AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR (AFSI_pc) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR
2. Improving business portfolio management of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR
Strengths of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR are -
Innovation driven organization
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has one of the best training and development program in 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR are -
High dependence on AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR is just above the 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact 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.
AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Buying journey improvements
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can improve the customer journey of consumers in the 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.
Manufacturing automation
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 industry.
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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR in the industry. Now AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR to build a more holistic ecosystem for AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR to increase its market reach. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
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. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Environmental challenges
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 industry regulations.
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. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of sector.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR in industry. The 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.
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. AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR
– 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR 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 AmTrust Financial Services Pc ADR needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
