SUL AMERICA UNT (SULA11) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Insurance (Accident & Health)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for SUL AMERICA UNT (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , SUL AMERICA UNT is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that SUL AMERICA UNT can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the SUL AMERICA UNT, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which SUL AMERICA UNT 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 SUL AMERICA UNT can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of SUL AMERICA UNT
2. Improving business portfolio management of SUL AMERICA UNT
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a Insurance (Accident & Health) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of SUL AMERICA UNT
Strengths of SUL AMERICA UNT | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of SUL AMERICA UNT are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– SUL AMERICA UNT has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of SUL AMERICA UNT have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– SUL AMERICA UNT has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Organizational Resilience of SUL AMERICA UNT
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing SUL AMERICA UNT does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Insurance (Accident & Health)
– SUL AMERICA UNT is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in Brazil. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in Brazil but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled SUL AMERICA UNT in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– SUL AMERICA UNT has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled SUL AMERICA UNT to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped SUL AMERICA UNT to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For SUL AMERICA UNT digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Analytics focus
– SUL AMERICA UNT is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. The technology infrastructure of Brazil is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of SUL AMERICA UNT comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– SUL AMERICA UNT has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – SUL AMERICA UNT staying ahead in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– SUL AMERICA UNT is present in almost all the verticals within the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This has provided SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– SUL AMERICA UNT is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in Brazil. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Brazil. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses of SUL AMERICA UNT | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SUL AMERICA UNT are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil, SUL AMERICA UNT needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of SUL AMERICA UNT is just above the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, SUL AMERICA UNT has high operating costs in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract SUL AMERICA UNT lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of SUL AMERICA UNT products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, SUL AMERICA UNT needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that SUL AMERICA UNT needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at SUL AMERICA UNT can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as SUL AMERICA UNT is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of SUL AMERICA UNT is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, but SUL AMERICA UNT needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help SUL AMERICA UNT to focus more on services in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SUL AMERICA UNT is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in last five years.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of SUL AMERICA UNT, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Need for greater diversity
– SUL AMERICA UNT 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 SUL AMERICA UNT ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of SUL AMERICA UNT still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though SUL AMERICA UNT has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
SUL AMERICA UNT Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of SUL AMERICA UNT are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, SUL AMERICA UNT is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SUL AMERICA UNT can utilize new technology in the field of Insurance (Accident & Health) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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 SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at SUL AMERICA UNT 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 (Accident & Health) industry.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for SUL AMERICA UNT in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. Now SUL AMERICA UNT can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of SUL AMERICA UNT has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This can help SUL AMERICA UNT to build a more holistic ecosystem for SUL AMERICA UNT products in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, SUL AMERICA UNT can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that SUL AMERICA UNT operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– SUL AMERICA UNT can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Manufacturing automation
– SUL AMERICA UNT can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
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. SUL AMERICA UNT can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– SUL AMERICA UNT can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help SUL AMERICA UNT to increase its market reach. SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for SUL AMERICA UNT 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. SUL AMERICA UNT 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. SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Threats SUL AMERICA UNT External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of SUL AMERICA UNT are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that SUL AMERICA UNT is facing in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 SUL AMERICA UNT in the Insurance (Accident & Health) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
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 SUL AMERICA UNT business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on SUL AMERICA UNT 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of SUL AMERICA UNT
– 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 SUL AMERICA UNT.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Accident & Health) industry are lowering. It can presents SUL AMERICA UNT with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Accident & Health) sector.
Environmental challenges
– SUL AMERICA UNT 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. SUL AMERICA UNT can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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, SUL AMERICA UNT 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 (Accident & Health) sector.
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 SUL AMERICA UNT.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– SUL AMERICA UNT 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.
Regulatory challenges
– SUL AMERICA UNT 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SUL AMERICA UNT Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at SUL AMERICA UNT 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 SUL AMERICA UNT 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 SUL AMERICA UNT 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 SUL AMERICA UNT 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 SUL AMERICA UNT needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.