Porter’s Five Forces and the Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe
People always ask how Five Forces can be applied in real life. Here it is in the music industry: Porter’s Five Forces and the Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe (TSCU).
Porter’s Five Forces is a model for assessing profitability in a market.
People always ask how this can be applied in real life. I’ve found it to be super helpful when developing a category strategy or planning a new, large project. It can seem quite abstract until you apply it to real life situations, so here it is in the music industry: Porter’s Five Forces and the Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe (TSCU).
Buyer Power
Most artists’ income comes from live shows and sales of merchandise. This means Taylor’s customers are the individuals who listen to her music and who are likely to spend money on concerts etc.
This means Taylor has millions of small customers and no single customer has any power to influence pricing. For example, I can’t call up Ticketmaster and negotiate the price of my Eras Tour ticket (I wish I could!).
However, each of these individual customers can switch easily between suppliers of music. There are thousands of artists to listen to and lots of demands on their personal disposable income.
Overall, Buyer Power in the industry is small and means Taylor has the power to set prices according to market trends and customer demand.
Supplier Power (Taylor’s Version)
The suppliers of musical artists are companies who publish and promote music for listeners. These suppliers have an iron grip on music publication and it’s difficult for an artist to reach listeners without them.
Think of how you consume music: Can you do it without Spotify, Apple Music or a record label that sells physical vinyls and CDs?
Artists such as Prince, Def Leppard and Bowling For Soup have tried to take control of their own music but it has taken an artist with the influence of Taylor Swift to make re-recording their records notable and profitable.
Similarly, streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music dictate the revenues given to artists per stream.
In the TSCU, suppliers are hugely powerful.
(P.S. The set up of Taylor show’s is always incredible, if the team ever need some help procuring it, I’m definitely ready for it…)
Threats of Substitutes
We’ve pinpointed that an artist’s customers are the individual listeners and the next question to ask is what substitutes there are to listening to their music.
When considering the Threat of Substitutes in Porter’s Five Forces model, we have to consider direct substitutes and substitutes from other industries. For example, a substitute for owning a car is a good public transport network.
In which case, the substitutes for listening to Taylor’s music include:
· Music from other pop artists
· Music from other genres
· Radio
· Podcasts
· Audiobooks
As the customers are consumers, there’s a large range of ways that they could be spending their time and money.
This is Taylor Swift looking DIRECTLY IN BETH’S EYES and you can’t convince her otherwise
Threats of New Entrants
This part of the model asks us to consider whether it’s easy for new competitors to enter the market. If it’s difficult, it’s because there are lots of barriers to entry. Barriers to entry normally include factors like a high set up cost, customer loyalty and lots of regulations.
If we look at the history of pop acts, it would be easy to assume that popstars are replaced regularly, suggesting that there’s a high threat of new entrants.
New technology such as streaming platforms and social media sites like TikTok are making it easier for artists to reach listeners all over the world. Additionally, AI technology has been used to generate music, threatening the livelihoods of artists.
Perhaps that’s why Taylor has built high levels of loyalty from her fans, which can be seen by the quantity of fans who have supported the re-releasing of old music.
Even with that loyalty, I’d still argue that there is a high threat of new entrants to the market.
“Remember: If you get asked in an exam, Porter’s Five Forces is used to analyse the micro environment. STEEPLE is used to assess the macro environment.”
Competitive Rivalry
The fifth and final Force is the level of competitive rivalry in the market. This force asks us to analyse how much each organisation in the market is fighting against each other, causing them to lower prices to keep customers.
An example of a market with high competitive rivalry is supermarkets in the UK. Supermarkets are constantly fighting for each and every customer with claims of lower prices or higher quality than their rivals. This forces down prices in the industry.
If we look at the Pop music industry, we can see that the artists are not competing in this way. They will collaborate on songs together and attend each others’ live shows, showing support for their music rather than competing for the same customers.
Putting it all together
So overall, how profitable is it to be Taylor Swift?
There’s a lot of factors pushing down profits for individual artists in the industry: high supplier power, threats from new entrants and lots of substitutes. However, successful artists have been able to leverage their fans to build up high customer loyalty and they don’t have high rivalry with their competitors, allowing them to sell high volumes of content.
What do you think, which of these forces have enabled Taylor to be so profitable and dominate the industry?
5 tips to help you pass your CIPS exams
CIPS exam days are stressful, even if you’ve put in all the work, used all the resources, and come to all of the classes.
But fear not, there’s a few things you can do that will help!
CIPS Exam Tip 1 - Preparation
Exam prep doesn’t begin the night before, or even the day week before. Build on what you learn throughout the module! If you struggle with an area or you know there’s a section you always hope won’t come up, address it while you have time. Go back over the material, or ask us for help.
CIPS Exam Tip 2 - The Night Before
Sleep.
It’s that simple. Don’t stay up late trying to read your book, just have a cup of herbal tea and get your eight hours.
A good night’s sleep will mean starting the day with your brain wide awake and ready to go.
