Part+II

Part II- Competitive Analysis, Central Issue, and Relevant Alternatives (Due this Friday, March 12)
Ok for this part we will be doing a competitive analysis of Lightfull Foods using "Porter's 5 forces," deciding upon the central issue/problem, and coming up with relevant alternatives.

Because this case was recorded over 2 years ago, the issue of using Stevia does not necessarily still apply since it has since been passed by the FDA for use. However, when we asked Dr. Hinson how he wanted us to accommodate for this change, he said we could do it both ways. So, for the time being whenever you are doing your analysis, or finding alternatives you need to **analyize it __2 ways__: as if we are still in 2007 and Stevia has not yet been passed, and in current times knowing that Stevia has passed.** From there we can then decide which way is the better way to go about analyzing the case.

Each person should try to write **about one page** for their topic (2 pages if both people are working together). Of course more is fine :). Also, remember to make sure you have ** your part posted to the discussion by Wednesday night/Thursday morning. **

Finally, some parts of the competitive analysis may require you to do further research to get a scope of what the entire industry consists of, **so if you find any info elsewhere make sure you cite it in your part.**

Ok here is everyone's parts. I'm going to post some more info below to help yall out but if you have any other questions post it in the discussion. Also, if you have more than one person with you working on a topic, feel free to split the work up as you see fit, or work together.

__**5 Forces (Competitve Analysis):**__ 1. **Threat of Entry** Beau Billeaud Jessica Mostaccero 2. **Power of Suppliers** Meshon Plant 3. **Power of Buyers** Michelle Day Sarah Kneiling 4. **Threat of Substitutes** Todd Cooper 5. **Rivalry among existing competitors** Brittany Bourg Peter Menard

Lauren Marinovich Andrew McGinty
 * __Central Issue:__**

Kevin Foster William Carpenter
 * __Relevant Alternatives:__**

_

Ok here is what each part should discuss:
__** 1.Threat of Entry **__ -Analysis of the 7 major barriers to entry (Supply-side economies of scale, Demand-side economies of scale, Customer Switching Costs, Capital Requirements, Incumbency advantages, Unequal access to distribution channels, Restrictive Gov't Policy) -The likelihood of "expected retaliation" __ -Do suppliers to Lightfull foods (LF) have power to: charge higher prices, limit quality of products/services, or shift industry costs to LF? -Analyze this based on: __** 3. The Power of Buyers **__ -Do Buyers of LF products have power to: force prices down, demand better quality, or play one industry participant off another? -Analyze this based on:
 * Porter's 5 Forces- Competitive Analysis (Refer back to articles for more examples)**
 * 2. The Power of Suppliers** __
 * concentration of supplier's industry vs. LF's industry
 * supplier's dependency on LF's industry for revenues
 * whether LF faces switching costs
 * whether suppliers offer differentiated products
 * whether substitutes are available for seller's product
 * whether supplier has the ability to integrate into LF's industry
 * are there few buyers, or one buyer who purchases a large volume?
 * are LF's products standardized or undifferentiated?
 * do buyers face few switching costs?
 * can buyers integrate backwards?
 * does product represent a large portion of buyer's budget?
 * does buyer have low profits (strapped for cash)?
 * is quality of buyers product affected by LF's product?
 * does LF's product have little affect over buyer's other costs?

__** 4. Threat of Substitutes **__ -Look over competition listed in case -Analyze based on: __ -Also use competitors listed in case -Analyze: >size or power of competitor is large? >industry growth is slow? >exit barriers are high? >competitors are highly committed to being leaders of industry? >firms not easily able to read each other's signals? >whether price competition is likely to occur because: +they compete with products/services that are nearly identical? +fixed costs are high and marginal cost are low? +capacity must be increased in large increments to be efficient? +product is perishable?
 * whether offers attractive price-performance trade-off?
 * whether buyer's switching cost for substitute is low?
 * whether substitutes offer any other competitive advantages?
 * 5. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors** __
 * Intensity of competition:
 * Basis w/ which they compete on:

-list all issues that exist -prioritize least important to most -which issues are critical? -identify functional are and specific problem
 * Central Issue (see "Case Analysis Procedure):**

-REMEMBER: to do this based on it still being 2007 and Stevia not being passed, and also to look at from a current perspective (with Stevia being passed) -Also remember to discuss each alternative and effect it might have on any of the goals, or constraints
 * Relevant Alternatives:**__