Trisura (TSU) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Insurance (Prop. & Casualty)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Trisura (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Trisura is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Trisura can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Trisura, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Trisura 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 Trisura can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Trisura
2. Improving business portfolio management of Trisura
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Trisura
Strengths of Trisura | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Trisura are -
High brand equity
– Trisura has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Trisura to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Trisura comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Ability to lead change in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty)
– Trisura is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in Canada. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry in Canada but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Trisura in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Trisura has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Trisura 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Trisura in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Trisura has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Trisura to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Trisura 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.
Learning organization
- Trisura 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 Trisura is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Trisura emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Trisura 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 (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The technology infrastructure of Canada 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.
Organizational Resilience of Trisura
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Trisura does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Trisura is present in almost all the verticals within the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This has provided Trisura 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Trisura 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.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Trisura digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Trisura 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.
Weaknesses of Trisura | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Trisura are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Trisura has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Trisura is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry, but Trisura needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Trisura to focus more on services in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Trisura, in the dynamic environment of Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Trisura has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Canada, Trisura needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Trisura 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Trisura 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.
Skills based hiring in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Trisura 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Trisura has high operating costs in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Trisura lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Trisura is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Trisura to provide better information regarding Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Trisura is just above the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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 dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Trisura supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Trisura is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Trisura vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Trisura Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Trisura are -
Loyalty marketing
– Trisura 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.
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 Trisura 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Trisura can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Trisura 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 Trisura to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Trisura to increase its market reach. Trisura 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Trisura has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This can help Trisura to build a more holistic ecosystem for Trisura products in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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 (Prop. & Casualty) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Trisura 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. Trisura 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Trisura in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. Now Trisura can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Trisura can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Trisura can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Trisura operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Trisura 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 (Prop. & Casualty) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Trisura has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Trisura to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Trisura to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Trisura can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats Trisura External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Trisura are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Trisura 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 Trisura prominent markets.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Trisura has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Trisura needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 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.
Increasing wage structure of Trisura
– 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 Trisura.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Trisura in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Trisura 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.
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 Trisura in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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. Trisura needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Trisura is facing in Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Trisura.
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. Trisura 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Trisura may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Trisura Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Trisura 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 Trisura 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 Trisura 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 Trisura 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 Trisura needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.