Mercedes Benz: Five Competitive Forces: Porter's Five Forces

With a wide variety of vehicles and manufacturers due to low switching costs, the bargaining power of customers is very high in the automobile industry. Also foreign brands are selling vehicles in the Indian markets, adding to the bargaining power of customers in this industry. Thus the value created by the firm lies in adding differentiating features by innovating and increasing the customer’s willingness to pay while reducing the supplier’s opportunity cost.

The intensity of rivalry, which is the most obvious of the five forces in an industry, helps determine the extent to which the value created by an industry will be dissipated through head-to-head competition. The most valuable contribution of Porter's “five forces” framework in this issue may be its suggestion that rivalry, while important, is only one of several forces that determine industry attractiveness.

The automotive industry globally involves the processes of manufacturing as well as sales of cars and other automobiles. The business of this industry is also inclusive of retailing activities like services; sale of spare parts, gas-station retails etc. by the year 2015, and the growth rate of the industry is expected to have a rise of 5.5% (Market Line, 2012). Moreover, as per International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, this industry is the leading driver in terms of global economic progress and the largest employer. The changing trends and rising demand for technically advanced cars are giving out more opportunities. This essay is going to be a presentation on the analysis of the Volkswagen positioning strategy with respect to the Porters models of competitive strategies. This essay would be vital, as this analysis would help in revealing the company’s competitive and strategic position in the industry.

The competitive forces that shape company strategy are very important to consider in any organization. However, they are especially important when an organization’s forces fall closer to the “intense” side on the scale between “intense forces” and “benign forces.” “Almost no company earns attractive returns on investment” when forces are intense, like those in industries that sell luxury goods. (Porter, 2008). Yet, Robert Mondavi’s wineries have leveraged the five forces (barriers to entry, bargaining power of suppliers/buyers, threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry) in order to maintain consistent profits. The five forces are discussed in detail below with the level of importance increasing throughout the descriptions.

In this report, I am going to evaluate the influence of different stakeholders exert at Mercedes Benz. The stakeholders I will be discussing is the owner of the business, customers who buy cars as they provide good quality of service, employees who help the business to perform well and making profits and the Government who support Mercedes Benz because they have been running successfully throughout the years so they want to invest money to further develop the business. On the other hand, I will make the following points in my report is by commenting on the level of influence that each stakeholder exerts on Mercedes Benz. I will also be referring to evidence from different sources for the comments that I make. I will state the strengths and the weaknesses on the influence of different stakeholders. Also, I will make recommendations on how Mercedes Benz can do to overcome the weaknesses which can affect their performance. At the end I will write a conclusion by summarising what I wrote in the report, which stakeholders have the most influence and which stakeholders have the least influence in Mercedes Benz.

The company that chose for this assignment is Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz is a old company. It established since almost one century ago. Mercedes-Benz is also a well-known automobile company on the world. It also have many competitors such as Audi, BMW, Volkswagen and so. In the following paragraphs will shows the Mercedes-Benz company background, country background, example of PESTEL, Porter’s 5 Forces, Strategic Recommendations and the conclusion.

As we begin to strategically plan for our business, it is important for us to take a deep dive into our competitive environment to understand where we are strong competitively and where we are weak competitively. An analysis of the forces driving industry competition using M.E. Porter’s Five Forces Model will assist us in determining where the power lies in a business situation as we begin to plan. We must understand how they work in our industry and how they affect our particular situation. Whatever the collective strength of these forces is, our job as the strategists of the organization is to

The threat of new entrants is measured by the level of entry barriers, brand reputation and customer loyalty, potential for existing competitors to expand, growth of buyer demand,

The threat of new entrants is high in the fast segment. There is a threat of new entrants is because the entry barriers are very low. The business barriers to entry the market could take those forms: first one is the capital costs, the higher the investment required, the less the threat from new entrants. Secondly, regulation and legal constraints are the main concerned points. In most industries, regulations related to health and safety, products handling, and licenses to operate, export, or install new facilities. And other forms of barriers could be brand loyalty which could be an important factor in increasing the costs for customers of switching products. The new entrants need to change the valuable brand suppliers with its efficient economies of scale to have a reasonable supply chain network or corporate with the low cost producers to supply the products in the market. Also it might gain a large market share in the market as well. For instance, Sports Direct Company reported retail sales were £371m while gross profit increased 9.6 percent to £149m, it

In the article, “The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy,” Michael Porter argues that the five forces are an important element for managers and investors in the business industry. Porter stated that it is important to “understand the competitive forces, and their underlying causes” which many companies will use to determine if they will gain profit or not (Porter 80). Companies determine their profitability of the industry through the level of the force that they face. For instance, when the forces are favorable, most companies will be profitable. Porter gives a detail description of the five forces and explains the importance of each force. The five forces are the threats of new entrants, the power of the buyers, the power of the suppliers, the threats of substitute for products or services, and the rivalry among existing competitors. Porter believes that “a company strategist who understands the competition extends well beyond existing rivals will detect wider competitive threats and be better equipped to address them” (Porter 93). In other words, when strategists understand the different forces it will benefit them to make better decisions and to be ready to face the different challenges between competitors. In the article, Porter’s main goal is to present the importance of the five forces to the audience.

Entrants erode the market and rarely grow it enough to the incumbent’s advantage. New entrants have an impact on the industry business but at a moderate level. This is mainly because new firms will find it difficult to compete against the incumbents’ strong brand, like Starbucks and McDonalds, and because the market is saturated. However, the costs of entry are relatively low. Most of the raw materials are cheap and the distribution chain is not complicated. This makes it easy for new companies to enter the market. Also, established companies might leverage their brands as they enter the industry to compete against the incumbents.

Most large business firms usually prepare a meticulous strategic plan. Various strategies need to be evaluated before the choice comes upon one, and a critical element in the choosing is time. Even the best product in the market may fail in the case that they are being revealed at an inappropriate time for the consumers. In 2014, Mercedes Benz announced its plan to introduce up to 30 new models by 2020, 11 of which would be all new (Daimler, 2014). In wake of the planned execution preparation, Mercedes has additionally changed its naming strategy for the first time in almost 20 years. For any number of automakers, changing the naming strategy is a risky

A Competitive Advantage is a peculiarity for an organization between it's competitors . It's achieved either by lowering prices or by greatening the value of the product or by offering luxury service and benefits to cope with high prices .

Threat of New Entrants – The threat of new competitors entering an industry is high when initial

This study discusses Toyota, General Motors’ (GM), and Tesla Motor’s competitive strategies. These three companies are top leaders in the automotive industry, and this paper focuses on what their current strategies are and how they develop and manage their opportunities. The paper will also address what can impact these three companies, how they protect their company from competitors, and some recommendations for each companies.