Assessment of the level of competitiveness of the enterprise. selection of indicators for evaluating products and enterprises

The competitiveness of the company and the competitiveness of the goods differ.

The competitiveness of the firm this is an opportunity to offer a product that satisfies the competitive requirements of the consumer, in the required quantity, at the right time and on the most favorable terms (price, basic terms of delivery, organization of maintenance, provision of a loan, etc.)

Product competitiveness – it is its usefulness as a use-value under specific conditions. The purpose of an economic analysis of the competitiveness of a product is to identify from a group of similar products such a product that would meet certain characteristics and would be in the greatest demand. The buyer is interested in the ability of the product to satisfy a competitive need. This takes into account the technical characteristics of the product, and the price, and the prestige of the manufacturer, and the ability of the company to organize an effective after-sales service system, etc.

Firm competitiveness and the competitiveness of its product are directly dependent. The higher the competitiveness of the product, the higher the demand for this product, and the greater the economic effect the company receives from its sale. The economic effect is expressed primarily in the profit received. An increase in demand leads to an increase in both the rate and the mass of profit. Conversely, a decrease in demand leads to a decrease in the norm, and then the mass of profit.

Competitiveness indicators are contained in the annual reports of firms and company directories.

In addition to profit, indicators of competitiveness are :

- sales volumes in monetary and quantitative terms. If the value of the product sold grows faster than its physical volume, then the demand for it grows. And vice versa

- the ratio of profit to sales volume. With an increase in this indicator, the competitiveness of products grows;

- the ratio of sales to the cost of inventories.

- share of the cost of unsold products in inventories. With its growth, overstocking of finished products occurs, since demand for it decreases;

- the ratio of sales to the cost of unsold products.

- the ratio of sales to the amount of accounts receivable. P provides the volume of commercial credit that the firm provides to its customers.

The company's management decides to reduce the capacity utilization as soon as there are difficulties with the sale of finished induction;

- portfolio of orders. A high level of demand for the company's products provides a large portfolio of orders;

- research costs. This indicator indicates the potential of the company;

6 Price planning methods and technology

· Cost Based Pricing Method production and sale of products. Its essence lies in the fact that the price of the goods is formed by adding a margin to the cost of the goods.

Pros:- the objective basis of the price is the costs that can be reliably determined in contrast to such factors as demand, the level of competition, etc.

The method reduces price competition, since it allows you to set the optimal, rather than the maximum price level.

By setting prices using this method, enterprises do not revise them as demand fluctuates, which equalizes prices for similar goods.

The method of pricing based on costs in practice can be implemented in the following forms.

· The break-even method is based on inclusion in the price of profit, based on a predetermined rate. The calculation of the price using this method is carried out in the following sequence. First, the total production and sales costs are calculated for the most probable output in the planning period. Then the internal rate of return on production costs is established and the required amount of profit is calculated on its basis. After that, the required amount of proceeds from the sale of the planned volume of products is calculated, which provides compensation for costs and receipt of this amount of profit. The unit price of the product in this case is determined by dividing the proceeds from sales by the planned volume of output in physical terms.

· Average cost plus profit method consists in adding various allowances to the average costs per unit of production, covering the cost of costs not included in the base cost of production, taxes and payments included in the price of the product at rates in accordance with applicable law, as well as the profit of the enterprise. The amount of the allowance can be standard for each type of product, as well as differentiated depending on the type of product, cost, unit, sales volume.

· Competitive-Based Pricing Method lies the fact that the price may not be directly dependent on costs, and the latter may be changed in accordance with the conditions existing in the market. The price calculated by this method may be lower than the market price, at or above it, depending on the position of consumers reactions to the price of competitors, features of the product and the service provided. Companies that adhere to this method change the prices of their products only if competitors change their prices.

A variation of the pricing method with a focus on the level of competition is tender pricing. It is used in cases where several firms compete with each other in the struggle for a contract. The tender is the price set by the selling firm. When determining it, the company proceeds, first of all, from the prices that competitors can offer, and not from the level of its own costs or the magnitude of demand for the product.

· Demand Based Pricing Method. The price level depends on the level of demand for this product. This method is based on the need to take into account the law of demand and price elasticity. This means that freedom in setting the price of a product is limited by the peculiarity of the demand curve, which reflects the relationship between prices and demand for goods that has developed in a particular market.

· The method of setting a price based on the perceived value of the product. It is based on the buyer's subjective assessment of the value of the goods or services offered by the enterprise. It is believed that the consumer establishes a relationship between the usefulness of the product and the price. This method allows you to determine the upper and lower limits of the price. Its upper limit is the price that the richest buyer agrees to pay for the proposed product, and the lower limit is the cost of production and sales of products.

Planning the production program of the enterprise

Production program (PP)- this is a detailed plan for the production and sale of products, reflecting the volume, nomenclature, range of products and established based on market needs.

The development of the production program is carried out in the following sequence:

1) determination of the need for manufactured products;
2) compilation of the nomenclature and range of products;
3) determination of volumes (in physical terms) and terms of production of certain types of products;
4) correlation of the production program with the available resources and, first of all, with the production capacity. If necessary (for example, in case of a shortage of a resource), it is possible to return to the second step;
5) calculation of the volume of production in value terms.

Goals of the PP:

1) obtaining maximum profit;

2) satisfaction of the product sales market;

3) lower production costs, etc.

PP indicators:

- quantitative, characterizing the volume of products and the dynamics of their changes;

- qualitative, reflecting the production and technical (material consumption, accuracy, power) and operational (reliability, maintainability) advantages of the products.

There are absolute and relative quantitative indicators.

Absolute indicators reflect the volume of manufactured products in natural (conditionally natural); labor (temporary) and cost indicators.

When compiling the production program, natural (conditionally natural) and cost indicators are used.

natural indicators (nomenclature and assortment) reflect the volume of manufactured products and are expressed in pieces, tons, cubic meters and other physical units.

To expand the scope of natural indicators are used conditionally natural indicators They are used in the case of planning the production of homogeneous, the same type or the same name products.

Product range- this is the composition of manufactured products by their types or names.

Range- this is the composition of a given type (name) of products by types, brands, profiles, grades, etc.

The production program is developed by economic services on the basis of information provided by the marketing department and the production and dispatch department.

The objectives of the production program are as follows:

1) determining the price of the product;

2) allocation of production costs;

4) determination of production capacities.

The main sections of the production program are:

1) the plan for the production of the enterprise's products;

2) a plan for the release of products for export (if any);

3) a plan to improve product quality;

4) plan for the sale of products.

Control of the implementation of the production program is the control of the implementation of the entire business plan of the enterprise. In this regard, after the approval of the program, it is necessary not only to bring it to production services, but also operational control of its implementation.

Production capacity planning. Calculations of the main indicators of production capacity.

Productive capacity- the maximum possible annual output, calculated on the basis of the full use of all installed equipment, the full use of its operating time during the year, i.e., with the optimal use of all factors that determine output.

When calculating the power, the following factors are taken into account:

· the structure and size of fixed production assets;

Qualitative composition of the equipment, the level of physical and obsolescence;

· advanced technical standards for equipment productivity, space utilization, labor intensity of products, output of products from raw materials; - degree of specialization;

the mode of operation of the enterprise;

the level of organization of production and labor;

Fund of equipment operation time; the quality of raw materials and the rhythm of deliveries.

Productive capacity- the value is not constant. Power reduction occurs for the following reasons: equipment wear; increase in the complexity of manufacturing products; change in the range and range of products; reduction of the fund of working time; expiration of the equipment lease.

Production capacity planning consists in performing a set of planned calculations that make it possible to determine: design, input capacity; output power; indicators of the degree of power utilization.

The design production capacity is established by the project for the construction, reconstruction and expansion of the enterprise. Input (incoming) production capacity is the capacity at the beginning of the year, showing what production capabilities the enterprise has at the beginning of the planning period. Output (outgoing) production capacity is the capacity at the end of the year. It is defined as the sum of the input and commissioned capacities during the planned period minus the capacity retired during the same period.

Production planning is carried out on the basis of the average annual power (Ms), calculated by the formula:

Ms \u003d Mn + Mu (Ch1 / 12) + Mr (Ch2 / 12) + Moon (Ch3 / 12) - Mv ((12 - Ch4) / 12

where Мн is the production capacity at the beginning of the planned period (year);

Mu - increase in capacity due to organizational and other measures that do not require capital investments;

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 - respectively, the number of months of power operation;

Мр - increase in capacity due to technical re-equipment, expansion and reconstruction of the enterprise;

Mun - increase (+), decrease (-) capacity due to changes in the range and range of products, the receipt of industrial production assets from other enterprises and their transfer to other organizations, including leasing;

Мv is a decrease in power due to its retirement due to dilapidation.

