Cougar Metals Nl Porter Five Forces Analysis

Strategic Management Essays, Term Papers & Presentations

Porter Five (5) Forces Analysis is a strategic management tool to analyze industry and understand the underlying levers of profitability in an industry. Cougar Metals Nl managers can use Porter Five Forces to understand how the five competitive forces influence profitability and develop a strategy for enhancing Cougar Metals Nl competitive advantage and long term profitability in Materials industry.

Brief overview of Cougar Metals Nl

Cougar Metals Nl is one of the leading Australian firms in the Materials sector. Over the years Cougar Metals Nl has redefined the ways of doing business in Materials industry. Cougar Metals Nl is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and have the stock market ticker " CGM ".

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What are Porter Five (5) Forces

In his revolutionary article in Harvard Business Review (HBR) - "Five Forces that Shape Strategy", Michael Porter observed the five forces that have significant impact on a firm's profitability in the industry it operates in. The Porter Five (5) Forces are -

Threat of New Entrants
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Threat from Substitute Products
Rivalry among the existing players.

Cougar Metals Nl Porter Five Forces and Industry Analysis

Porter Five Forces is a holistic strategy framework that took strategic decision away from just analyzing the present competition. Porter Five Forces focuses on - how Cougar Metals Nl can build a sustainable competitive advantage in Materials industry. Managers at Cougar Metals Nl can not only use Porter Five Forces to develop a strategic position with in Materials industry but also can explore profitable opportunities in whole Materials sector.

Cougar Metals Nl Porter Five (5) Forces Analysis for Materials Industry

Threats of New Entrants

New entrants in Materials brings innovation, new ways of doing things and put pressure on Cougar Metals Nl through lower pricing strategy, reducing costs, and providing new value propositions to the customers. Cougar Metals Nl has to manage all these challenges and build effective barriers to safeguard its competitive edge.

How Cougar Metals Nl can tackle the Threats of New Entrants

By innovating new products and services. New products not only brings new customers to the fold but also give old customer a reason to buy Cougar Metals Nl ‘s products.
By building economies of scale so that it can lower the fixed cost per unit.
Building capacities and spending money on research and development. New entrants are less likely to enter a dynamic industry where the established players such as Cougar Metals Nl keep defining the standards regularly. It significantly reduces the window of extraordinary profits for the new firms thus discourage new players in the industry.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

All most all the companies in the Materials industry buy their raw material from numerous suppliers. Suppliers in dominant position can decrease the margins Cougar Metals Nl can earn in the market. Powerful suppliers in Materials sector use their negotiating power to extract higher prices from the firms in Materials field. The overall impact of higher supplier bargaining power is that it lowers the overall profitability of Materials.

How Cougar Metals Nl can tackle Bargaining Power of the Suppliers

By building efficient supply chain with multiple suppliers.
By experimenting with product designs using different materials so that if the prices go up of one raw material then company can shift to another.
Developing dedicated suppliers whose business depends upon the firm. One of the lessons Cougar Metals Nl can learn from Wal-Mart and Nike is how these companies developed third party manufacturers whose business solely depends on them thus creating a scenario where these third party manufacturers have significantly less bargaining power compare to Wal-Mart and Nike.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

Buyers are often a demanding lot. They want to buy the best offerings available by paying the minimum price as possible. This put pressure on Cougar Metals Nl profitability in the long run. The smaller and more powerful the customer base is of Cougar Metals Nl the higher the bargaining power of the customers and higher their ability to seek increasing discounts and offers.

How Cougar Metals Nl can tackle the Bargaining Power of Buyers

By building a large base of customers. This will be helpful in two ways. It will reduce the bargaining power of the buyers plus it will provide an opportunity to the firm to streamline its sales and production process.
By rapidly innovating new products. Customers often seek discounts and offerings on established products so if Cougar Metals Nl keep on coming up with new products then it can limit the bargaining power of buyers.
New products will also reduce the defection of existing customers of Cougar Metals Nl to its competitors.

Threats of Substitute Products or Services

When a new product or service meets a similar customer needs in different ways, industry profitability suffers. For example services like Dropbox and Google Drive are substitute to storage hardware drives. The threat of a substitute product or service is high if it offers a value proposition that is uniquely different from present offerings of the industry.

How Cougar Metals Nl can tackle the Treat of Substitute Products / Services

By being service oriented rather than just product oriented.
By understanding the core need of the customer rather than what the customer is buying.
By increasing the switching cost for the customers.

Rivalry among the Existing Competitors

If the rivalry among the existing players in an industry is intense then it will drive down prices and decrease the overall profitability of the industry. Cougar Metals Nl operates in a very competitive Materials industry. This competition does take toll on the overall long term profitability of the organization.

How Cougar Metals Nl can tackle Intense Rivalry among the Existing Competitors in Materials industry

By building a sustainable differentiation
By building scale so that it can compete better
Collaborating with competitors to increase the market size rather than just competing for small market.

Implications of Porter Five Forces on Cougar Metals Nl

By analyzing all the five competitive forces Cougar Metals Nl strategists can gain a complete picture of what impacts the profitability of the organization in Materials industry. They can identify game changing trends early on and can swiftly respond to exploit the emerging opportunity. By understanding the Porter Five Forces in great detail Cougar Metals Nl 's managers can shape those forces in their favor.