Final capsim report

State of the Industry: The sensor industry is an attractive industry due to its’ rapid growth rates and high entry barriers.

Additionally, there are no close substitute products. The bargaining power of suppliers is not a factor affecting the sensor industry at this time. However, the bargaining power of buyers is extremely strong, due to the fact that switching costs are low, and most product segments are fairly standardized. The sensor industry is also characterized by intense rivalry among six strong competitors. State of the Company: Chester Sensor Corporation is in a good competitive position at the end of the seventh year of operations.

It would have been much more difficult to sustain profitable growth in this extremely competitive market without the superior volume growth of the sensor industry. Future managers of Chester should continue plant improvements and labor initiatives, while focusing on product segments with the highest contribution margins. Management needs to develop accurate forecasting techniques to avoid the inventory swings seen in the first five years, and the inventory stock outs that occurred for at least one product every year. Future success will depend on leveraging the core competencies of Chester and the accurate analysis of competitor’s actions and direction, due to the strong competitive rivalry of the industry. We learned from the Capsim Management Simulation that even if you put all the correct cost efficient business processes into your business, you may not be successful. It is not enough to plan for an individual department; managers need to understand how all the departments are interrelated to form a whole.

Managers need to understand how their firm fits into the competitive environment. You need to know what your buyers value and what your competitors are doing to provide that value. We improved our strategic management skills by learning to analyze the competitive environment, looking at the big picture. We learned success depends on building your firms’ strengths and understanding the competitive environment in which your business operates.