The level of utilization of production capacities is characterized by a number of indicators. The main one is the capacity utilization factor, which is defined as the ratio of annual output to the average annual capacity of a given year. Another indicator - the equipment load factor - is defined as the ratio of the actually used time fund (in machine hours) of all equipment to the available time fund for the same range of equipment for the same period. This metric identifies redundant or missing hardware.

Material Procurement Planning

The purchase of material resources at the enterprise is a commercial activity to provide the material and technical resources of the production process, more often needed at the stage of starting production. The main purpose of the purchase of material resources- transfer of material resources to specific manufacturing enterprises.

The purchase of material resources for the enterprise is aimed at reducing production costs and creating conditions for an uninterrupted process of production activities.

The purchase of material resources consists of the following functions:

preparation and supply of material resources;
warehousing and ensuring the proper quality of resources;
processing and preparation of material resources for the production process;
procurement management of material resources.

Planning the purchase of material resources at the enterprise is the first stage of the purchase. When organizing a purchase, it is necessary to determine the need for material resources according to the specified nomenclature for an agreed planning period.

The planning process includes the following steps:

Market research of raw materials and materials;

Determining the needs of the enterprise for the entire range of consumed materials;

Drawing up a plan for the procurement of materials;

Cost analysis of the procurement enterprise.

Three main procurement methods:

Wholesale purchases . This method involves the supply of goods in a large batch at a time (bulk purchases). Advantages: ease of paperwork, guaranteed delivery of the entire batch, increased trade discounts. Disadvantages: a large need for storage space, a slowdown in capital turnover.

Regular purchases in small batches. In this case, the buyer orders the required quantity of goods, which is delivered to him in batches over a certain period of time. Advantages: faster capital turnover, saving storage space.

Procurement as needed . This method is similar to a regular purchase, but the quantity of goods is determined approximately, the fulfillment of each order is agreed between the supplier and the buyer, and only the delivered quantity of goods is paid. Benefits: accelerated capital turnover, no obligation to purchase a certain amount.

The most common procurement management methods can be grouped as follows:

The method of increasing the volume of purchases is as follows:

1. The demand for specific types of products is taken into account to make a decision on their purchases.

2. Demand is analyzed for at least 12 months. to account for all possible types of seasonal fluctuations.

3. Sufficient volume of demand is determined for 12 months. to create stocks of a particular type of product.

4. Inventory decisions are based on the number of orders for specific products, not on the number of products sold.

The method of reducing the volume of purchases is as follows:

1. Monthly analyzes the statistics of sales of products that are not in demand.

2. Based on sales statistics, those types of products are determined, the volume of stocks of which should be reduced.

3. Criteria are developed on the basis of which the need to reduce or eliminate specific types of product stocks is determined.

4. The share of slow-moving types of products is minimized on the basis of taking into account indicators of the volume of stocks of products.

Method of direct calculation of purchase volumes (calculation of average values without taking into account the dynamics and cyclical nature of demand)

QUESTION

From an economic point of view, strategic planning is a typical long-term development plan, which reflects growth rates, expansion of the range of products, and an increase in revenue. In strategic management, strategy is the definition of the long-term goals of the organization, the program of actions and the allocation of resources needed to achieve these goals in a competitive environment. Moreover, the goals of strategic development must be exhaustively proven based on the analysis and assessment of the potential of the enterprise and the possibilities of the external environment.

Strategic planning is an important component of management. This is a continuous process of analyzing and forecasting the production activities of any, even the smallest, firm. This is a system of five interdependent stages, such as:

1) goal setting;

2) assessment of the current state of the organization;

3) strategy definition;

4) development of a long-term plan;

5) plan correction.

Each stage is carried out with the help of tactical actions. As a result, strategic planning aimed at solving cardinal problems is supported by ongoing planning, which ensures the achievement of strategic goals. Of course, in this case, the continuity of plans, their interconnection, should be ensured, although the structure of planning decisions, planning methods, and implementation periods will be different.

As a rule, for any enterprise, it is enough to analyze the market, the technical level of production, the analysis of labor resources and the social sphere, the analysis of the management system and financial analysis for the previous 3-5 years.

Then it is planned to carry out a set of measures to achieve them, which together determine the strategy of the enterprise in the field of marketing, management, its technical, personnel and financial policy.

The development of an enterprise strategy is possible both by the enterprise's own staff and with the help of hired specialists. In modern conditions, using foreign experience, we can conclude that hired strategic planners are much more profitable for any company. This is due to the fact that the development of this type of plans requires special qualifications, and maintaining a specialist of this level is quite expensive. In addition, very often the management of certain companies, using their own employees, is faced with the problem of the lack of an objective assessment of the activities of their enterprise, which once again proves the advantage of hiring third-party planning specialists.

Some authors propose to assess competitiveness through the financial performance of the organization (this applies to earlier approaches to assessment). The disadvantage of the approach is that it does not take into account a number of internal factors, in particular the most important - the timing, quality and cost of production.

However, most methods for assessing the competitiveness of organizations are based on the use of various financial and economic indicators of production, marketing, financial activities, investment efficiency, etc. This approach is the most complete and widely used abroad. However, for its practical use in assessing the competitiveness of an organization, it is often necessary to refine the proposed financial and economic indicators, taking into account the specifics of the industry and region.

In the literature, there are various methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise, but at the same time in Russia there is no generally accepted methodology for assessing competitiveness that would be acceptable for various types of organizations in certain industries. In general, even in theoretical terms, the problem of achieving the competitiveness of various objects in the conditions of the Russian economy is currently being solved poorly.

Consider the most well-known methods for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise:

1. Methodology based on the theory of effective competition.

This technique gives the most complete picture of the competitiveness of the organization, covering the most important aspects of its economic activity. According to the theory of effective competition, the most competitive are those organizations in which the work of all departments and services is best organized. The effectiveness of their activities is influenced by many factors - the resources of the enterprise. Evaluation of the performance of each unit involves assessing the effectiveness of its use of these resources.

2. Express assessment of the competitiveness of the organization.

This methodology is based on the assessment of many factors that contribute to / hinder the increase in the competitiveness of the organization. By interviewing experts (managers, employees of the enterprise), the factors are evaluated on a 5-point scale. Of the factors rated less than 2 points and in respect of which there are significant differences in the opinions of employees and the manager, a problem field is formed.

3. Methodology for assessing the competitiveness of an organization using a competitive map.

According to this method, a competitive market map is built using 2 indicators: occupied market share; market share dynamics. The distribution of market share makes it possible to identify 4 standard positions of organizations in the market: market leaders, organizations with a strong competitive position, organizations with a weak competitive position, market outsiders.

4. Methodology for assessing the competitiveness of the organization, taking into account the influence of the factor of the internal and external environment.

In this technique, it is proposed to take into account the influence of factors not only of the internal, but of the external environment. An indicator of competitiveness that takes into account environmental factors is proposed to be called an indicator of the external competitiveness of an organization. The indicator of competitiveness, calculated by the competitiveness of individual resources of the organization, is called the indicator of internal competitiveness of the organization.

The indicator of internal competitiveness is calculated through the indicators of the organization's competitiveness in terms of its fixed assets, in terms of the level of financial management, in terms of the level of personnel and production management.

5. Methodology for assessing the competitiveness of an organization, taking into account the attractiveness of the industry and the competitive potential of the organization.

The methodology takes into account the position of the organization in terms of the attractiveness of the industry as a zone of operation of the organization, as well as internal competitive potential.

The assessment of the attractiveness of the industry is carried out in 2 stages. At the first stage, the factors influencing the prospects for growth in demand for products are analyzed - the level of concentration, the degree of technology renewal, industry growth rates, foreign competition, entry barriers, purchasing power, the duration of the product life cycle, etc. At the second stage, an analysis is made of trends in the industry profitability factors such as fluctuations in profitability and prices, R&D costs, the degree of industry competitiveness, the level of integration of enterprises in the industry, etc.

For quantitative measurement and comparability, all factors are converted into points (from 0 to 3). The final coefficient is determined by summing the scores according to the attractiveness of the industry and the competitive position of the enterprise.

6. Methodology for assessing the competitiveness of an organization based on external competitive advantages.

An assessment of the competitiveness of an organization using this method is a comparison of the characteristics of an organization with similar indicators of priority competitors in order to determine the characteristics that create advantages for the organization over competitors. When assessing, only the external competitive advantages of the organization are used, information about which is much easier to obtain, including competitors.

