Monsanto on Round Up Ready

¶ … Monsanto on Round up ready

In order to stay afloat and also to conduct business successfully in the era of constant technological changes taking place in the market, Dairyland Seed Company cannot afford to avoid the growing market for Round up ready and the performance of Monsanto. One good aspect about Monsanto is its policy of making strategic alliance in its supply chain. Through acquisitions like that of Asgrow and partnerships like Cargill's international seed operations, Monsanto is trying to create synergies. The company has a vision to combine the strength of different entities to create a greater effect. This forward looking vision of capitalizing on the strengths of others can be considered the biggest advantage for Monsanto. Also aligning themselves with partners having worldwide operation gives them access to business opportunities worldwide rather than confining themselves to a particular region or country. Moreover, the incentive system introduced by Monsanto to seed companies cannot be simply avoided as marketing gimmicks as these policies and incentives have been fruitful for the company and its strategic alliance with seed companies. Previously only STS ruled the market but now Monsanto has made inroads with Round up ready creating serious doubts that STS can be the only better solution for the market. The success of Round up was very fast and later on the pace of success and acceptability slowed down but still it offers a good and promising alternative to the market. There might be some concerns also with Monsanto and its strategies but an overall analysis of the company shows that it has the vision and long-term approach.

Alternative 2: Status quo with both Round up & STS

Working on both fronts would not give Dairyland the advantage of excelling in one particular area. The company should have the capability of analyzing future trends and make strategic decisions on the basis of that analysis. Instead of letting market dictate the terms the company must be able to foresee the possible future changes and trends in the market place and respond accordingly. So, the companies that stick to the traditional mindset when it comes to their management practices they in fact are managing by hope. They hope that if they still stick themselves to the status quo and play on all fronts, they would come out as winners. The organizations that adhere to the status quo don't blaze the trail rather they become mere followers, as they don't welcome, encourage and accept new ideas, fresh thinking and experimentation. Successful businesses learn to take risks. Though the culture of experimentation and research is present in Dairyland but research and development also requires huge cost. In the face of companies offering value to the customers in terms of high quality and reasonable price, it would be difficult for Dairyland to sustain its R & D. activities for long. Besides, the market place is getting more and more competitive every day comprising both giants and small fishes. Everyone is trying the share in the pie with the best of efforts and in this competitive scenario fighting the market space on the basis of both technologies will not be recommended.

Alternative 3: Strong Association with Dupont on STS

Considering the facts and figures that show that Dupont does not offer exclusive relationship with Monsanto and even makes strategic alliances with its key competitors in the business, it would be very risky for Dairyland to rely completely on Dupont for future growth. Initially the relationship of Dupont and Dairyland was exclusive but over the years now the same technology sharing relationship exists with 100 other companies.

Though, Dairyland was able to make use of promotional activities of Dupont but Dupont itself recognized the market presence of Round up and its effectiveness to customers. Dupont did not abandon the STS technology but it kept on looking for better strategic and technological partners like Pioneer. Dairyland was able to charge above average prices but following Dupont's attempts to slash prices considerably, the same strategy could not work if Dairyland goes for exclusive one side reliance on Dupont. Dairyland has immense faith in STS technology but sometimes it happens that companies keep their focus on their previous successful strategies or technologies and fail to recognize the new developments. Most companies have failed because of their success as they became too besotted with successful strategies while new elements or changes became a force to reckon with.