Challenges in Trading Across Borders for Unilever

Business Project

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
PART 1............................................................................................................................................4
A comparative analysis of the company's competitive position in its various market...........4
What are the various challenges the company need to consider when trading across borders7
Part 2..............................................................................................................................................10
Using appropriate theoretical tools, discuss what your company needs to consider to enhance
their business........................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Every business aspires to attain market success and long-term growth. It is not only a desire
for company, but also a need for their survival in the market or in the workplace. The day-to-day
business environment is becoming increasingly complicated, posing a problem for businesses. In
today's complicated regulatory environment, it is difficult for any firm to exist while making a
profit (Anene, 2019). Companies must develop strategies that enable them to continue in the
market at their original position in order to survive. Companies must identify all elements that
impact their organization's operations and activities due to the changing nature of the business
environment. They can decrease the uncertainties or danger by using identification. Competition
is one of the most critical challenges that businesses confront these days.
The term competition causes obstacles for businesses to differentiate themselves from their
competitors so that potential customers are unable to migrate to another firm. In this report there
is discussion related to Unilever that is one of the multinational organisation. It is a British
multinational consumer goods company that has its headquarters in London, England. It deals in
various products like food, ice cream, coffee, minerals and supplements, pet food, beauty
products, tea, wellbeing vitamins, air purifiers, breakfast cereal, cleaning agents, condiments,
water and toothpaste, and personal care. The company was founded 91 years ago 1929. There are
around 155,000 employees of Unilever. It is seen that company has its operations in 190
countries. Also it is said that they serve 2.5 billion people every day. It demonstrates that they are
well-versed in the market. It may be observed in the company's growth and profitability
(Ahokangas and et.al., 2019). They did not attain this position easy; to do so, they had to identify
their competitors using Porter's five forces model, which helped them develop tactics to gain a
competitive edge. This is the primary reason for businesses to do market research in order to
ensure their existence. Because it is a worldwide corporation, it has several obstacles in
conducting business outside of the country. Business expansion may be accomplished through
selling products and services on a global scale. Entering an international market is a difficult
undertaking for any firm since they must overcome several obstacles, which are addressed in this
study. With the aid of suitable technologies, this study offers answers to such issues.

MAIN BODY
PART 1
A comparative analysis of the company's competitive position in its various market.
Competition is rising on a regular basis, making it a vital position for businesses to choose
how they will deal with the competitive environment. It is critical for a company to do market
research in order to decrease the total risk posed by competition (Iamratanakul, 2018). There are
various competitors that are present in market. The major competitors of Unilever are P&G,
Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark. It is seen that the company is providing quality
goods and services to its competitors. Every business wants to gain a competitive edge, and in
order to do so, they must develop strategies that are tailored to their needs. Customers' tastes and
preferences are changing on a daily basis, which adds complexity to the organization's ability to
gain a competitive edge. Competition's response determines a company's success and long-term
growth. It is vital to note that Unilever is largest producer of Soap in the world. It is seen that the
company should analyse the trends in the market and then form strategies that will help to gain
advantage over the competitors.
It has been determined that if a firm can successfully identify aspects that decreases its
competitive advantage, and then the threat or risk will be reduced (Kivilä, Martinsuo, and
Vuorinen, 2017). It is critical that they analyse the market in order to take remedial action inside
the organisation. It may be done with the aid of Porter's five forces model, which helps them
analyse the competition and explains why firms are having trouble nowadays. With the
explanation of Porter's five forces model, it becomes clear.
Porters' five forces model
It is one of the techniques that help the company to know about the competitive position in
the market. There are five forces that assist the company to know their position and to form
strategies that will have them to gain advantage over the competitors. It is vital to note that
Unilever is a strong company and has global presence than other multinational companies in the
market. The model helps to analyse and describe the threats and opportunities that the company
possess. Competitive analysis in relation to Unilever is discussed below:
Threat of new entrants