7. A technique that uses as a basis the assessment of the competitiveness of a product (service).

This technique is based on the assertion that the competitiveness of a manufacturer is the higher, the higher the competitiveness of its products. As an indicator of the competitiveness of a product, the ratio of quality and price characteristics of the product is used. The most competitive product has the optimal ratio of these characteristics. The higher the difference between the consumer value of the product for the buyer and the price he pays for it, the higher the margin of competitiveness of the product.

8. Assessment of the actual and strategic competitiveness of the organization.

The methodology proposes to subdivide the competitiveness of the organization into strategic and actual. The actual competitiveness is calculated by the sum of the products of the specific weights of the organization's goods, indicators of the significance of the market and the competitiveness of goods in a particular market.

Strategic competitiveness is evaluated through the sum of the products of the value of the indicator of the organization's strategic competitiveness and its weight. Indicators of the organization's strategic competitiveness are determined by comparing the standard of the organization's strategic competitiveness indicator and the value of this indicator of the priority competitor.

Thus, the presented methods for assessing the competitiveness of an organization have their strengths and weaknesses, areas of application. The performed analysis shows that there is no complete standard methodology for assessing and managing the competitiveness of organizations. Without a quantitative assessment, all work to improve it is subjective and incorrect.

Competitiveness- is the ability of a particular object or subject to meet the needs of interested parties in comparison with other similar subjects and / or objects. Objects can be goods, enterprises, industries, regions (countries, regions, districts). The subjects can be consumers, producers, the state, investors.

Competitiveness can be determined only by comparing objects or subjects with others among themselves.

Product competitiveness is a set of consumer and cost characteristics of a product that determine its success in the market.

One of the components of competitiveness is the quality of products (services). Product quality- this is a certain set of properties of the goods, capable to some extent satisfy the required needs when they are used for their intended purpose, including recycling or destruction.

The production activity of any enterprise in modern conditions depends on how successfully the problems associated with the competitiveness of products are solved. Only by solving this problem, the enterprise can function effectively and develop in a market environment. This is the reason for the relevance of the chosen topic.

The successful operation of enterprises in a competitive environment depends on a system of interrelations of an external and internal nature.

According to many scientists, integral factors and, above all, investment, innovation and financial factors have the greatest impact on the competitiveness of enterprises.

The main requirements for achieving competitive production are: the use of advanced technology, modern management methods, timely renewal of funds, ensuring production flexibility, proportionality, continuity and rhythm of processes.

Components of the competitiveness of the product

Essence, indicators and factors of product competitiveness

The struggle for the consumer is, first of all, the struggle for the sphere of influence in the market, and it, in turn, depends on the low price and quality of manufactured products, that is, use value. In the course of competition, a social need for this product is established, an assessment is given with the determination of the price level.

The strength of the company's position in the market is determined by the competitiveness of its products and the ability to compete.

Competitiveness reflects the quality side of the products offered. Competitive is the product, the complex of consumer and cost properties of which ensures its commercial success in the market. A competitive product is a product that compares favorably with competitors in terms of quality and socio-economic characteristics.

The indicators of the competitiveness of a product are:

Competitiveness means high quality goods while maintaining high wages and living standards. The most important factor ensuring competitiveness is the increase in the rate of labor productivity.

Quality parameters, as a rule, are determined based on the interests of the manufacturer, and competitiveness parameters - on the basis of the interests of the consumer. The level of quality and technical level of products are set by the technical level of modern production, and in order to assess competitiveness, it is necessary to compare it with the level of development of needs.

For each product, it is necessary to assess its level of competitiveness in order to further analyze and develop a successful product policy.

Competitiveness assessment consists of the following stages:

Market analysis and selection of the most competitive product;
Determining the comparative parameters of product samples;
Calculation of the integral indicator of the competitiveness of the evaluated goods.

The competitiveness of a product largely determines the competitiveness of the enterprise itself, its financial and economic condition and reputation.

Competitive sustainability of the enterprise contributes to the compliance of enterprise management and its technological structure. The greater the gap between the organization of enterprise management and the technical level of production, the faster it loses its competitiveness.

The production and sale of competitive goods and services is a general indicator of the viability of an enterprise. However, the production of competitive products can be resource-intensive and costly, which in market conditions will inevitably lead to a decrease in efficiency, a decrease in profits, and a deterioration in the financial position of the enterprise. In this case, additional financing is required, which, as a result, reduces the competitiveness of the manufacturer.

The use of intensive technologies, a high level of mechanization are necessary conditions for obtaining income from manufactured products.

In order to produce goods at the level of world standards, new technologies and modern equipment are needed. This requires significant investments capable of ensuring not only the high quality of Russian goods, but also creating new jobs.

The second group of factors are indicators of product quality, determined by the current standards, norms, recommendations.

The third group of factors affecting the level of competitiveness include economic indicators that form the cost and price of goods.

Ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise is achieved through compliance with the fundamental principles of the market system and the reasonable use of factors affecting the efficiency and competitiveness of production.

The main principles of enterprise competitiveness include:

The process of formation of competitiveness is a set of organizational and economic measures to bring production programs for the production of products of a certain volume, range and quality in line with the existing production potential. One of the main factors in the formation of competitiveness is the maximum use of competitive advantages.

Competitive advantages

In theory, there are two main types of competitive advantages of a commodity producer.

The essence of the first is lower production costs due to concentration and better production technology, which means the ability to sell at prices lower than competitors.

The second type of competitiveness is based on meeting the special needs of the buyer, his requests for a premium price.

Competitiveness acts as part of the reproduction process in relation to the ways and methods of managing in the market of goods and services and is estimated by the mass of profit in relation to the consumed and used resources.

There are also five factors identified by M. Porter that determine competitiveness.

In addition, M. Porter identifies the five most typical innovations that give a competitive advantage:

The competitiveness of an enterprise is a relative characteristic that expresses the differences in the development of this enterprise from the development of competitors in terms of the degree to which their goods meet the needs of people and the efficiency of production activities. The competitiveness of an enterprise characterizes the possibilities and dynamics of its adaptation to the conditions of market competition.

We formulate the general principles that give competitive advantages to enterprises, these are:

The focus of each and every employee on the action, on the continuation of the work begun.
Proximity of the enterprise to the client.
Creation of autonomy and creative atmosphere in the enterprise.
Productivity growth through the use of people's abilities and their desire to work.
Demonstration of the importance of common values for the enterprise.
The ability to stand firm.
Ease of organization, minimum levels of management and staff

The place of product competitiveness in enterprise management

Product Competitiveness Management

The competitiveness of a product is a decisive factor in its commercial success in a developed competitive market. A significant component of the competitiveness of a product is the level of consumer costs during its operation. In other words, competitiveness is a complex of consumer and cost characteristics of a product, which determine its success in the market.

Since there are always manufacturers behind the goods, we can rightly speak about the competitiveness of the respective enterprises and the countries in which they are located. Any product, being on the market, is actually tested for the degree of satisfaction of social needs: each buyer purchases the product that satisfies his personal needs to the maximum, and the entire set of buyers purchases the product that most fully meets social needs than competing products.

In this regard, the competitiveness of a product is determined only by comparing the products of competitors with each other. In other words, competitiveness is a relative concept, tied to a specific market and time of sale. All buyers have their own individual criteria for assessing the satisfaction of their own needs, so competitiveness also acquires an individual shade.

Competitiveness can only be determined by properties of significant interest to consumers. All product characteristics that go beyond these interests are not considered in assessing competitiveness, since they are not related to it. Exceeding the norms, standards and rules (provided that it is not caused by the upcoming increase in state and other requirements) not only does not improve the competitiveness of the product, but, on the contrary, often reduces it, as it leads to higher prices without increasing consumer value, which makes them appear useless to buyers. The study of the competitiveness of a product must be carried out continuously, in close connection with the phases of its life cycle. This is due to the need to timely catch the moment of the beginning of a decrease in the indicators of the competitiveness of the goods and the possibility of making appropriate decisions (for example, to withdraw from production, upgrade the product, etc.). At the same time, it is assumed that the release of a new product before the old one exhausts the possibilities of maintaining competitiveness is, as a rule, economically inexpedient.

At the same time, any product after entering the market begins to gradually spend its competitiveness potential. This process can be slowed down and temporarily delayed, but it cannot be stopped. Therefore, a new product is designed according to a schedule that ensures that it enters the market by the time a significant loss of competitiveness of the old product.