CIPS Exam Tip 3 - Hydrate
Take a bottle of water with you, and actually drink it. It’s not just there for emotional support.
It’ll make you take your eyes off the screen for a second, and your brain time to recharge, as well as stopping exam anxiety dry mouth.
CIPS Exam Tip 4 - Be comfortable
This isn’t a job interview, no one is judging. Wear something you’re comfortable in. You’re sitting for anything from 1.5 to 3 hours, no one needs to be worrying about what they’re wearing for that long.
CIPS Exam Tip 5 - Use all of the time
I know, you’ve only used an hour of your exam and if you leave now then work still won’t be expecting you back for an hour and it’s a nice chance to have a break. Resist that urge! Use all of the time, double check your answers, and make sure you haven’t missed any!
You’ve got this.
How do our short courses benefit employers?
We’re lucky enough to be a small part of Broadway Colours’ success story and we’d like to share to help you to convince budget holders of the value of procurement CPD to the whole company
I haven’t met a Procurement professional that doesn’t want to keep learning and keep expanding their ideas on how to approach the supply chain. One of the problems that they encounter though is having low training budgets and needing to convince their senior leaders to pay for CPD.
We’re lucky enough to be a small part of Broadway Colours’ success story and we’d like to share to help you to convince budget holders of the value of procurement CPD to the whole company.
Broadway Colours is a manufacturer of colour and effect masterbatches, plastic compounds and rotational moulding powders. They’re an SME based in Suffolk and the team is so passionate about leaving a good impact on the world and reducing their environmental impact. We delivered a sustainability short course on site with their Procurement team.
It was a full day course and covered topics such as measuring Scope 1, 2 and 3, engaging and motivating key stakeholders and practical steps to incorporating sustainable procurement into sourcing processes.
We had great discussions on how to make an impact as an SME and what risk factors there might be in the supply chain.
Since then, they have been awarded EcoVadis Gold!! A fantastic achievement that shows the commitment of the whole organisation to sustainability principles.
Whilst we can’t take credit for their success, we hope that this inspires you to keep learning, keep improving your procurement processes and to take on challenges. We love our community of Procurement professionals and East Anglian businesses, especially Broadway (even if they are over the border in Suffolk).
ABA has joined the Norfolk Anti-Slavery Network!
ABA Procurement has joined the Norfolk Anti-Slavery Network aiming to raise awareness of modern slavery
We’ve joined the Norfolk Anti-Slavery Network (NASN)’s Business Group. The group is led by the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Office under the ‘hidden victims’ fund.
The business group exists to raise awareness of modern slavery and share best practice for how to identify, tackle and prevent modern slavery in Norfolk.
There are four types of modern slavery:
Forced labour - When victims are controlled in where and how they work, with the money being taken by another
Bonded labour - When victims are forced to take on some kind of debt which restricts their ability to leave a workplace
Child labour - Children who are forced to work
Human trafficking - The forced movement of people from one location to another
There are an estimated 49.6 million people in modern slavery across the world.[1] High risk areas include agriculture, mining for precious metals and textiles.
It’s easy to assume that slavery is a problem for further down the tiers of our supply chain, but it happens here in the UK, too. In 2023, there were 17,004 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office. Of these, 25% were British nationals and 76% were male.[2]
In Norfolk, 269 victims were identified between July 2022 and June 2023 and half of the victims were young people.[3]
Procurement professionals are in a really important place in our organisation because we have a view of our whole supply chain and make real changes to try and reduce the world’s dependence on modern slavery.
Procurement professionals are in a really important place in our organisation because we have a view of our whole supply chain and make real changes to try and reduce the world’s dependence on modern slavery.
The objectives of the NASN are to:
Identify, support, protect and empower victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Support agencies, the business community and local organisations who are tackling MSHT (modern slavery and human trafficking) by ensuring the right skills, knowledge and processes are in place.
Promote collaboration and joint working amongst partner organisations and community-based agencies.
Increase reporting of suspected MSHT.
Raise awareness of MSHT within the communities of Norfolk
“In Norfolk, 269 victims were identified between July 2022 and June 2023 and half of the victims were young people.”
Some signs of modern slavery include:
Being reluctant to interact with others
Appearing frightened or withdrawn
Working excessively long hours
Fear of authorities
Limited opportunities to move freely
Wearing the same clothes all the time
CIPS Programme and Modern Slavery
In the CIPS course, Procurement professionals are also pointed towards international bodies who are working to reduce modern slavery across the globe. One of these is the International Labour Organisation, which is an arm of the UN devoted to promoting social justice and human rights. It brings together governments, employers and workers and recognises that no single organisation can stop exploitation.
Many British businesses with global supply chains are part of the Ethical Trading Initiative. These include Sainsburys, Primark, M&S and TfL. You will come across the ETI Base Code in your CIPS studies, which has nine principles, including:
Freedom of association (trade unions)
Safe working conditions
Paying a living wage
Closer to home, we’re looking for other businesses in Norfolk who would like to join the business group. In particular, if you operate in high risk industries such as agriculture and food production. Get in touch with Beth who can pass you on to the right people or contact NASN directly through their website.
