Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , OrganiGram Holdings Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of OrganiGram Holdings Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that OrganiGram Holdings Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the OrganiGram Holdings Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of OrganiGram Holdings Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of OrganiGram Holdings Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Biotechnology & Drugs sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of OrganiGram Holdings Inc
Strengths of OrganiGram Holdings Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of OrganiGram Holdings Inc are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – OrganiGram Holdings Inc staying ahead in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of OrganiGram Holdings Inc comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Biotechnology & Drugs 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Learning organization
- OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at OrganiGram Holdings Inc emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the OrganiGram Holdings Inc are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For OrganiGram Holdings Inc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of OrganiGram Holdings Inc in Biotechnology & Drugs industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Training and development
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has one of the best training and development program in Healthcare industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of OrganiGram Holdings Inc in the Healthcare sector have low bargaining power. OrganiGram Holdings Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps OrganiGram Holdings Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Biotechnology & Drugs industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of OrganiGram Holdings Inc have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of OrganiGram Holdings Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of OrganiGram Holdings Inc are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, OrganiGram Holdings Inc needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, OrganiGram Holdings Inc has high operating costs in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract OrganiGram Holdings Inc lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, OrganiGram Holdings Inc needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, OrganiGram Holdings Inc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left OrganiGram Holdings Inc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of OrganiGram Holdings Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of OrganiGram Holdings Inc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, but OrganiGram Holdings Inc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help OrganiGram Holdings Inc to focus more on services in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry using digital technology.
Skills based hiring in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of OrganiGram Holdings Inc is just above the Biotechnology & Drugs industry average. It 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 in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, OrganiGram Holdings Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help OrganiGram Holdings Inc to provide better information regarding Biotechnology & Drugs products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
OrganiGram Holdings Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of OrganiGram Holdings Inc are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for OrganiGram Holdings Inc in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. Now OrganiGram Holdings Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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. OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help OrganiGram Holdings Inc to increase its market reach. OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of OrganiGram Holdings Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This can help OrganiGram Holdings Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for OrganiGram Holdings Inc products in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Biotechnology & Drugs 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, OrganiGram Holdings Inc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. OrganiGram Holdings Inc can utilize new technology in the field of Biotechnology & Drugs industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, OrganiGram Holdings Inc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that OrganiGram Holdings Inc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Biotechnology & Drugs industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. OrganiGram Holdings Inc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Threats OrganiGram Holdings Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
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.
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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc in the Biotechnology & Drugs sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for OrganiGram Holdings Inc in Biotechnology & Drugs industry. The Biotechnology & Drugs 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.
Environmental challenges
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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. OrganiGram Holdings Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
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. OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, OrganiGram Holdings Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Biotechnology & Drugs 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
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Biotechnology & Drugs industry are lowering. It can presents OrganiGram Holdings Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of OrganiGram Holdings Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.