Competitive marketing strategies at the corporate level aim to provide a competitive advantage of the enterprise in the market relative to competing firms. The meaning of competitive strategies is the ability of an enterprise to maintain a certain market share (or market segment) or increase it.

Competitive advantage is achieved by the enterprise by solving the following issues:

How can competitive advantage be gained?
How are marketing opportunities to achieve competitive advantage determined?
What are the possible strategies for achieving competitive advantage?
How to assess the response of competitors?

To solve these problems and manage the competitive position of organizations, the following models can be used:

General competitive matrix;
Model of competitive forces;
Competitive Advantage Matrix;
competitor response model.

Ways to ensure the competitive advantage of products

Based on the general competitive matrix of M. Porter, the competitive advantage of an enterprise in the market is provided in three main ways:

1). Product Leadership- based on the principle of product differentiation. In this case, the focus is on:

product improvement,
making them more useful,
brand product development,
design, service and warranty service,
formation of an attractive image, etc.

When the value of the product in the eyes of the consumer increases, he is ready to pay a higher price for the desired product. At the same time, a price increase that is acceptable to the buyer must be greater than the increase in the costs of the enterprise for the production and maintenance of the element of differentiation.

The combination - high utility and high price - forms the "market power" of the product. Market power protects the manufacturer from competition, provides the company with a stable position in the market. Marketing management then aims to constantly monitor consumer preferences, control their "values", as well as the life of the elements of differentiation corresponding to this value.

2) Price leadership. This path is provided by the enterprise's ability to reduce production costs. Here the main role is given to production. Close attention is directed to:

investment stability,
product standardization,
cost management,
introduction of rational technologies,
cost control and the like.

Cost reduction is based on the use of the "experience curve" (the cost of producing a unit of output falls by 20% every time the volume of production doubles), as well as the "law of experience" derived from it.

The law of experience states: "The unit cost of obtaining added value for a standard good, measured in constant monetary units, decreases by a fixed percentage for each doubling of output."

3) Niche leadership manifests itself in focusing a product or price advantage on a specific market segment.. Moreover, this specialized segment should not attract much attention from stronger competitors. Such leadership, as a rule, is used by small businesses. Niche leadership can also be used by large organizations to highlight a narrow group of consumers (professionals, people with a certain income level, etc.).

The type of strategy directly depends on the position occupied by the enterprise in the market, and on the nature of its actions.

According to the classification proposed by F. Kotler, the market leader occupies a dominant position in the market and makes the greatest contribution to its development. The leader often represents a "point of reference" for competitors who attack, imitate or avoid him. The leading enterprise has significant strategic opportunities.

Market leader pursuer- this is an enterprise that does not currently occupy a dominant position, but wants to attack the leader.

Occupying a certain position in the market, enterprises choose proactive (active) or passive strategies to ensure their competitive advantages (see table).

Strategy	Characteristic
"Market Capture"	It implies the expansion of demand for products through the use of product or price leadership, the search for new consumers, increasing the intensity of consumption, etc.
"Market Defense"	Impact on "their" consumers in order to keep them in the field of activity of the enterprise, for example, through advertising, service, promotion, etc.
"Market Lock"	Prevent harassers from gaining advantages in certain marketing areas: product, distribution, price, and so on
"Interception"	Reaction to the innovations of the pursuers to reduce the possible effectiveness.
"Attack in the forehead" ("frontal attack")	Use by the pursuer of the superiority achieved over the leader to establish a competitive advantage
"Breakthrough" ("flank attack")	Exploiting any one weakness of the leader
"Environment"	Gradual accumulation of advantages over the leader by identifying his weaknesses, bypassing the competitor from different sides.
"Following the Course"	Minimizing the risk of a leader's response, for example in pricing policy.
"Concentration of forces in advantageous areas"	The choice of market segments that do not attract the attention of stronger competitors.
"Bypass"	Avoiding competition by releasing non-competing goods, services, using unattractive marketing channels for competitors, etc.
"Saving Positions"	Maintaining consistency in market activities that do not attract the attention of competitors (status quo).

Now let's turn to pricing management.

Competitive pricing is aimed at maintaining price leadership in the market. Here are the following methods:

"Price War";
"Cream skim price";
"Price of penetration";
"Price along the learning curve".

Price wars are used, as a rule, in the market of monopolistic competition. When setting a price higher than that of competitors, a small number of buyers are attracted. If the price is lower than competitors, then competitors will respond in kind. The desire to attract consumers with low prices leads to low profits over time.

Cream skim prices (or prestige prices) are set for new, trendy, prestige products. The calculation is aimed at those market segments where buyers will begin to purchase them, despite the high price level. As competitors offer the same products, this segment will be saturated. Then the enterprise will be able to move to a new segment or a new level of "cream skimming". The task is to stay ahead of competitors and maintain leadership in a certain area of the market.

The cream skimming strategy is seen as both a cautious financial and marketing problem at the same time. The main advantage of this strategy is that it leaves the possibility of subsequent price adjustments taking into account market evolution and competition. From a marketing point of view, lowering the price is always easier than raising it. On the financial side, it allows you to quickly free up resources for use in other projects.

Penetration pricing involves setting lower initial prices relative to competitors' prices. Penetration prices should create a barrier for competitors to produce similar products. The policy of low prices is more aimed at obtaining long-term profits (compared to the "quick" profits of high prices).

The learning curve price is a trade-off between skimming and penetration. This approach involves a rapid transition from high prices to lower ones to attract a wide range of buyers and counter competitors.

Product competitiveness assessment

Methods for assessing the competitiveness of products

The assessment of competitive products reflects the relevant functional tasks: studying the market situation (demand, supply, prices, market capacity, distribution channels), determining a set of consumer and economic indicators of competitiveness (natural, cost, relative), choosing a basis for comparing competitors (analysis of competitiveness indicators, choosing object as a basis for comparison, calculation of the integral indicator of competitiveness).

The competitiveness of a product is assessed by comparing the parameters of the analyzed product with the parameters of the comparison base, since, as mentioned above, competitiveness is a relative concept. The need of buyers or a sample can be taken as a basis for comparison. A sample is usually a similar product that has the highest sales volume and the best marketing prospects. In the case when the need is taken as the base of comparison, the calculation of a single indicator of competitiveness is carried out according to the formula:

If a sample is taken as a comparison base, the value of the i-th parameter for the product taken as a sample is put in the denominator of the fraction.

In the case when the product parameters do not have a physical measure, scoring methods are used to evaluate their characteristics.

The method described above (differential) only allows us to state the fact that it is necessary to increase or decrease the parameters of a product in order to increase competitiveness, but does not reflect the influence of each parameter when a consumer chooses a product.

A complex method is based on the use of group, generalized and integral indicators. In this case, the calculation of the group indicator for technical parameters is carried out according to the formula:

Imn- group indicator of competitiveness by technical parameters;
gi- a single indicator of competitiveness for the i-th technical parameter;
L i- the weight of the i-th parameter in the general set of technical parameters characterizing the need;
n- the number of parameters involved in the evaluation.

The calculation of the group indicator by economic parameters is carried out according to the formula:

Where Z, Z 0 are the total costs of the consumer, respectively, for the evaluated products and the sample.

The total costs of the consumer include one-time costs for the purchase of goods (Z e) and the average total cost of operating the goods:

T - service life;
i- a year in order.

The mixed method allows you to express the ability of a product to compete in certain market conditions through a complex quantitative indicator - the competitiveness coefficient:

i= 1…n - the number of product parameters involved in the evaluation;
j= 1…n - types of products;
L i- coefficient of importance (significance) in comparison with other essential parameters of the product;
P ij- competitive value i-th parameter for j-th products;
Pin- desired value i-th parameter, which allows you to fully satisfy the need of the indicator;
i = +1 P ij contributes to the growth of competitiveness of products (for example, reliability, product performance, and so on);
i = -1, if increasing the value of the parameter P ij leads to a decrease in the competitiveness of products (for example, weight, size, price, etc.).

Thus, with the help of numbers, one can characterize the competitiveness of one product in relation to others. Comparison of goods is carried out using a comparison table of parameters. According to the results of the comparison by one of the three methods described, one of the following conclusions can be drawn:

The conclusion on competitiveness is supplemented by conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of the product being evaluated compared to similar ones, as well as proposals for measures necessary to be taken in order to improve the position of the product on the market.

