Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market
During the Holi festival in March 2012, the managing director of Ramcides, a family-run agrochemical business, was considering the path of the company that his eldest brother had started in 1973. Ramcides had a goal to achieve US$50 million in revenues by March 2014 and $130 million in the following five years. The managing director reflected on whether the company was on the right path towards achieving that objective. Much had changed since an infusion of private equity from a venture capital firm in 2008, but there was still much to be done. There was also the matter of the venture capital firm's planned exit, and where the company would then secure additional funding. All the stakeholders were clear on promoting the future growth and success of Ramcides, but the next three to five years were a critical time of transition. What needed to be done to ensure continued success? The current manager viewed himself as the managing director in transition-the bridge between Ramcides's history as a family-run firm and its future as a professionalized agrochemical company.
Authors :: Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan
Swot Analysis of "Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market" written by Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ramcides Agrochemical facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership transitions, Manufacturing, Venture capital and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ramcides Agrochemical, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ramcides Agrochemical
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ramcides Agrochemical
Strengths Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ramcides Agrochemical in Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ramcides Agrochemical digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ramcides Agrochemical is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ramcides Agrochemical in the sector have low bargaining power. Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ramcides Agrochemical to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ramcides Agrochemical has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Ramcides Agrochemical is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Training and development
– Ramcides Agrochemical has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ramcides Agrochemical in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan 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.
Weaknesses Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan suggests that, Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ramcides Agrochemical is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ramcides Agrochemical 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 - Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ramcides Agrochemical 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. Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ramcides Agrochemical products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ramcides Agrochemical needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Ramcides Agrochemical supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ramcides Agrochemical vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides Agrochemical has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ramcides Agrochemical, firm in the HBR case study Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market | 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ramcides Agrochemical 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. Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ramcides Agrochemical can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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 Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ramcides Agrochemical can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Ramcides Agrochemical can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Ramcides Agrochemical in the consumer business. Now Ramcides Agrochemical can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ramcides Agrochemical to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Ramcides Agrochemical can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ramcides Agrochemical 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, Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
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.
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. Ramcides Agrochemical needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ramcides Agrochemical can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market, Ramcides Agrochemical may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ramcides Agrochemical is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Leadership & Managing People 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 Ramcides Agrochemical business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market .
Environmental challenges
– Ramcides Agrochemical 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. Ramcides Agrochemical can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ramcides Agrochemical in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides Agrochemical needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
