Analysis of the competitiveness of any enterprise includes a study of external and internal competitive advantage, which allows not only to strengthen the company's position in the current sector, but also to enter new markets, offering consumers newer and more modern products.
The external advantage is based on the ability of the company to offer customers a better product, the main advantage of which is a higher moral and aesthetic satisfaction of the population, while reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of returns from its implementation. This type of competitive advantage strengthens the company's position in the market, and also uses the strategy of distinction (differentiation) as the most important component of its advantage.
As for the internal advantage, here the competitiveness analysis is based on the superiority of the company in the costs and expenses that it spends on the creation or delivery of goods. In other words, here the marketing strategy of the enterprise is aimed at reducing costs and, consequently, the final price of the goods, as a result of which it is possible to increase sales in the segment of the population with a small financial income. Such an analysis allows the company to be more profitable and also resistant to further price reductions by potential competitors if other companies also begin to lower prices for similar goods or services.
Thus, the analysis of the company's competitiveness sets itself the main goal - to find out what specific competitive advantages a company can achieve, as well as how to protect its financial interests as efficiently as possible. The latter fact directly depends on how successfully the company can withstand the pressure of the main competitive forces on the market, and a competent analysis of competitiveness just allows you to find out.
All managers are well aware of M. Porter's competitive advantage model, which includes an analysis of the five competitive forces to which any company operating in the market is exposed:
- Dependence on major suppliers;
- dependence on major consumers;
- competition in the industry;
- the threat of replacing basic goods and services;
- the threat of the arrival of new competitors.
A competent analysis of the main competitive advantages of the company is also important because it allows you to objectively evaluate not only the current position of the company and the niche that it occupies, but also determine the possibilities of expanding and strengthening market positions due to those factors that will be highlighted in the analysis quality core. As an example, we can give a plan diagram of the analysis of the competitiveness of one of the enterprises engaged in knitwear.
At the first stage, such parameters as the growth rate of production, the share of the occupied market and the analysis of the main analogous goods are clarified. Then the main list of competitors is compiled, after which a plan is drawn up with the inclusion of the main competitors in terms of their degree of influence on the market. Among the many factors, the following categories can be distinguished:
Management organization and enterprise management:
- strategy;
- tactical goals and objectives;
- entrepreneurial philosophy and culture;
Production:
- equipment and its updating;
- number of products;
- dependence on suppliers;
- flexibility of production lines.
Marketing strategy:
- assortment of goods;
- wholesale and retail trade;
- company fame;
- advertising;
- prices;
- speed of reaction and change in fashion.
Thus, the analysis of the enterprise’s competitiveness on the example of a plan-scheme clearly shows what factors should be paid attention to when conducting relevant studies. The importance of this whole process is manifested not only in a clear understanding of the market situation and determination of its location in the market, but also in the ability to evaluate the full potential of the company, including the hidden one. In this regard, competitiveness analysis is extremely important and a necessity in any modern company.