Based on the results of assessing the competitiveness of a product, the following decisions can be made:

change the composition and structure of the materials used, components or product design;
change the order of product design;
change the manufacturing technology of goods, test methods, quality control system for manufacturing, storage, packaging, transportation, installation;
change prices for goods, prices for services, for maintenance and repair, prices for spare parts;
change the procedure for selling goods on the market;
change the structure and size of investments in the development, production and marketing of goods;
change the structure and volume of supplies in the production of goods, prices for components and the composition of selected suppliers;
change the supplier incentive system;
change the structure of imports and types of imported goods.

The basis for assessing competitiveness is comparing the characteristics of the analyzed goods with a specific need and identifying their correspondence to each other. For an objective assessment, it is necessary to use the same criteria that the consumer operates when choosing a product on the market. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem of determining the range of parameters to be analyzed and significant from the point of view of consumers.

Parameters for assessing the competitiveness of a product

The nomenclature of parameters used in assessing the competitiveness of a product consists of two general groups:

Technical parameters include the parameters of a need that characterize the content of this need and the conditions for its satisfaction (see the figure below).

Brief description of the parameters:

1) The destination parameters characterize the scope of the product and the functions that it is intended to perform. These parameters are used to judge the content of the beneficial effect achieved through the use of this product in specific conditions of consumption.

Destination parameters, in turn, are divided into:

classification parameters that characterize the belonging of a product to a particular class. These parameters are used for evaluation only at the stage of selecting the scope of competing products;
parameters of technical efficiency that characterize the progressiveness of technical solutions used in the development and manufacture of products;
design parameters that characterize the main design solutions used in the development and production of goods.

2) Ergonomic parameters characterize the product in terms of its compliance with the properties of the human body when performing labor operations or consumption;

3) Aesthetic parameters characterize information expressiveness (rational form, integral composition, perfection of production performance, stability of presentation). Aesthetic parameters model the external perception of the product and reflect its external properties, which are the most important for consumers;

4) Regulatory parameters characterize the properties of the goods, regulated by mandatory norms, standards and legislation.

The group of economic parameters includes the total costs of the consumer (consumption price) for the acquisition and consumption of products, as well as the conditions for its acquisition and use in a particular market. The total costs of the consumer in the general case consist of one-time and current costs.

The final decision on the choice of the nomenclature of parameters for assessing competitiveness is made by the expert commission, taking into account the specific conditions for the use of these products and the purposes of the assessment. The scheme for studying competitiveness is presented below.

The ultimate goal of any firm is to win the competition. The victory is not a one-time, not accidental, but as a logical result of the constant and competent efforts of the company. Whether it is achieved or not depends on the competitiveness of the company's goods and services, i.e. on how much they are better compared to analogues - products and services of other firms. What is the essence of this category of market economy and why, with all the efforts of any firm, it cannot be strictly guaranteed?

Usually, the competitiveness of a product is understood as a certain relative integral characteristic that reflects its differences from a competitor product and, accordingly, determines its attractiveness in the eyes of the consumer. But the whole problem lies in the correct definition of the content of this characteristic. All delusions start here.

Most beginners focus on the parameters of the product and then, in order to assess competitiveness, compare some integral characteristics of such an assessment for different competing products. Often this assessment simply covers quality indicators, and then (not uncommon) the competitiveness assessment is replaced by a comparative assessment of the quality of competing analogues. The practice of the world market clearly proves the incorrectness of this approach. Moreover, studies of many product markets unequivocally show that the final purchase decision is only one third related to product quality indicators. What about the other two-thirds? They are associated with significant and significant enough for the consumer conditions for the acquisition and future use of the goods.

In order to better understand the essence of the problem, we single out several important consequences of this proposition.

1. Competitiveness includes three main components. One of them is tightly connected with the product as such and largely comes down to quality. The other is related both to the economics of creating sales and service of goods, and to the economic opportunities and limitations of the consumer. Finally, the third reflects everything that can be pleasant or unpleasant for the consumer as a buyer, as a person, as a member of a particular social group, etc.
2. The buyer is the main appraiser of the goods. And this leads to a truth that is very important in market conditions: all elements of the competitiveness of a product must be so obvious to a potential buyer that there could not be the slightest doubt or other interpretation regarding any of them. When we form a "competitiveness complex", in advertising it is very important to take into account the peculiarities of psychological education and the intellectual level of consumers, as well as many other factors of a personal nature. An interesting fact: almost all foreign advertising manuals emphasize material related to advertising in an illiterate or intellectually undeveloped audience.
3. As you know, each market is characterized by "its" buyer. Therefore, the idea of some kind of absolute, not related to a specific market, competitiveness is initially illegal.

In the fierce struggle between American and Japanese manufacturers in almost all advanced technology markets, the position of the Japanese so far looks preferable. For what? The almost unanimous answer in the 80s was this: price and quality. But already a decade ago, the level of sales, advertising and service culture of Japanese firms began to attract more and more attention from marketers around the world. And today they are already talking about the fact that the "philosophy of quality", characteristic of the Japanese, is becoming only an integral part of their own "philosophy of service" that is now being formed. All this more or less coincides with the main positions noted earlier. But here's what's interesting: a number of American researchers and businessmen have long and persistently said that Japan quickly formed an opinion about the highest quality of its products through skillful propaganda, rather than actually showing it in practice.

Even allowing here a significant (and very!) share of exaggeration, and wounded pride, we note that in general, the "image of the country" gives a tangible boost to the competitiveness of its goods.

The market economy, and after it its scientists, have long and well understood that trying to schematically express the competitiveness of a company is the same as trying to show with a diagram all the complexity and all the subtleties of the market process. For them, competitiveness has become just a convenient term that concentrates attention and thought, behind which all the variety of strategic and tactical methods of management in general and marketing in particular are lined up. Competitiveness is not an indicator, the level of which can be calculated for yourself and for a competitor, and then win. First of all, it is a philosophy of working in a market environment, focusing on:

understanding the needs of the consumer and their development trends;

knowledge of the behavior and capabilities of competitors;

knowledge of the state and trends of the market development;

knowledge of the environment and its trends;

the ability to create such a product and bring it to the consumer in such a way that the consumer prefers it to a competitor's product.

competitiveness trading marketing

With the development of market relations, ensuring the required level of quality of products and services should be a strategic direction for any economic unit. At the same time, the key concept related to the object of the market (product, service) is its competitiveness.

Competitiveness is a property of an object, characterized by the degree of actual or potential satisfaction of a specific need by it in comparison with similar objects presented on the market. Competitiveness determines the ability to withstand competition in comparison with similar objects in a given market.

Each company strives to present its potential customers with a competitive advantage.

Competitive advantage is any exclusive value imposed by the system that gives it superiority over competitors. Factors of competitive advantage can be tangible or virtual; external and internal; basic or secondary.

There are quite a lot of indicators of the competitiveness of any enterprise, as well as a trade one, and all of them are important for target markets and consumers.

The main indicator, of course, is the product of the enterprise, its services and goods. The range of goods or services is a key link in the activities of the entire enterprise.

Consumer criteria for the competitiveness of goods and services determine the value, or utility, represented by the main characteristics: quality and range.

Quality is a synthetic indicator that reflects the combined manifestation of many factors - from the dynamics and level of development of the national economy to the ability to organize and manage the process of quality formation within any economic unit. At the same time, world experience shows that it is in the conditions of an open market economy, unthinkable without intense competition, that factors appear that make quality a condition for the survival of commodity producers, a determining result of their economic activity.

In recent years, such properties and characteristics of products as environmental, ergonomic, and aesthetic have become increasingly important. Environmental indicators characterize the compliance of a product or production with the requirements of environmental protection and are based on rational and careful use of natural resources. Ergonomic ones are related to the properties and characteristics of the human body and are designed to comply with hygienic (light, toxicity, noise, vibration, dustiness, etc.), anthropometric (correspondence of the shape and design of the product to the size and configuration of the human body), physiological, psychological and other requirements. Aesthetic indicators determine the external form and type of product, its design, attractiveness, expressiveness, emotional impact on the consumer, etc.

At the same time, quality is closely related to another indicator of competitiveness - assortment. Moreover, a number of quality indicators are simultaneously used to identify the assortment characteristics of goods. These indicators include organoleptic indicators (appearance: taste, content, color, etc.). The assortment characteristic of a product of a specific name and / or trademark is established according to its functional purpose. The range of services implies not only the target products of enterprises providing services, but also their varieties in terms of complexity, skill, target direction, as well as related services and goods that help complete the entire transaction process in one place, within one company.

The increased importance of indicators of assortment identification (functionality, appearance, etc.) determines the greater role of assortment as a criterion of competitiveness. Assortment of goods is essential for making a decision to buy it, especially if it is not impulsive, but pre-planned and serves as a means of meeting urgent needs. For example, a consumer who needs winter boots will not buy summer shoes, even if their quality and price are attractive to him.

