Modelo de porter pc

Porter’s Five Forces

Entry Barrier Analysis

The first force in Porter’s Five Forces Model is Entry Barriers. These factors are those that make it harder or easier for another computer company to enter into the industry. High barriers to entry will keep potential competitors out of the industry and low barriers to entry will give an opening for competitors to enter into the industry if theindustry returns are high enough. The fewer competitors in an industry, the more existing companies can take advantage of higher prices and better returns. One barrier to entry Compaq contains is brand loyalty. Many Compaq customers continue with Compaq products for the rest of their life. Although Compaq is not on the list of “ Banking on A Ranking: Top 60 Global Brands by Value, Hewlett Packardis mentioned as number 14. If the Compaq- Hewlett Packard merger goes through, Compaq will gain more brand loyalty by playing off Hewlett Packard’s.

Another barrier to entry is switching costs. It is relatively expensive to switch from a Compaq system to an Apple system. When IBM and Apple were the only computer systems to choose from people had to make a choice. When you went to buy one systemthen you had to buy all the software that went along with that system. Ultimately, IBM became the more popular system and there was more software produced for IBM computers rather than Apple. So now, when consumers are searching for a computer that will help them out in the new work environment they are more likely to stay with the brand that they picked originally or another brand that iscompatible to that system.

A third barrier to entry is one of imitation and absolute cost advantages. This is were Compaq has lost it's advantage. Compaq is a computer that is very open for imitation. There are many different computers that are compatible to the IBM format. Many new companies, Compaq being one of them, have entered the market and realized that IBM had the more popular system and thentried to copy it. Compaq is producing very similar computers to all of its competitors; this in turn causes Compaq to loose their advantage.

Supplier Power Analysis

The second of Porters competitive forces is the bargaining power of suppliers. Suppliers can become severe threats to any company when business depends on them for their products, but the supplier does not depend on the companyfor business. Suppliers are a threat when they are able to force up the price that a company must pay for its inputs or reduce the quality of the inputs they supply, therefore depressing the companies’ profitability. If suppliers are weak, this gives the company the opportunity to force down prices and demand higher input quality. Compaq relies on a comprehensive Supplier Selection Process toevaluate a vendor's operations. At the minimum, Compaq suppliers must demonstrate ongoing environmental programs. At the close of 1996, all Compaq product and option suppliers were 100% CFC free. Once a potential supplier is identified, a formal survey is initiated which evaluates a company's environmental performance, regulatory compliance, waste minimization, self-assessment programs andenvironmental policies. As in the Ben and Jerry case, Compaq’s power of suppliers is low, however their insistence on using economically responsible suppliers limits the number available.

To compete with Dell, Compaq needed to improve its inventory management. Build-to-order should eliminate these problems by reducing inventory levels. Build-to-order, however, requires a much higher level of supply chainintegration and management. Physical inventory must be replaced with information. Suppliers must know their delivery requirements almost as soon as Compaq does. If the flow of products were to be delayed, Compaq would not have the parts and subassemblies necessary to assemble complete PCs, and the build-to-order process would break down. In addition, Compaq works with multiple suppliers and...