The Industry Profile, part of the external analysis, can be summed up as a industry analysis and a market analysis. Part of the strategic business planning process.
Create a profile of the industry that you will be operating in. Again, this will show you your business opportunities and threats.
Look at and consider the following aspects of your intended industry:
- Market size
- What stage of the growth cycle is the industry in? (Introduction, growth, maturity, decline).
- How are technological advances affecting this industry.
- Are the products or services within the industry very different or very similar?
- Are their any economies of scale that can be used in this industry.
- Will any machinery used in this industry need updating in the near future.
- How is the industry currently covered? Are there a few large companies that produce your product/service or is the market serviced by a number of small companies.
With regards to your business:
- List if you are going to be a manufacture, distributor, wholesaler, retailer or end user or are you going to be a combination of the above.
- Is there training available for this industry? If so, is it accessible and affordable?
- What is the trend for the cost of marking/servicing the products? For example, are raw material prices going up or down. If you use transport what are the petrol prices doing. If you import or export products what affect with the exchange rate have on the cost of producing your product.
- Summarize if you feel that this is a profitable industry.