Therefore, according to the degree of significance of the criterion - assortment and quality - these two concepts can be equivalent, and in some cases, especially for trading companies, a large assortment affects decisions where to purchase products. It is always convenient to buy everything at once in one place.

But it is not the quantity of the assortment of goods and services that is important, but the ratio and selection of this assortment. The buyer will not even think to go to the bakery to look at the boots there, and vice versa. That is, the assortment must be correctly selected and aimed at the main market niches: construction, household, industrial ... etc.

It is very important to choose a range of goods so as to satisfy all the tastes and wishes of potential customers. To provide related goods or services, to give the client a choice in models and manufacturers, in designer and color diversity, as well as a difference in properties and characteristics, in price aspects of the goods.

A fairly large role, and sometimes a fundamental one, is played by the pricing policy of the enterprise. If a trading company determines too high a trade margin for a product, then it will not break through on the market, as competitors will give a lower (average) price and the buyer will go to a more perspicacious competitor.

An unreasonably low price breaks the market, while the organization does not receive the necessary profitability to invest profits in further projects and developments.

A trading firm needs to occupy a target market niche and determine the total market share of the main product range. There must be some basic goods, and associated, as well as under the order. The main type of product should be exclusive, that is, the most competitive. All activities of the enterprise can be based on this product. If the product is competitive in terms of prices and assortment, then the organization selling this product also increases its competitiveness.

It is also necessary to analyze such an indicator of competitiveness as the image of the organization. If the company, communicating with clients, has established itself as a serious and responsible organization, then clients and friends will advise their friends to work with this company. Reputation comes with time and based on public opinion, which is created by evaluative criteria.

For modern enterprises, especially trading and service ones, the following criteria can be distinguished:

helpfulness;

quick response to orders;

deadlines;

willingness to give advice and consult;

technical and production capabilities;

regularity of visits and shipments;

flexible pricing systems;

providing a high level of services;

cordiality of contacts;

extensive work experience;

modernity;

dynamism;

competence of service personnel;

the ability to provide a wide range of services and goods.

In this regard, if an enterprise is aimed at long-term work in the goods market, it needs to build its image and maintain it.

The main types of driving forces of competition.

1. Dynamics of the scale of long-term demand. An increase or decrease in long-term demand is an important factor in investment decisions to increase the productive capacity of existing firms. A rise in long-term demand often attracts new firms to the market, while a fall in demand, on the contrary, attracts new firms.
2. Dynamics of the structure of demand. These changes represent the reason for changing consumer requirements for service, the creation of other distribution channels, a change in the range of products, modification of marketing tactics.
3. Product upgrade. Product upgrade can expand the market, stimulate demand growth. When the market is characterized by the rapid spread of a new product, the renewal of the industry's product is a key driving force - it affects production methods, effective scale of production, marketing costs, distribution channels.
4. Technological innovation. Frequent technological innovations in production methods can greatly change the unit costs of production, the size of investments, and increase the value of the product life cycle effect. All of the above can cause significant changes in the requirements for the size and number of firms that successfully operate in the market.
5. Marketing innovations. From time to time, firms offer their products to the market, using new ways and means, trying to increase consumer interest, push demand, and reduce unit costs. Thus, they set in motion new forces that change the conditions of competition and the positions of rival firms.
6. Dynamics of leadership. It means entry into competition or exit from it by large firms. That is, a new round of competition: the redistribution of roles and the selection of new key players, a change in the structure of the market.
7. Diffusion of achievements. If a new technology becomes known to rivals, suppliers, distributors, consumers, the advantages of the know-how-owning firm are easier to enter the industry, they lower barriers to new ones, and it is easier for suppliers and consumers to vertically integrate into the industry.
8. Dynamics of efficiency. When new efficient scales of production emerge in an industry that reduce unit costs, large firms can force other firms into "growth boost" strategies.
9. Buying preferences. Often, a growing number of buyers decide that consumer goods at low prices suit their tastes and preferences just as well as products with higher prices that offer choices.
10. State regulation of the market. The actions of the state through its institutions, including the regulation of economic relations, as well as changes in public policy, can affect the market and competitive conditions.
11. Growth of determination. Means reduction of uncertainty and risk. New industries are characterized by great uncertainty about the potential market opportunities (for example, the volume, range and nature of products, pricing policy, range of customers, potential competitors, etc.) When the company has passed the first stages of entering the industry (to the market), then uncertainties disappear and companies abandon simple strategies and start modifying competitive strategies.

T. 3

Enterprise competitiveness

The competitiveness of an enterprise is its advantage in relation to other enterprises in the industry within the country and abroad. Competitiveness is not an immanent quality of a firm, which means that the competitiveness of a firm can only be assessed within a group of firms belonging to the same industry, or firms producing similar goods (services). Competitiveness can only be revealed by comparing these firms with each other, both on a national scale and on a global market scale. Thus, the competitiveness of a firm is a relative concept: the same firm within, for example, a regional industry group can be recognized as competitive, but not within the global market or its segment. Assessment of the degree of competitiveness, i.e. identifying the nature of the competitive advantage of the company in comparison with other companies, is primarily in the choice of basic objects for comparison, in other words, in the choice of a leading company in the country's industry or abroad. Such a leading company should have the following parameters:

The commensurability of the characteristics of the products produced by the identity of the needs satisfied with its help;

The commensurability of the market segments for which the manufactured products are intended;

The commensurability of the phase of the life cycle in which the firm operates.

Thus, the competitive advantage of one firm over another can be assessed when both firms satisfy identical customer needs related to related market segments. At the same time, firms are approximately in the same phases of the life cycle. If these conditions are not met, the comparison will be incorrect. Further, based on the fact that competitiveness reflects the productivity of the use of the company's resources, to assess it, it is necessary to choose criteria for the productivity of the use of resources. In the event that the activity of the company is related to making a profit, and the total resources are estimated in monetary terms, the productivity of the use of resources by the company can be assessed by the indicator of production profitability, i.e. the ratio of profits received in a particular period to the resources spent in the same period, estimated as production costs. In addition, for an objective assessment of the competitiveness of the company, its management needs the ability to track the market, especially outside the country. The complexity, and sometimes complete lack of access to information about the activities of competitors, can create an unreasonable opinion among the company's management about the superiority of the company over competitors, lead to complacency and weakening of efforts related to maintaining the required level of competitive advantage of their company. At present, in order for the firm to be competitive in the struggle with leading firms, completely new approaches to the organization of production and management are required than those that managers were guided by in the past. And, first of all, new approaches are needed in investment policy, when carrying out technical reconstruction at the enterprise, in the process of introducing new equipment and technology. The competitiveness of an enterprise depends on a number of factors that can be considered components (components) of competitiveness. They can be divided into three groups of factors:

Technical and economic;

Commercial;

Legal.

Techno-economic factors include: quality, selling price and costs of operation (use) or consumption of products or services. These components depend on the productivity and intensity of labor, production costs, high technology (tm) products, etc. Commercial factors determine the conditions for the sale of goods in a particular market. These include:

Market conditions (severity of competition, the relationship between supply and demand for a given product, national and regional market features that affect the formation of effective demand for a given product or service);

Provided service (availability of manufacturer's dealerships and service stations in the buyer's region, quality of maintenance, repairs and other services provided);

Image of the company (brand popularity, reputation of the company, company, country).

Regulatory factors reflect the requirements of technical, environmental and other (possibly moral and ethical) safety of using the product in this market, as well as patent and legal requirements (patent cleanliness and patent protection). In case of non-compliance of the goods with the norms and requirements of standards and legislation in force in the period under review on this market, the goods cannot be sold on this market. Therefore, the assessment of this group of factors and components using the coefficient of compliance with the standards is meaningless. The high competitiveness of the company is a guarantee of high profits in market conditions. At the same time, the company aims to achieve a level of competitiveness that would help it survive in a sufficiently long time period. In this regard, any organization faces the problem of strategic and tactical management of the development of the enterprise's ability to survive in changing market conditions. Competitiveness management involves a set of measures for the systematic improvement of the product, the constant search for new channels for its sale, new groups of buyers, improving service, advertising. The basis of the competitiveness of the enterprise is the competitiveness of its products.

Criteria and indicators of enterprise competitiveness

Before proceeding to the consideration of the issue concerning the criteria for the competitiveness of an enterprise, it is necessary to define the concept of "criterion". So, in modern economic dictionaries under criterion understand the sign on the basis of which an assessment, definition or classification of something is made.

