SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Nuernberger Beteiligungs (Germany)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Nuernberger Beteiligungs is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nuernberger Beteiligungs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Nuernberger Beteiligungs can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nuernberger Beteiligungs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Nuernberger Beteiligungs
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nuernberger Beteiligungs
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Germany
4. Making a Insurance (Life) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nuernberger Beteiligungs
Strengths of Nuernberger Beteiligungs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nuernberger Beteiligungs are -
Learning organization
- Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Nuernberger Beteiligungs emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nuernberger Beteiligungs to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Life) industry
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nuernberger Beteiligungs in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Nuernberger Beteiligungs has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nuernberger Beteiligungs to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nuernberger Beteiligungs in Insurance (Life) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Life) industry in Germany. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Germany. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Life) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Nuernberger Beteiligungs have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Nuernberger Beteiligungs comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Insurance (Life) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Nuernberger Beteiligungs
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Nuernberger Beteiligungs does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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.
Digital Transformation in Insurance (Life) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nuernberger Beteiligungs digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nuernberger Beteiligungs are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nuernberger Beteiligungs has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nuernberger Beteiligungs is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Life) industry, but Nuernberger Beteiligungs needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nuernberger Beteiligungs to focus more on services in the Insurance (Life) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Nuernberger Beteiligungs, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Insurance (Life) 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nuernberger Beteiligungs products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nuernberger Beteiligungs needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Nuernberger Beteiligungs is just above the Insurance (Life) industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Nuernberger Beteiligungs has high operating costs in the Insurance (Life) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Nuernberger Beteiligungs lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Insurance (Life) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Germany, Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 (Life) industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nuernberger Beteiligungs is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Nuernberger Beteiligungs to provide better information regarding Insurance (Life) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nuernberger Beteiligungs has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Insurance (Life) industry over the last five years. Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nuernberger Beteiligungs is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Life) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Insurance (Life) industry in last five years.
High dependence on Nuernberger Beteiligungs ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Nuernberger Beteiligungs still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Insurance (Life) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Nuernberger Beteiligungs has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Nuernberger Beteiligungs Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Nuernberger Beteiligungs are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 (Life) industry.
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. Nuernberger Beteiligungs can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Life) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nuernberger Beteiligungs can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nuernberger Beteiligungs operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Insurance (Life) sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Insurance (Life) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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. Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 (Life) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Nuernberger Beteiligungs in the Insurance (Life) industry. Now Nuernberger Beteiligungs can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nuernberger Beteiligungs is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nuernberger Beteiligungs can utilize new technology in the field of Insurance (Life) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nuernberger Beteiligungs to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nuernberger Beteiligungs has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Life) industry. This can help Nuernberger Beteiligungs to build a more holistic ecosystem for Nuernberger Beteiligungs products in the Insurance (Life) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Insurance (Life) 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Insurance (Life) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Nuernberger Beteiligungs can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Nuernberger Beteiligungs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Nuernberger Beteiligungs are -
Environmental challenges
– Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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. Nuernberger Beteiligungs can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Life) industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 (Life) sector.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Nuernberger Beteiligungs.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nuernberger Beteiligungs demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Insurance (Life) industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Insurance (Life) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nuernberger Beteiligungs can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nuernberger Beteiligungs in Insurance (Life) industry. The Insurance (Life) 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.
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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs in the Insurance (Life) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Nuernberger Beteiligungs
– 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs.
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. Nuernberger Beteiligungs needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Life) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 (Life) industry are lowering. It can presents Nuernberger Beteiligungs with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Insurance (Life) sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nuernberger Beteiligungs Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs 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 Nuernberger Beteiligungs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.