Situation Analysis

Students are to select a product (goods or service), and with appropriate approval from their tutor prepare a Situation Analysis of the environment which their product operates in.

As a guide you should include the following:

1. Company Mission.

The overall guiding vision of the company, or what this company stands for.

2. Company Objectives.

Corporate objectives to be achieved over the next 12 months. (These are different to product objectives - refer to the Assignment description if you are still unsure what is required).

These objectives help to set the scene that your product operates within. They will show whether the company is looking to grow or consolidate, be innovative and take risks or be reactive and conservative in its approach.

3. Market overview.

Describe and analyse the market place and the trends and forces operating within it. Include analysis such as:

• Definition of the market or category

You need to very clearly define and describe the market your product operates in. The broader the definition of your market the more competitors there are likely to be and the narrower the definition the less scope there is for market segmentation and finding new users for your product.

Ask yourself whether you are analysing the ‘confectionary market' or only the Chocolate Bar' category. If you are concentrating on the Chocolate Bar category , it is very worthwhile to show where it fits in to the overall market. You can do this by describing the confectionary market and defining the various product categories that fit into it, such as, chocolate bars, boxed chocolates, children's treats (Kinder Surprise), confectionary bags and so on. You could then go on to describe what proportion of the confectionary market it represents and

compare the growth trends of the total market and this particular category. For instance, it would be significant to know that the chocolate bar market represents 25% of the confectionary market and although the confectionary is stagnant, Chocolate Bars are still growing at 7-8% per annum. (You should also specify the types of products included in your definition of the market/ category).

• Market Size

What is the size of the market? Quantify the size of the market in volume (000's cases/ kilos) and/ or value ($000) terms.

• Market Potential

Is this a growth market? Can you estimate next years growth rate? Is this an attractive market to be in? What stage of the life cycle is

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