An indicator is data by which one can judge the development, course, state of something.

The need to develop and use a system of criteria and indicators of the competitiveness of an enterprise is due to the desire to manage economic processes, purposefully work to improve production efficiency, and concentrate resources on priority areas.

Krotkov A. M., Eleneva Yu. Ya. distinguish three levels of ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise:

– operational level;

- tactical level;

- strategic level.

At each of these levels of ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise, they highlight the relevant criteria:

1) at the operational level, the criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is an indicator of the competitiveness of products;

2) the tactical level is represented by such a criterion of the competitiveness of an enterprise as a complex indicator of the state of the enterprise;

3) the criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise at the strategic level is the growth in the value of the enterprise.

In addition, Krotkov A. M., Eleneva Yu. I highlight the key characteristics of the state of the enterprise that affect its competitiveness:

The first two characteristics refer to the operational level of enterprise competitiveness management. The third, fourth and fifth characteristics of the state of the enterprise determine the tactical level of management. The last two characteristics constitute the strategic level of competitiveness management.

Depending on the specific goals of the analysis, various indicators or their combination are used, which give a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the enterprise's activities in the field of ensuring competitiveness. Assessing the level of competitiveness of an enterprise makes it necessary to use a number of indicators that indicate the degree of stability of the situation, the ability to produce products that are in demand among consumers and provide him with a stable profit. So, according to I. N. Gerchikova, “the assessment of the competitiveness of an enterprise should be based on such indicators as:

- the need for capital investments, actual and for the future, both in general and for individual types of products;

- the range of competitive products, their volume and cost (product differentiation);

- a set of markets or their segments for each product (market differentiation);

- the need for funds to generate demand and stimulate sales;

- a list of measures and techniques by which an enterprise can provide itself with an advantage in the market: creating a favorable image of the company among buyers, producing high-quality and reliable products, constantly updating products based on its own developments, clearly fulfilling obligations under transactions regarding the timing of the supply of goods and services " .

Grebnev E. T. proposes to use the following indicators to assess the competitiveness of an enterprise:

- the ratio of the total cost of sales to the cost of unsold products;

- the ratio of profit to the total cost of sales;

- the ratio of the cost of products sold to its quantity for the current period;

- the ratio of the amount of sales to the amount of receivables;

- the ratio of the value of marketing expenses to the total amount of profit.

A decrease in the value of the first indicator indicates a drop in demand for the company's products and overstocking of finished products, an increase in the second indicator indicates an increase in the competitiveness of the enterprise, the third indicator determines due to which factor sales increased - due to rising prices or due to an increase in sales volumes, the fourth - shows , what share of sold products was purchased by buyers on the basis of a commercial loan, and the fifth allows you to identify unproductive costs along the entire chain of distribution from producer to consumer.

We tried to identify the most important criteria and indicators of the competitiveness of the enterprise.

The first criterion is efficiency of production activity of the enterprise. The assessment of the competitiveness of an enterprise according to this criterion involves the consideration of such groups of indicators as:

– efficiency of production process control;

– profitability of production costs;

– rationality of use of fixed assets;

- the perfection of the technology of manufacturing goods, the organization of labor in production.

The second criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is financial condition of the enterprise. Assessment of the financial condition of an enterprise involves consideration of indicators grouped into the following groups:

1) indicators of property status;

2) indicators of liquidity and solvency of the enterprise;

3) indicators of financial stability;

4) indicators of business activity;

5) indicators of financial performance of the enterprise.

The third criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is effectiveness of marketing and product promotion. This criterion is characterized by the following indicators:

- coefficient of overstocking of finished products;

- profitability of sales;

is the capacity utilization factor;

The fourth criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is the competitiveness of products. When considering this criterion, the following indicators are used:

– product quality;

– product price;

- package;

- market share.

The fifth criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is its business activity. This criterion is characterized by the following indicators:

– reliability of suppliers;

– quick response to orders;

- volumes of supply of raw materials;

- investment attractiveness.

Let us consider in more detail the main indicators that characterize the criteria for ensuring competitiveness that we have identified.

The efficiency of the production activity of the enterprise is characterized by the following indicators:

– product profitability- this indicator can be calculated for all products sold and for its individual types. In the first case, it is defined as the ratio of profit from the sale of products to the costs of its production and sale. The profitability of all sold products is also calculated as the ratio of profit from the sale of marketable products to the proceeds from the sale of products. Profitability indicators of all sold products give an idea of the effectiveness of the current costs of the enterprise and the profitability of products sold.

In the second case, the profitability of individual types of products is determined. It depends on the price at which the product is sold to the consumer, and the cost for this type of product;

– capital productivity- this indicator allows you to judge how much production is in monetary terms per 1 ruble. fixed production assets. It is determined by the following formula:

where О Т is the cost of marketable or standard-net products produced during the year, rub.;

Fos - the average annual cost of fixed production assets, rub.;

– capital intensity- is the reciprocal of the return on assets. It is characterized by the cost of fixed assets per unit of production, rub.:

- material efficiency - characterizes the efficiency of the use of material resources of the enterprise. It is determined by the ratio of the volume of production to the cost of raw materials and materials spent on its production. This indicator shows how many units of finished products account for 1 unit of raw materials and materials spent;

- material consumption - the inverse indicator of material efficiency. It is determined by the ratio of the cost of raw materials and materials to the volume of production. Shows how many units of raw materials and materials account for 1 unit of manufactured products. The better raw materials, materials and other material resources are used, the lower the material intensity and the higher the material efficiency;

- labor productivity. Measurement of labor productivity is carried out by comparing the results of labor in the form of the volume of output with labor costs (the average number of industrial and production personnel). Depending on the direct or inverse relationship of these quantities, there are two indicators: production and labor intensity.

The most common and universal indicator is output, which can be hourly, daily, monthly (quarterly, annual). Working out represents the amount of production produced per unit of working time or per one average employee per month, quarter, year. It is determined by the ratio of the quantity of output produced to the expenditure of working time on the production of this output.

Along with the development, the indicator is widely used laboriousness products. The labor intensity of products is understood as the sum of all labor costs for the production of a unit of output at a given enterprise.

Labor productivity largely depends on the level and degree of complexity of automation and mechanization of production, on the use of high-performance equipment, low- or waste-free technological processes, and on the timely performance by employees of the enterprise of their functions. This indicator reflects the efficiency of the organization and use of labor force.

The economic development of an enterprise in today's rapidly changing technological world is no less dependent on the quality of its labor resources and investments in human capital in order to increase the interest of employees in creativity, innovation and adaptation to new technologies. One of the indicators indicating the interest of the enterprise in stimulating employees is the ratio of the average wage to the living wage. The higher this indicator, the greater the interest of employees in their work, the higher their motivation to achieve better results. In addition, the indicator of the ratio of average wages to the subsistence minimum indicates the quality of the process of reproduction of the labor force.

Before proceeding to the consideration of indicators characterizing the second criterion for ensuring the competitiveness of an enterprise, it should be noted that we will dwell in more detail on the most important, in our opinion, groups of financial indicators: indicators of the liquidity and solvency of the enterprise, financial stability and financial performance of the enterprise. The financial condition is the most important characteristic of the business activity and reliability of the enterprise. It determines the competitiveness of the enterprise and its potential in business cooperation, is the guarantor of the effective implementation of the economic interests of all participants in economic activity, both the enterprise itself and its partners.

Under the financial condition of the enterprise refers to the ability of the enterprise to finance its activities. It is characterized by the availability of financial resources necessary for the normal functioning of the enterprise, the feasibility of their placement and efficiency of use, financial relationships with other legal entities and individuals, solvency and financial stability.

In market conditions, when the economic activity of the enterprise and its development is carried out at the expense of self-financing, and in case of insufficiency of own financial resources - at the expense of borrowed funds, an important analytical characteristic is the financial stability of the enterprise, which is largely related to the overall capital structure of the organization, the degree of its dependence on lenders and investors. As a result of the implementation of any business transaction, the financial condition of the enterprise may remain unchanged, either improve or worsen. The flow of daily business transactions is, as it were, a “disturber” of a certain state of financial stability, the reason for the transition from one type of stability to another. Knowing the limits of change in sources of funds to cover capital investment in fixed assets or inventories allows you to generate such flows of business transactions that lead to an improvement in the financial condition of the enterprise, to increase its sustainability. To analyze financial stability, it is necessary to identify indicators that allow quantifying the above category.

