Case Analysis Ultimate_Writer

Definition of the industry - this section does not have to be long. It is essentially telling me the basis for your Industry’s five forces analysis. Usually a short paragraph or two for each part is sufficient. This is also a good section to develop as a group.

A. Demand –side description – define or describe the industry in terms of companies trying to satisfy the same broad customer need. (The ____ industry consists of all companies satisfying the need of …) This is the broader concept (of A & B). What need or needs is(are) being filled by your industry? You may incorporate more than one need in your discussion. You should start with the most basic one.

B. Supply-side description – define or describe the industry in terms of the group of firms that offers a product or class of products that have certain characteristics that are similar to your product. (The _____ industry consists of all companies that produce products with the following characteristics… or provide the service with the following characteristics …) This is the narrower concept that you plan to study. The purpose of this description is so that we are both on the same page regarding what’s in the center box of Porter’s Five Forces. You should discuss what boundaries (industry boundaries, not geographic) your group has chosen for your industry in the analysis and your rationale for establishing? However, your boundaries should make sense relative to the characteristics and industry you’ve identified. (How broadly or narrowly are you defining your industry? What characteristics would make a company part of the industry or lack thereof would disqualify them from being part of the industry?)

C. Substitutes – What types of companies are not included in your industry – you’re specifying what types of companies would be considered in the substitutes box rather than the center box. Companies that provide the same need [Part A] but are not part of the Supply-side description [Part B] would comprise your company’s substitutes for analysis in the five forces analysis and the types of companies fitting this description should be identified here. (I’m not looking for names of specific companies, or your analysis of the impact of the substitutes force. What I want to know is the types of products or services that satisfy the same need as your industry, but don’t fit the characteristics you identified in part B.) The purpose of this section is so that your group members and the reader (me) are all clear about the parameters of the industry versus the other four boxes.