PSC Insurance Group Ltd (PSI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Insurance (Miscellaneous)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for PSC Insurance Group Ltd (Australia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , PSC Insurance Group Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of PSC Insurance Group Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that PSC Insurance Group Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the PSC Insurance Group Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of PSC Insurance Group Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of PSC Insurance Group Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of PSC Insurance Group Ltd
Strengths of PSC Insurance Group Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of PSC Insurance Group Ltd are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. This has provided PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Learning organization
- PSC Insurance Group Ltd is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at PSC Insurance Group Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at PSC Insurance Group Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of PSC Insurance Group Ltd in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of PSC Insurance Group Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing PSC Insurance Group Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 (Miscellaneous) industry. The technology infrastructure of Australia 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.
Innovation driven organization
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector.
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Financial 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of PSC Insurance Group Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of PSC Insurance Group Ltd are -
Lack of clear differentiation of PSC Insurance Group Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, PSC Insurance Group Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of PSC Insurance Group Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, but PSC Insurance Group Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help PSC Insurance Group Ltd to focus more on services in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 (Miscellaneous) industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Need for greater diversity
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, PSC Insurance Group Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help PSC Insurance Group Ltd to provide better information regarding Insurance (Miscellaneous) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Australia, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 (Miscellaneous) industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of PSC Insurance Group Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Insurance (Miscellaneous) 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Australia, PSC Insurance Group Ltd needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
PSC Insurance Group Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of PSC Insurance Group Ltd are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, PSC Insurance Group Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that PSC Insurance Group Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector.
Loyalty marketing
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Miscellaneous) 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for PSC Insurance Group Ltd in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. Now PSC Insurance Group Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. This can help PSC Insurance Group Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for PSC Insurance Group Ltd products in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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. PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
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. PSC Insurance Group Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) 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.
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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Threats PSC Insurance Group Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of PSC Insurance Group Ltd are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry are lowering. It can presents PSC Insurance Group Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector.
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. PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 (Miscellaneous) industry.
Increasing wage structure of PSC Insurance Group Ltd
– 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that PSC Insurance Group Ltd is facing in Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd prominent markets.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. PSC Insurance Group Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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. PSC Insurance Group Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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
– PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd in the Insurance (Miscellaneous) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of PSC Insurance Group Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd 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 PSC Insurance Group Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.