop needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Potato Crop is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Potato Crop 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. Potato Crop 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.

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Opportunities Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India | 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India are -

Manufacturing automation

– Potato Crop can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Potato Crop can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Potato Crop to increase its market reach. Potato Crop 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Potato Crop can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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 Potato Crop 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Potato Crop 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Potato Crop can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Potato Crop can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

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. Potato Crop can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Potato Crop 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Potato Crop to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Potato Crop 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 Potato Crop in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting 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, Potato Crop can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Potato Crop operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Potato Crop is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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.

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Threats Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India are -

Regulatory challenges

– Potato Crop 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

Environmental challenges

– Potato Crop 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. Potato Crop can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Potato Crop 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India .

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 Potato Crop.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Potato Crop is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. Potato Crop needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India, Potato Crop may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Potato Crop can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Potato Crop has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Potato Crop needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Potato Crop 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.

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 Potato Crop in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Regulating Collective Investment Schemes Targeting Agricultural Commodities in India 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 Potato Crop needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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