Porter Colgate

Porter’s Five Forces Model Overview The tool was created by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, to analyze an industry's attractiveness and likely profitability. Since its publication in 1979, it has become one of the most popular and highly regarded business strategy tools. Porter recognized that organizations likely keep a close watch on their rivals, but he encouraged them to look beyond the actions of their competitors and examine what other factors could impact the business environment. He identified five forces that make up the competitive environment, and which can erode your profitability. These are: Competitive Rivalry This looks at the number and strength of your competitors. How many rivals do you have? Who are they, and how does the quality of their products and services compare with yours? Where rivalry is intense, companies can attract customers with aggressive price cuts and high-impact marketing campaigns. Also, in markets with lots of rivals, your suppliers and buyers can go elsewhere if they feel that they're not getting a good deal from you. On the other hand, where competitive rivalry is minimal, and no one else is doing what you do, then you'll likely have tremendous strength and healthy profits. Supplier Power This is determined by how easy it is for your suppliers to increase their prices. How many potential suppliers do you have? How unique is the product or service that they provide, and how expensive would it be to switch from one supplier to another? The more you have to choose from, the easier it will be to switch to a cheaper alternative. But the fewer suppliers there are, and the more you need their help, the stronger their position and their ability to charge you more. That can impact your profit. Buyer Power Here, you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive your prices down. How many buyers are there, and how big are their orders? How much would it cost them to switch from your products and services to those of a rival? Are your buyers strong enough to dictate terms to you? When you deal with only a few savvy customers, they have more power, but your power increases if you have many customers. Threat of Substitution

This refers to the likelihood of your customers finding a different way of doing what you do. For example, if you supply a unique software product that automates an important process, people may substitute it by doing the process manually or by outsourcing it. A substitution that is easy and cheap to make can weaken your position and threaten your profitability. Threat of New Entry Your position can be affected by people's ability to enter your market. So, think about how easily this could be done. How easy is it to get a foothold in your industry or market? How much would it cost, and how tightly is your sector regulated? If it takes little money and effort to enter your market and compete effectively, or if you have little protection for your key technologies, then rivals can quickly enter your market and weaken your position. If you have strong and durable barriers to entry, then you can preserve a favorable position and take fair advantage of it.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Colgate-palmolive Gaining Power of Suppliers One of the five forces which Porter formulated for an organization to look into in order to form a competitive advantage is gaining power of suppliers. The global reach and diverse portfolio of assets attract numerous investors. Colgate-Palmolive and other major competitors are both viewed by investors as home and oral care companies which have considerable positive investment strengths. Most often the comparison is always with P&G. Although, ColgatePalmolive is viewed by many as at par with its competitors, yet, what was lacking in their management is the ‘lack of perceived differentiation’ which somehow impaired the investment decision-making process. Moreover, even though Colgate-Palmolive has ‘no strategy that is unique or differentiating relative to the other companies’, the threat of bargaining power of suppliers is low due to partnership, supply chain management, training, and dependency. Bargaining P ower of Customers Customers are the lifeblood of the business. The existence and growth of a business company is dependent on customers. CP (Colgate-Palmolive) is serving globally with 25 million customers a day in over 200, 000 plant around the globe. There is a cohesive loyalty among buyers and sellers of energy in Colgate-Palmolive for several reasons like the attractive incentives and value added, partnering and supply chain management. Moreover, investors and stakeholders expressed their satisfaction on the services offered by the company. Again, this can be reflected on the 2001 case study interview which was recorded verbatim, in which two elements emerged fundamental to the satisfaction of customers – technology and its diversified presence. One owns Colgate-Palmolive because of its strong diversified presence and good technology while another one noted that it is because it is cheaper, yet with a high quality of products and high returns over the course of the cycle compared to other major companies. Moreover, significantly noted were two comments. On one hand, the reasons why many were satisfied with the performance because of its huge asset base, financial and political clout that was why they successfully covered operations in places like China, Russia, and the Middle East. On the other hand, CP’s management restructuring that reduced costs focus on profitability, financial discipline and its way for shares repurchase. Threat of New Entrants In the home and oral care industry primarily on the soap and natural products and reserves, the companies’ management strategy reduced the friction of threat among its new competitors in the business by increasing minimum efficient scales of operations, its cohesive and good status with suppliers/distributors, retaliation tactics, protection of property and establishing a competitive and trustful image to its customers. Moreover, the role of advanced technology set them at par with other entrants in the business. In 2001, technology had differentiated CP from its competitors. Leadership in promising toothpaste

from solid to gel technology that delivers new brushing sensations. There reputation was leveraged in order to establish a solid foundation against threats of the new entrants. The leverage of their reputation is build solidly on their total strengths both tangible and intangible like technology, products, adherence to business ethics, code of conduct, and corporate social responsibility that encourages consumers to brand loyalty. Threat of Substitutes The threats of substitutes in which customers switch product references are primarily caused by several external and internal factors. One of the factors in which customers tend to switch their preferences is the price cost of a product. If a product raises its cost value, customers may have a second thought of sticking into as his/her preference; therefore, the tendency is that the shift and switch of preference occurred. Most often, in this kind of business like marketing an energy reserves, the threat of substitution of customers come in the instability of a price. The price cost of a product if it increases due to social and political factors, it stand to be a threat for the company. However, the Colgate-Palmolive good strategy like increasing switching costs, alliances, customer surveys to learn about their preferences, accentuated differences and the entrance of substitute market, these reduced the threat of substitutes. Competitive Rivalry between existing players In any business price competition is significant because it attracts customers, the less you price a product, the more customers you gain, yet, in competitive rivalry, in order to reduce it, avoidance to price competition is necessary in which the Colgate-Palmolive observed. Their competition is not on price but on how to manage strategy that would best leverage a product. CP uses different strategies to market their product and be competitive. Their differentiation and different segmentation of their products set an edge for them, moreover, their healthy communication with competitors contribute positively to the competition. The competition should not be taken personally but a matter of business and professional work. Colgate-Palmolive has a competitive advantage not only due to the facts mentioned above but on the ability of managing the whole process of the business. Good financial management and diversified course of business bring them enormous customers and stakeholders.