Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , OrganiGram Holdings Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, 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 -
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.
Organizational Resilience of OrganiGram Holdings Inc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing OrganiGram Holdings Inc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc is present in almost all the verticals within the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This has provided OrganiGram Holdings Inc a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Innovation driven organization
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
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.
Strong track record of project management in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Biotechnology & Drugs
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled OrganiGram Holdings Inc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled OrganiGram Holdings Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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 -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
OrganiGram Holdings Inc has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As OrganiGram Holdings Inc is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in last five years.
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.
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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of OrganiGram Holdings Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Biotechnology & Drugs industry. 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.
High dependence on OrganiGram Holdings Inc ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of OrganiGram Holdings Inc still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Biotechnology & Drugs industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though OrganiGram Holdings Inc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Buying journey improvements
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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. OrganiGram Holdings Inc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 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.
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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– OrganiGram Holdings Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled OrganiGram Holdings Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help OrganiGram Holdings Inc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
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.
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 -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that OrganiGram Holdings Inc is facing in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, OrganiGram Holdings Inc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Biotechnology & Drugs industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. OrganiGram Holdings Inc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc.
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.
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.
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
– 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.
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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of OrganiGram Holdings Inc
– 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 OrganiGram Holdings Inc.
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.
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. OrganiGram Holdings Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.