Saturday 9 January 2016

Porter's Five Forces - simplified !

This was originally formulated by Mr. Michael Porter, professor at Harward Business school in the late 1970s to analyse an industry based on five forces that influence an industry and its players. Porter's five forces have five forces or market elements that needs to be analysed to arrive at a successful business strategy. The derived business strategy can be implemented to achieve a clear and distinct position in the market and in the customers' minds. The outcome which also gives a clear picture of the current market situation which will help the organisation decide how they can use the market situation to their advantage or position themselves in the market where by increasing profitability and brand image.
To hear the original one from Mr. Porter himself, follow the below link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_FBCvXw

The below is my view of Porters's five forces and how they can be applied to analyse an industry and how well we can position our organisation.

MY VIEW OF APPLYING PORTER'S FIVE FORCES :


1. Competitors Rivalry
This gives insight into the rivalry that exists in the industry i.e. how competitive the players in the industry are and what are their strengths and weaknesses. It also answers the questions to how can a new entrant cope up with this competitive market and turn their business into a success model. A few of the questions that can help us draw a picture of competitors rivalry are as below :
- How competitive the industry in terms of margins and profitability ?
- How is the competitive intensity ?
- Who is the biggest player in the industry and what is the market share held by them ?
- What is the industry experience of each player in the industry and their strength ?
- What is the industry Growth in the near future ?
- Does it demand for capacity addition in large scale ?
- Brand value of competitors
- Is there a monopoly or hurdles put in place by big players to indirectly control small players' market share?
- Is it a high stakes industry where organisational structure requires highly skilled and efficient human resource ?

2. Threat of New Entrants
This gives insight into how easy it is to enter an industry or exit an industry and also how easy it is for a new entrant in the market to replace an experienced strong player in the industry. A few of the questions that can help us draw a picture or gain insight of this force are as below :
- How easy is it to enter the new market or the industry ?
- What is the economies of scale to be profitable ?
- How big and specialised capital investment needed for setup and distribution ?
- How brand conscious or brand loyal is the industry and its customers ?
- What is the increase in the inflow of supply with new entrants ?
- What are the legal complications for new entrants ?

3. Threat of Substitute Products
This gives insight into how the available substitutes for the original affects the latter's market share and sales. A few of the questions that can help us draw a picture or gain insight of this force are as below :
- How many products or service providers are available in the market catering to the same customer's need ?
- How loyal are the customers to brand ?
-  Can customer's need be satisfied by products from other industries serving the same purpose ?
- How easy is it for competitors to develop a new substitute or a clone ?
- What is the price and quality difference between the available substitutes ?
- How regulated is the market with respect to patent rights ?
- What is the switching cost for consumers ?

4. Bargaining Power of Consumers
This gives insight into whether the market favours the buyers or the sellers or a win win for both. This also explains the demand and supply quotient of the industry. A few of the questions that can help us draw a picture or gain insight of this force are as below :
-  What is the percentage of population dependent on the products supplied by the industry
-  What is the cost of switching between services or product to fulfil customer's need ?
-  What is the demand and supply, is there a surplus in supply or a shortage in supply to demand ?
-  Customer's price sensitivity, what is the elasticity of demand ?
-  What is the cost of backward integration for the customer ?
-  What is the frequency and volume of purchase ?
-  Are the products supplied by the industry come under luxury products or a necessity ?

5. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
This gives insight into whether the market favours the supplier or the organisation or a win win for both. This also provides insight into availability of capital goods and input costs. A few of the questions that can help us draw a picture or gain insight of this force are as below :
- How easily are the raw materials/capital goods available ?
- How many suppliers are available and how easy it is to find an alternative ?
- What is the possibility of backward integration  in order to negate the supplier in the process ?
- How easy is it to acquire skilled manpower in the respective field ?
- What is cost of switching between suppliers ?
- Are we to deal with government organisations in a industry involving consumption of natural resources ?
- What is your economies of scale ?
- What is the possibility of forward integration  by the supplier there by directly catering to the customers' needs ?

Once the five forces are analysed, a chart can be prepared in the below format to assess the opportunities and threats for our products/services in the industry. This will help us to define a robust business strategy to negate competition and make profits or to decide whether to enter a new industry or to exit a matured industry.

FORCES
OBERSVATIONS
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
FORCE - 1 Observation 1 How ? How ?

Observation 2



Observation 3


FORCE - 2 Observation 1 How ? How ?

Observation 2



Observation 3



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