Understanding SWOT Analysis of Poste Italiane – The Italian Postal Service Provider

Services by Poste Italiane

• Postal Services
• Financial Services
• Insurance Services
• Payments and mobile

Competitors of Poste Italiane

• Port Logistic Group
• CTT Group
• Transvaal Group
• China Post Group

Now that we understand the company’s key business, let’s look after the SWOT Analysis of Poste Italiane.

SWOT Analysis of Poste Italiane

SWOT helps us to understand the company in and out. It comprises mainly 4 factors, known as Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities, Threats. The first two factors are internal to the company, and they have control over them. While the latter factors are outside the control of the company, still measures can be taken to minimize its effects. 

We shall do a thorough SWOT Analysis of Poste Italiane to gain insights into the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable for a company.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Poste Italiane, refer to the infographic below:

So let us first start by looking at the strengths of Poste Italiane from the SWOT analysis of Poste Italiane.

Strengths of Poste Italiane

Strengths are the factors that help the company to have a slight edge over its competitors. Few of them are listed here,

• Brand Reputation: The company has been in operation for more than 150 years now and is the leader in providing postal and logistic services throughout Italy. Due to the company’s continuous efforts and positive approach to providing its customers with the best experience, it has gained wide recognition in terms of the company’s size, reaches, and other factors. This has helped the company to create a good brand reputation for itself.
• Business Verticals: Poste Italiane not only operates in the postal services sector but also provides services like insurance, finance, and logistics. The brand reputation earned through postal services, helps the company to gain trust in other business areas as well. This helps in the successful operation of other business verticals too.
• Government-Owned: It is a publicly owned company and is listed on Milan Stock Exchange. Around 35% of the company’s shares are owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). The shares owned by the government authority help create security among the individuals that their funds are safe with the company.
• Job Opportunities: In the year 2020, during Covid times, the company created nearly 191 thousand jobs in Italy. It successfully contributed to the country’s social & economic development. Also, it invests in the training and development of its employees. This creates a likeability among the residents to work in Poste. 
• Transparency: Poste being a postal service provider has created mediums through which their customers can track their parcels, get details about payments, etc. Likewise, for finance and insurance, they provide documents through the mail-id and phone apps. This way the company tries to keep transparency between them and their customers.

Weaknesses of Poste Italiane

Weakness refers to the factors, which can hinder a company’s growth. It requires due attention from the company’s side.

• Fluctuating Stock Price: Listed on Milan Stock Exchange, almost every other day, there are some changes in the stock prices. Also, in almost every company’s portfolio, some stocks perform exceptionally well, which cover up the weak performing stocks and vice versa. This leads to fluctuating stock prices in the market.
• Delayed Customer Services: Poste serves nearly 35 million customers all over Italy. It has a wider customer base. This sometimes creates delays in parcels reaching the customers. There could be many possible reasons, like industrial strikes, staff on leave, health-related issues of the delivering person, etc. These all factors combined can sometimes lead to delayed customer service.
• Increased Cost Due to Delays: As we saw previously, several factors can lead to delay in customer service. Similarly, when this occurs, the cost to the company for every delay increases. It leads to an increase in operating expenses for the company. Also, in the insurance and finance sector, there are risks of defaults, mortality. It again causes an increase in operating expenses for the company.
• Outdated Technology: Today, almost every day, we see some advancements in current technology. Likewise, it’s a pressure on the company, to take advantage of them, to keep up with the competition. This is especially true for postal services, financial, and insurance services, as everything is going digital, which has reduced dependency on traditional ways of functioning.
• Compliance: As Poste Italiane operates in postal and logistic services, it’s a compulsion to adhere to the trade and customs rules of every country. This tends to create trade barriers and delayed services for the customer. This also tends to affect a company’s reputation.

Opportunities for Poste Italiane

Opportunities are external to the company but must be taken advantage of. 

• Working with Transparency & Integrity: As the company provides services in finance, insurance, and postal services, it’s important to conduct activities with transparency in every operation. It tends to create trusting relationships with its various stakeholders and combat active and passive corruption.
• Employee Training & Development: The company operates successfully because of its employees. So, it becomes important to always train them with the ongoing development in the workspace. This increases their work potential and helps manage business more efficiently. 
• Quality & Customer Experience: Every company operates to serve customers. Keeping this in mind, the company should set in place procedures and levels of service to serve every customer. In addition, it’s important to build a relationship of trust, by creating customer engagement channels, to keep them informed, and for management of their complaints.
• Innovation & Digitization: Our economy is moving towards digitalization. This creates a responsibility for the company to bring in new products and services, and to also bring in development in the existing ones. It’s important to respond to the changing needs of the customer and to contribute to the changing environment.

There has been an increase in internet users worldwide. So, Poste Italiane needs to make a presence on the internet using various digital marketing skills to make a reach on the new set of audience by promoting its services. If you also want to upskill by learning digital marketing skills then do check out IIDE 13+ short term courses in digital marketing to know more.

• Cybersecurity, IT security, & Privacy: For the continuity of business, it’s necessary to guarantee the privacy of customers’ data, information assets of the company, and the security of transactions. It’s more important to provide provisions for the management of systems and security. 

Threats to Poste Italiane

Threats are the factors that affect the company negatively.

• IT Security: The company is exposed to the threats of malfunctioning of information systems. This can lead to the leak of personal data about customers transactions, various stakeholders, and more. This leads to the threat of data integrity.
• Health & Safety Risks: Since the company operates in the delivery space for parcels, it creates a threat for workplace injuries of employees. For eg. the collection, transportation, sorting of parcels, and delivery using motor vehicles. 
• Physical Security: For logistics purposes, it has headquarters, post offices, and private areas, in various locations. This creates threats, as any unauthorized or unidentified person can get its access. It can lead to robberies, ATM attacks, losses resulting from frauds, and more.
• Financial & Insurance: Financial risk arises if there are any situations in the operations of BancoPosta and PostePay EMI services. With regards to insurance risk by PostaVita, there is mortality risk, which is a risk associated with policyholders’ life expectancy and also policy redemption. 
• Compliance Threat: This threat results, due to the introduction of various regulatory norms by the government. It mainly pertains to the Poste Italiane, Postal services, and the related rates. It also creates a risk of failure to meet the service quality standards set by the regulator.

This ends our understanding of the SWOT analysis of Poste Italiane. Let us conclude our learning below.