Financial stability indicators characterize the condition and structure of assets, the level of borrowed capital and the organization's ability to service this debt. Among the indicators characterizing the financial stability of the organization, the following can be distinguished:

– coefficient of autonomy;

– coefficient of financial stability;

- coefficient of provision with own working capital;

- coefficient of maneuverability;

– the ratio of borrowed funds and equity;

- coefficient of security of material reserves with own working capital.

Autonomy coefficient shows what part of the total capital is own funds, i.e., the independence of the enterprise from borrowed sources of funds. The higher the value of this indicator, the more financially stable, stable and independent of external creditors the organization is. Regarding the degree of borrowing in foreign practice, there are different opinions. The most common opinion is that the share of equity should be large enough, since creditors are more willing to invest in an organization with a high share of equity, since it is more likely to repay debts at its own expense. In contrast to this opinion, many Japanese companies are characterized by a high share of attracted capital (up to 80%), and the value of this indicator is on average 58% higher than, for example, in American corporations. This is explained by the fact that in these two countries, investment flows are of a completely different nature - in the United States, the main flow of investment comes from the population, in Japan - from banks. Therefore, a high value of the concentration ratio of attracted capital indicates the degree of confidence in the corporation on the part of banks, and hence its financial reliability; on the contrary, the low value of this coefficient for a Japanese corporation indicates its inability to obtain bank loans, which is a certain warning to investors and creditors.

Financial stability ratio shows how much of the total capital is borrowed funds. The growth of this indicator in dynamics means an increase in the share of borrowed funds in the financing of the enterprise. If its value drops to one, this means that the owners are fully financing their enterprise.

Working capital ratio shows the extent to which the financing of working capital depends on borrowed sources.

Agility factor shows what part of the company's own funds is in a mobile form (in the form of current assets) and allows them to freely maneuver. The optimal value of this indicator largely depends on the nature of the enterprise's activity: in capital-intensive industries, its normal level should be lower than in material-intensive ones.

Debt to Equity Ratio allows you to see what proportion of borrowed funds covers equity. The growth of the indicator indicates an increase in dependence on external investors. The permissible level of dependence is determined by the operating conditions of each enterprise and, first of all, by the speed of turnover of working capital.

The ratio of the provision of material reserves with own working capital shows the extent to which inventories are covered by their own working capital. The level of the indicator is estimated primarily depending on the state of inventories. If their value is much higher than the reasonable need, then own working capital can cover only a part of inventories, i.e., the indicator will be less than one. On the contrary, if the enterprise does not have enough material reserves for the uninterrupted implementation of production activities, the indicator may be higher than one, but this will not be a sign of a good financial condition of the enterprise.

One of the main indicators characterizing the financial condition of the enterprise are indicators of liquidity and solvency.

Solvency means that the enterprise has cash and cash equivalents sufficient to pay for accounts payable requiring immediate repayment. Thus, the main signs of solvency are:

a) the availability of sufficient funds in the current account;

b) the absence of overdue accounts payable.

Distinguish between current and expected solvency. Current solvency is determined on the balance sheet date. An enterprise is considered solvent if it has no overdue debts to suppliers, bank loans and other settlements. Expected solvency is determined at a certain future date by comparing means of payment and senior obligations at that date.

When talking about liquidity enterprises, then they mean that he has defense funds in an amount theoretically sufficient to repay short-term obligations, even if they violate the terms of repayment provided for by contracts.

When considering the concept of liquidity of an enterprise, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts:

– asset liquidity;

- balance sheet liquidity.

Under asset liquidity understand its ability to be transformed into cash, and the degree of liquidity is determined by the length of the time period during which this transformation can be carried out. The shorter the period, the higher the liquidity of this type of assets.

Balance liquidity is defined as the extent to which an organization's liabilities are covered by its assets, the maturity of which is equal to the maturity of the liabilities. The balance is considered liquid if its condition allows, due to the rapid sale of funds on the asset, to cover urgent liabilities on the liability.

Based on the above definitions, it is obvious that liquidity and solvency are not identical to each other. Thus, liquidity ratios may characterize the financial position as satisfactory, however, in essence, this assessment may be erroneous if a significant proportion of current assets falls on illiquid assets and overdue receivables. In many ways, solvency depends on the degree of liquidity of the balance sheet. At the same time, liquidity characterizes not only the current state of settlements, but also the prospects.

As part of a detailed analysis of liquidity, a set of the following indicators is used:

1) the value of own working capital - characterizes that part of the enterprise's own capital, which is the source of coverage of current assets. Ceteris paribus, the growth of this indicator in dynamics is regarded as a positive trend. The main and constant source of increasing own working capital is profit. However, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of "working capital" and "own working capital". The first indicator characterizes the assets of the enterprise, the second - the sources of funds, namely, the part of the enterprise's own capital, considered as a source of coverage for current assets. The value of own working capital is numerically equal to the excess of current assets over current liabilities;

2) the maneuverability of functioning capital - characterizes the part of own working capital, which is in the form of cash with absolute liquidity. For a normally functioning enterprise, this indicator varies from zero to one. As a rule, the growth of the indicator in dynamics is considered as a positive trend. An acceptable indicative value of the indicator is set by the enterprise independently and depends, for example, on how high the daily need of the enterprise for free cash resources is;

3) coverage ratio (general) - gives an overall assessment of the liquidity of assets, showing how many rubles of the company's current assets account for one ruble of current liabilities. Since the company repays short-term liabilities mainly at the expense of current assets, then, therefore, if current assets exceed current liabilities in value, the company can be considered as successfully functioning. The value of the indicator can vary greatly by industry and type of activity, and its reasonable growth in dynamics is usually regarded as a favorable trend. In Western accounting and analytical practice, the critical lower value of the indicator is given - 2; however, this is only an indicative value, indicating the order of the indicator, but not its exact standard value;

4) quick liquidity ratio. This indicator is similar in meaning to the coverage ratio; however, it is calculated for a narrower range of current assets (the least liquid part of them, industrial stocks, is excluded from the calculation). The logic of such an exception is that the cash that can be obtained in the event of a forced sale of inventories may be significantly lower than the cost of acquiring them. In a market economy, a typical situation is when, during the liquidation of an enterprise, they receive 40% or less of the book value of inventories. According to international standards, the level of the indicator should be higher than 1. In Russia, its optimal value is defined as 0.7–0.8, but this assessment is conditional. In addition, when analyzing the dynamics of this coefficient, it is necessary to pay attention to the factors that caused its change. So, if the growth of the quick liquidity ratio was mainly due to the growth of unjustified receivables, this is unlikely to characterize the activity of the enterprise on the positive side;

5) the ratio of absolute liquidity (solvency) - shows what part of short-term debt obligations can be repaid immediately if necessary. In international practice, it is believed that its value should be greater than or equal to 0.2–0.25;

6) the share of own working capital in the coverage of inventories - an indicator that characterizes that part of the cost of inventories, which is covered by own working capital. The recommended lower limit of the indicator is 50%;

7) inventory coverage ratio - an indicator that is calculated by correlating the value of "normal" sources of inventory coverage (own working capital, short-term loans and borrowings, trade payables) and the amount of inventory. If the value of this indicator is less than one, then the current financial condition of the enterprise is considered as unstable.

Various aspects of the production, marketing, supply and financial activities of the enterprise receive a complete monetary value in the system of indicators of financial results. The most important indicators of the financial performance of the organization include:

- profit (loss) from the sale of products;

– profit (loss) from other sales;

– income and expenses from non-sales operations;

– balance sheet profit;

– taxable income;

- net profit, etc.

These indicators of financial results characterize the absolute efficiency of the management of the enterprise. Relative characteristic of financial results and efficiency of the enterprise is profitability. Profitability indicators characterize the relative profitability of the enterprise, measured as a percentage of the cost of funds or capital from various positions.

Among the main indicators of profitability are the following:

– return on assets;

– profitability of current assets;

– return on equity;

– profitability of fixed production assets;

– profitability of long-term financial investments.

The return on assets is the percentage of the balance sheet profit (or net profit) of the enterprise to the value of its assets (fixed and current assets). Shows how many rubles of profit brings one ruble invested in the assets of the enterprise.

Return on current assets shows the efficiency of the use of current assets. It is calculated as the ratio of the balance sheet profit (or net profit) of the enterprise to the value of its current assets.

The return on equity allows you to determine the effectiveness of the use of equity capital, to compare with the possible income from investing these funds in other securities. In Western countries, it has a significant impact on the level of quotation of the company's shares. The indicator shows how many monetary units of net profit earned each monetary unit invested by the owners of the enterprise. It is defined as the ratio of profit to equity capital.