The competing companies detailed above will be compared in terms of products and services offered, distribution, transport, website, and their certification. Each of the criteria can be rated on a scale of 1 – 3, where 3 is the highest possible rating.
As far as the promotion is concerned, companies could not be compared in terms of their marketing strategy and marketing tools used, as this information are not publicly available and not all companies are willing to disclose such information. Therefore, companies will be compared at least in terms of the content of their websites.
The individual criteria and their verbal evaluation can be seen in the following table.
Products and services 1 Material sale only
2 Sale of material and its processing (cutting, heat-cutting, welding, etc.)
3 Sale of material, its processing, and surface treatment (painting, zinc plating, etc.) Distribution
1 Local or regional
2 Domestic, within the Czech Republic 3 Domestic and international
Transport
1 Without the transport possibility 2 Possibility of arranging own transport
3 Possibility of arranging own transport or securing an external carrier Website
1 Basic information (range of products and services, information about the company, contact information) in Czech only
2 Basic information with the multiple language possibility
3 Website with multiple language possibility containing also new or business activities of the company (sponsoring), etc.
Certification 1 No certification 2 ISO standards
3 ISO standards and other certificates or standards
Table 3: Comparison criteria (Own Processing)
B&B Commercial Activity and its largest competitors are further rated using the above mentioned criteria.
Criteria
B&B Commercial
Activity
Competitors
Ferona Raven Nypro Steelcom Arcimpex Britterm Products and
services 3 2 2 2 2 2 1
Distribution 2 3 3 2 3 2 3
Transport 2 2 3 3 2 3 2
Website 3 2 3 2 2 3 2
Certification 3 3 3 2 2 3 2
Total 13 12 14 11 11 13 10
Table 4: Benchmarking (Own Processing)
The results show that B&B Commercial Activity is in a very good position compared to its biggest competitors. In the overall rating, it received only one point less than Raven, which was rated the highest number of points for all criteria, except for the products and services offered. According to the points evaluation, Arcimpex was rated at the same level as B&B Commercial Activity. Other companies were rated lower. The worst-ranked company was
Britterm, whose main weakness is also the products and services offered, as the company only mediates the sale of materials but does not offer subsequent processing of materials or their surface treatment.
In essence, there are not many differences between B&B Commercial Activity and its competitors. All companies offer basically the same products, and only a few differences can be seen regarding the subsequent processing of the material. Still, even here, none of the companies stands out significantly, except for the company Britterm, which only mediates the sale of the material. Differences can be seen in the operation of the domestic and foreign markets, which may be related to the company's size.
The reason why these companies can be considered large competitors is mainly their size compared to B&B Commercial Activity. It is a fact that competing companies are larger in comparison with B&B Commercial Activity. Therefore, these companies can be considered a threat in that customers prefer these large companies. However, even though B&B Commercial Activity, as an initially small company, operated only regionally, it gradually developed into a medium-sized business company with operations throughout the Czech Republic. Moreover, they plan the construction of new facilities and centralization of the company's centers. From this, it can be concluded that the company is thriving and competitive.
12 SWOT ANALYSIS
The basis for the performed SWOT analysis was the information provided by the management of B&B Commercial Activity and the carried out analyzes of the company's environment and its competitors.
Strengths Weaknesses
S1: "Family" approach of a purely Czech company
W1: The economic strength of the company compared to multinational companies S2: Employee loyalty W2: Dependence on several large customers
sales S3: Great teamwork
S4: Good relations with suppliers, customers, and public
S5: Competitive advantage in the form of the provision of processing and other services
Opportunities Threats
O1: Expansion into the foreign market T1: Strengthening the position of the largest competitive companies
O2: New technologies
O3: Cooperation with new business partners T2: Insolvency of the customers O4: Implementation of unused marketing
communication tools T3: Entry of new competitors or foreign companies into the domestic market Table 5: SWOT analysis (Own Processing)
The so-called ‘plus-minus matrix’ is used to analyze the SWOT analysis, which compares the mutual relations between the individual factors of the internal and external environment.
Using the output of this matrix, it is possible to obtain an overview of key factors that can be further used as a basis for processing the project part of the thesis.
SWOT O1 O2 O3 O4 T1 T2 T3 Ʃ
S1 0 0 + + - 0 0 +1
S2 0 0 + 0 0 0 0 +1
S3 0 + 0 + 0 0 0 +2
S4 0 0 + 0 0 - 0 0
S5 + + + + - 0 - +2
W1 - 0 0 0 - 0 - -3
W2 0 0 0 0 - - - -3
Ʃ 0 +2 +4 +3 -4 -2 -3
Table 6: Plus-minus matrix (Own Processing)
It can be seen from the results of the matrix that the most important strengths of the company are primarily teamwork and its competitive advantage in the form of providing services of material processing or surface treatment. Less significant strengths are employee loyalty and the family approach of the company. Good relations with customers, suppliers, and the public received a neutral rating, mainly due to the threat of customers becoming insolvent, which would undermine good business relations. Based on the number of mutual interactions and the resulting evaluation, it can be said that the most prominent strength of the company is its competitive advantage. Therefore, the potential of this strength can be used in the preparation of a marketing strategy.
Regarding the company’s weaknesses, both aspects were rated the same. Thus, they can be said to be of equal importance. When comparing interactions, it can be seen that dependence on only a few large customers has mutual interactions with all three threats. In case of a threat to strengthen the position of the major competitors, there is a risk that one of the company’s large customers will switch to the competition. The same applies to the entry of new competitors or foreign companies to which existing customers of B&B Commercial Activity may switch. The threat of insolvency of the customers also has a huge impact on the company, as its dependence on large customers would cause a huge financial loss and possible existential problems for the company.
According to the results of the matrix, the most prominent opportunity for the company is cooperation with new business partners. Whether they are new material suppliers who can provide cheaper and higher quality material or faster delivery time, or customer who would increase the company’s turnover. Another important opportunity is the implementation of unused marketing tools, especially in connection with the company’s competitive advantage, which is its strength. This aspect can be highlighted when promoting the company. Another opportunity of less significance is the use of new technologies. This aspect is certainly an opportunity for the company to expand and streamline production, but it is necessary to emphasize its financial capital intensity. The opportunity of the company’s expansion into a foreign market received a neutral rating. This confirms the fact that the company does not plan to enter the foreign market anytime soon, but it may be an opportunity for the company to develop further in the future.
According to the matrix results, the biggest threat to the company is the strengthening of the position of large competing companies. The entry of new competitors or foreign companies into the domestic market poses less of a threat. The least threat to the company is customer insolvency. All these threats are interdependent on the company’s weakness, on its dependence on only a few large customers. However, the results of the matrix can be confirmed, as it is probably less likely that a regular and large customer becomes insolvent and that one of the major competitors strengthens its market position even further.
13 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
The following interview was answered by the owner of the company – Josef Buják.
According to the current situation with Covid 19, the interview was carried via email and information gained during the interview were used in the analytical part. The interview was originally made in the Czech language and then translated into English for the purpose of the thesis.