Supplier Power (one of Porter’s Five Forces)

See also:
Supplier Power Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces of Competition
Threat of New Entrants
Buyer Bargaining Power
Threat of Substitutes
Intensity of Rivalry

Supplier Power Definition

In Porter’s five forces, supplier power refers to the pressure suppliers can exert on businesses by raising prices, lowering quality, or reducing availability of their products. When analyzing supplier power, you conduct the industry analysis from the perspective of the industry firms, in this case referred to as the buyers. According to Porter’s 5 forces industry analysis framework, supplier power, or the bargaining power of suppliers, is one of the forces that shape the competitive structure of an industry.

The idea is that the bargaining power of the supplier in an industry affects the competitive environment for the buyer and influences the buyer’s ability to achieve profitability. Strong suppliers can pressure buyers by raising prices, lowering product quality, and reducing product availability. All of these things represent costs to the buyer. Furthermore, a strong supplier can make an industry more competitive and decrease profit potential for the buyer. On the other hand, a weak supplier, one who is at the mercy of the buyer in terms of quality and price, makes an industry less competitive and increases profit potential for the buyer.
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Supplier Power – Determining Factors

The supplier power Porter has studied includes several determining factors. If suppliers are concentrated compared to buyers – there are few suppliers and many buyers – supplier bargaining power is high. Conversely, if buyer switching costs – the cost of switching from one supplier’s product to another supplier’s product – are high, the bargaining power of suppliers is high. If suppliers can easily forward integrate or begin to produce the buyer’s product themselves, then supplier power is high. Supplier power is high if the buyer is not price sensitive and uneducated regarding the product. If the supplier’s product is highly differentiated, then supplier bargaining power is high. The bargaining power of suppliers is high if the buyer does not represent a large portion of the supplier’s sales. If substitute products are unavailable in the marketplace, then supplier power is high.

And of course, if the opposite is true for any of these factors, supplier power is low. For example, low supplier concentration, low switching costs, no threat of forward integration, more buyer price sensitivity, well-educated buyers, buyers that purchase large volumes of standardized products, and the availability of substitute products. Each of the four mentioned factors indicate that the supplier power Porter’s five forces emphasize is low. To help determine the level of supplier power in your industry, start by performing an external analysis. This tool will easily help you determine the level of all of Porter’s Five Forces. Download the free External Analysis whitepaper by clicking here or the image below.