Crawford&Co (CRDa) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Insurance (Miscellaneous)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Crawford&Co (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Crawford&Co is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Crawford&Co can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Crawford&Co, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Crawford&Co
2. Improving business portfolio management of Crawford&Co
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Crawford&Co
Strengths of Crawford&Co | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Crawford&Co are -
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
– Crawford&Co is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Crawford&Co digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Crawford&Co 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Crawford&Co comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Crawford&Co 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Crawford&Co in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Crawford&Co has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Crawford&Co to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Crawford&Co has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Crawford&Co have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Crawford&Co has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Crawford&Co 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 (Miscellaneous)
– Crawford&Co is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Crawford&Co is one of the most innovative firm in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Crawford&Co 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
– Crawford&Co has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Crawford&Co to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Crawford&Co to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Crawford&Co | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Crawford&Co are -
High dependence on Crawford&Co ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Crawford&Co still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Crawford&Co has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Crawford&Co needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Crawford&Co can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Crawford&Co is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Crawford&Co 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.
Skills based hiring in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Crawford&Co 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Crawford&Co has some of the most successful models in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Crawford&Co should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Crawford&Co has high operating costs in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Crawford&Co lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Crawford&Co has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, Crawford&Co 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Crawford&Co is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, but Crawford&Co needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Crawford&Co to focus more on services in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Crawford&Co 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Crawford&Co is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry in last five years.
Crawford&Co Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Crawford&Co are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Crawford&Co 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 (Miscellaneous) industry.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Crawford&Co is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Crawford&Co can utilize new technology in the field of Insurance (Miscellaneous) 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 Crawford&Co 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Crawford&Co to increase its market reach. Crawford&Co 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Crawford&Co 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co 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, Crawford&Co 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Crawford&Co in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Crawford&Co can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Crawford&Co operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Crawford&Co can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Crawford&Co has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. This can help Crawford&Co to build a more holistic ecosystem for Crawford&Co products in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Crawford&Co has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Crawford&Co to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Crawford&Co to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Crawford&Co can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Crawford&Co External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Crawford&Co are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Crawford&Co is facing in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry are lowering. It can presents Crawford&Co with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector.
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.
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 Crawford&Co business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Crawford&Co needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Crawford&Co 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. Crawford&Co can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co prominent markets.
Increasing wage structure of Crawford&Co
– 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 Crawford&Co.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Crawford&Co has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Crawford&Co needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Regulatory challenges
– Crawford&Co 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 (Miscellaneous) industry regulations.
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 Crawford&Co in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Crawford&Co in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. The Insurance (Miscellaneous) 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Crawford&Co Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co 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 Crawford&Co needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
