Competitive Market Position

This three-by-three matrix was developed by Royal Dutch Shell Group as a portfolio-planning tool. It integrates business sector prospects with a company s competitive capabilities (Figure 2.5). Positioning is determined in a similar manner to the competitive position-market attractiveness matrix. Though developed by Shell with specific reference to the petrochemical industry, the model is generally applicable in relation to all diversified enterprises. Shell uses four criteria to assess business sector prospects ... 

Because most fuel ethanol manufactured ia the United States is made from com, price plays a cmcial role ia determining the competitive position of ethanol ia an open market. With com priced at about 2.50/bu, the embedded feedstock cost of product ethanol is about 0.14—0.23/L ( 0.52—0.87 gal), depending on over-all yield and by-products ignored (125). Euel ethanol plants may have contingency plans to close if com prices rise to a certain level, eg, 3.50/bu or above (126). 

At this stage a prototype product is produced, and its performance in the market is assessed. If this is satisfactory, full-scale production is established. But the designer s role does not end at this point. Continuous analysis of the performance of a component usually reveals weaknesses or ways in which it could be improved or made more cheaply. And there is always scope for further innovation for a radically new design, or for a radical change in the material which the component is made from. Successful designs evolve continuously, and only in this way does the product retain a competitive position in the market place. 

The market share of the most frequently prescribed active ingredient is very small both in England and in Spain, and the prescription concentration at the level of therapeutic substances is also very low. These data paint a picture of fierce competition in markets of drugs containing different active ingredients. However, we need to study the market structure and therapeutic competition at a lower level of therapeutic aggregation in order to be able to evaluate the extent to which pharmaceuticals enjoy dominant positions in their respective groups of therapeutic substitutes. 

Value Pricing strategy and gross prices Overall product profitability Topics Market strategy (segmentation, competitive analysis, positioning) Marketing Mix (product, promotion, place, price)... 

The sales strategy needs to decide what product to be sold in which sales market representing the sales location in the value chain network. New markets needs to be evaluated for their attractiveness and the own competitive position with respect to existing products or the capabilities in the development of new products for the respective demand. Sales business rules include decisions on the strategic share of contracted business volumes vs. flexible spot business volumes. These business rules often depend on sales channels and frame contracts with customers. The sales strategy can be matched with classical marketing mix decisions on products, prices, promotion and communication, as well as sales channel decisions. 

I mentioned three factors in federal law which impact on this disclosure problem. The first is that the Freedom of Information Act makes it difficult to withhold information. It does this both by an uncertain standard of confidentiality, and by the omission of the procedural protection which comes with all other kinds of adjudicative decisions by federal agencies. The courts rewrote the Freedom of Information Act s original intent in the 1974 National Parks v. Morton decision. Since that time, each submission to an agency has been vulnerable to disclosure if the owner fails to carry a rather difficult burden of proof That disclosure would cause substantial harm to competitive position at the time the disclosure is made. Assume that the owner of a secret catalyst had a market share of 10 in specialty fatty acids for rubber production, and filed the catalyst information with the EPA on April 1, 1982. When the request for disclosure comes in November 1983, what will the firm s market position be then, and how much would this... 

November 2002 The Technology Roadmap - suggested actions and targets based on published benchmarks for major fuel cell development programs around the world as well as in the UK. A set of development targets were established with the objective of giving the UK a competitive position in certain fuel cell markets. 

Among purely industrial fermentations, milk and its products, for historic and economic reasons, have received only limited attention. Decentralization of casein and cheese manufacture in the early days weakened the competitive position of the low-solids by-product, whey, relative to that of grains and molasses. With changing economic and market trends, by-products of milk which are suited for many industrial fermentations may become more competitive. In times of unusual demand, such as wars produce, these by-products are of considerable industrial interest. 

Electrodialysis is by far the largest use of ion exchange membranes, principally to desalt brackish water or (in Japan) to produce concentrated brine. These two processes are both well established, and major technical innovations that will change the competitive position of the industry do not appear likely. Some new applications of electrodialysis exist in the treatment of industrial process streams, food processing and wastewater treatment systems but the total market is small. Long-term major applications for ion exchange membranes may be in the nonseparation areas such as fuel cells, electrochemical reactions and production of acids and alkalis with bipolar membranes. 

Specialty companies are facing an ever tougher environment. Eventually, the extent to which a company will manage to outperform other players, be they existing players, financial investors or new low-cost entrants, will depend on its ability to develop a strategy which will enable it to shape a leading competitive position in a market or arena that can allow it to tap into its advantages, and to achieve superior operational performance at the business unit level. 

In particular, they will have to develop strategies which will enable them to shape a leading competitive position in markets or arenas where they can tap into their advantages, and to achieve superior operational performance at the business unit level. 

In addition, many of the buyout firms that have already invested still monitor the deal pipeline for further acquisitions in order to strengthen the competitive position of their portfolio companies and/or to consolidate market segments. For example, in late 2004, The Blackstone Group announced it had bought Acetex for USD 490 million and Vinamul Polymers, ICI s emulsion polymer business, for USD 208 million in order to strengthen the competitive position of its portfolio company Celanese. 

One of the most prevalent compensation strategies is to establish a target salary that is tied to compensation for similar positions in the appropriate competitive marketplace. Market pricing is a formal process for determining the external value of a position compared to an organization s competitive market. This is a job-based method of defining compensation structure. 

However, increased integration into downstream businesses like plastics processing is likely to be less valuable, for downstream markets tend to be very competitive and require an understanding of consumer markets. Also, taking a downstream position that involves expansion into a customer s business puts companies in a potentially uncomfortable competitive position. 

The commercial price that the company thinks it can obtain for the product, or for a course of treatment, will depend on some of the other factors mentioned above, such as the predicted time of market launch, the competitive positioning and the relative cost of competitor products in the countries to be marketed. The cost of goods (CoG) is an estimate of the sum of the cost of the drug substance, excipients, packaging materials, manufacture, labour and overheads, among other things, that contribute to making the product. 

To maintain their competitive position, U. S. companies have built plants abroad both jointly with foreign interests and through subsidiaries. The creation of the European Common Market has helped this trend, since special advantages are offered products manufactured inside the Common Market. 

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