Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

The term ‘suppliers’ comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services.

Supplier bargaining power is likely to be high when:

• The market is dominated by a few large suppliers rather than a fragmented source of supply
• There are no substitutes for the particular input
• The suppliers customers are fragmented, so their bargaining power is low
• The switching costs from one supplier to another are high
• There is the possibility of the supplier integrating forwards in order to obtain higher prices and margins

This threat is especially high when

• The buying industry has a higher profitability than the supplying industry
• Forward integration provides economies of scale for the supplier
• The buying industry hinders the supplying industry in their development (e.g. reluctance to accept new releases of products)
• The Buying industry has low barriers to entry.

In such situations, the buying industry often faces a high pressure on margins from their suppliers. The relationship to powerful suppliers can potentially reduce strategic options for the organization.