SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for UnipolSai Assicurazioni (Italy)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , UnipolSai Assicurazioni is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of UnipolSai Assicurazioni
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that UnipolSai Assicurazioni can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the UnipolSai Assicurazioni, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of UnipolSai Assicurazioni
2. Improving business portfolio management of UnipolSai Assicurazioni
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Italy
4. Making a Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of UnipolSai Assicurazioni
Strengths of UnipolSai Assicurazioni | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of UnipolSai Assicurazioni are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in Italy. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Italy. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Ability to lead change in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty)
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in Italy. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in Italy but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled UnipolSai Assicurazioni in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of UnipolSai Assicurazioni in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 brand equity
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled UnipolSai Assicurazioni to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni is present in almost all the verticals within the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This has provided UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of UnipolSai Assicurazioni comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of UnipolSai Assicurazioni have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – UnipolSai Assicurazioni staying ahead in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of UnipolSai Assicurazioni | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of UnipolSai Assicurazioni are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Italy, UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry, UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that UnipolSai Assicurazioni needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at UnipolSai Assicurazioni can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as UnipolSai Assicurazioni is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ less understanding of UnipolSai Assicurazioni strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Need for greater diversity
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, UnipolSai Assicurazioni is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left UnipolSai Assicurazioni vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on UnipolSai Assicurazioni ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of UnipolSai Assicurazioni still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though UnipolSai Assicurazioni has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As UnipolSai Assicurazioni is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though UnipolSai Assicurazioni has some of the most successful models in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. UnipolSai Assicurazioni should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, UnipolSai Assicurazioni has high operating costs in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract UnipolSai Assicurazioni lucrative customers.
UnipolSai Assicurazioni Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of UnipolSai Assicurazioni are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled UnipolSai Assicurazioni to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help UnipolSai Assicurazioni to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector. 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects UnipolSai Assicurazioni can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of UnipolSai Assicurazioni has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This can help UnipolSai Assicurazioni to build a more holistic ecosystem for UnipolSai Assicurazioni products in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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, UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
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. UnipolSai Assicurazioni can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, UnipolSai Assicurazioni can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that UnipolSai Assicurazioni operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector.
Loyalty marketing
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of UnipolSai Assicurazioni are -
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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, UnipolSai Assicurazioni may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for UnipolSai Assicurazioni in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that UnipolSai Assicurazioni is facing in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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. UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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.
Environmental challenges
– UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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. UnipolSai Assicurazioni can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry are lowering. It can presents UnipolSai Assicurazioni with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector.
Increasing wage structure of UnipolSai Assicurazioni
– 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni.
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. UnipolSai Assicurazioni needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of UnipolSai Assicurazioni Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni 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 UnipolSai Assicurazioni needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.