Introduction“Cargill is an international marketing, processing and distribution company for agricultural, food, financial and industrial products and services.” (Kneen, 2002, p. 1) Cargill is now one of the world's leading companies in the food and agriculture industries (MarketWatch, 2010). Cargill was founded in 1865 and has since grown to employ 142,000 people in 67 countries and is currently the largest privately held company in the United States (Cargill: Our History, 2014). Because Cargill is such a large company, this paper will focus on the food ingredient systems platform better known as FIS (pronounced fizz) within the company. According to Armstrong (2012), a SWOT analysis is one of the most analytical tools used. He explains that this type of analysis is a “looking in” and “looking out” approach that includes internal business elements as well as external elements. Coate (2007), states that SWOT analysis is the “fundamental methodology” for devising the organization's strategy. I will briefly discuss and describe each strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat listed in the matrix above. SWOT Analysis Strengths1. Company size. Cargill is a large company, Kneen (2002), states that the organization is expanding into every aspect of the “global food system”. Cargill News Center (2014), reports that second quarter net profits were $556 million. FIS is believed to have contributed the most to these results.2. Global presence. Cargill operates its FIS operations on a multinational level. From Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate in Brazil, Cargill Foods India, Cargill Specialty Asia to Cargill Texturing Solutions (Cargill: Our Business, 2014), the company's reach is enormous.3. Large customer base. “ 'We are the flour in...... middle of paper……ernley (2012), states that there is a risk of overlooking organizational culture during strategic planning. Walsh (2012) recommends aligning strategy with company culture. By keeping company culture at the forefront as you undertake the planning process, it will not fall away or be forgotten, thus damaging the culture that the organization has worked hard to achieve. Walsh (2012), identifies “customer engagement” (p. 11) as a crucial area that is often ignored. The pitfall of not communicating with customers can be drastic. Fernley (2012), recommends placing the customer at the center of company activities and objectives that will reflect the value that the company attributes to the customer. By involving the key stakeholder, the customer, the company runs the risk of losing an important angle or point of view (Raymond, 2014).