What to Do if You’re Concerned About Modern Slavery
If you are worried about a potential victim of modern slavery and they are in immediate danger, always call 999 and speak to the police.
Other useful contacts include:
Modern Slavery Helpline (open 24/7) 08000 121700
GLAA - Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority Tel: 0800 432 0804
EAS - Employment Agency Standards Tel: 020 7215 4477
Email: eas@beis.gov.uk
[1] Hope for Justice https://hopeforjustice.org/modern-slavery/
[2] Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, end of year summary 2023 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/modern-slavery-nrm-and-dtn-statistics-end-of-year-summary-2023/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-end-of-year-summary-2023
Meet the ABA Procurement Team
This interview is part of our new series of interviews with ABA Procurement’s office team, procurement tutors, and CIPS Students.
First up we have a woman who was the first member of the ABA team. A woman who is creative. A woman who is incomparable. A woman who writes all of the website content including this introduction for herself: it’s Lu Hales-Greer.
The first in our series of interviews with ABA Procurement’s office team, procurement tutors, and CIPS Students.
First up we have a woman who was the first member of the ABA team. A woman who is creative. A woman who is incomparable. A woman who writes all of the website content including this introduction for herself:
it’s Lu Hales-Greer.
Lu, a few moments before falling into a river in Mexico.
First things first, how did you end up in the world of procurement?
I was a high school English teacher, and when I left that I worked a few random jobs (including a job for the NHS that included representing cases exclusively for dead people. That was a weird one.), and one day I got a call from ABA Procurement asking if I’d be interested in a new challenge. I had no idea what procurement was, and literally had to google the word after the interview!
But it all worked out and I went from being an admin assistant, to running operations, to then buying the company in 2020 with Evie.
How has the company changed since you started?
Honestly? It’s completely different, and kind of exactly the same. We’re a much bigger company now, with loads more options for students and flexibility in our CIPS courses, plus we’re an apprenticeship provider now, have a procurement consultancy wing, and run CPD short courses and that’s all brand new in the last few years.
That being said, ABA started as a company when another training provider dropped the CIPS courses and closed their doors to students, so ABA was created to help them and get them through their study. That’s something we’ve never lost - first and foremost we’re there for our students. We move around courses, give people extended breaks, and support people long after they’ve graduated - it’s what makes us, us.
So, what do you think sets ABA apart?
Like I said, it’s us.
There are plenty of other training providers out there, some of them are cheaper, some of them have fancier resources, but they don’t do it the way we do, and with the care we put into it.
We don’t tell students they’ve got X amount of time to complete the course or we’ll cut them off - the longest gap someone took between modules was 34 months, and when they came back we were just excited that they were in a place to be able to study again.
Evie, Lu, and Beth at the Victoria Palace Theatre to see Hamilton. Work!
Our resources are all made by us. We don’t ship it out to some external company that runs an AI algorithm to decide what students should like, we make everything ourselves, welcome student feedback, and make changes and improvements in real time.
It feels a bit cringy talking us up this much, but I really want to shout about us! If a student or an employer needs anything they can pick up the phone and get one of the three of us anytime. If they want something changing, we’ll work to do it. If they want help with something, we give it. If they just want a chat, we’re there.
We’re not perfect, because we’re human, but I can promise you we try harder and care more than anyone else you’ll meet.
Quick Fire Question Time!
Outside of work, how do you spend your time? Outside of work? What is this wonderous thing of which you speak? Seriously, outside of work I’m currently prepping to go back to uni in September to get my masters in Creative Writing!
Who’s the most organised in the ABA office? Beth. It’s not even close.
Who’s the go to for CIPS student exam day panics? Probably me? High functioning anxiety for the win!
What’s your favourite book? Feed, by Mira Grant
Who’d win in a fight out of the ABA team? Evie
Who’s most likely to accidentally burn the office down? Evie (she’s totally going to say me, though)
Knowing what you know now, what would you tell yourself on your first day at ABA? This is going to be the hardest, weirdest, most chaotic thing you’ve ever done, and the absolute best choice you ever made.
CIPS Objective Responce Exam Tips
Taking a multichoice exam can often seem like their easier option when compared to a three hour essay exam, but with so many questions it can be easy to slip up on a few questions and miss out on that pass mark of 70%.
CIPS Objective Responce Exam Tips
Taking a multichoice exam can often seem like their easier option when compared to a three hour essay exam, but with so many questions it can be easy to slip up on a few questions and miss out on that pass mark of 70%.
Don’t worry though, there’s a few really easy things you can do to make sure you get the marks you deserve.
CIPS exam tip 1 - RTFQ
Those of you who have studied with Martin, or seen the giant poster in our office, will be very familiar with this acronym. To give a more PG version though, Read The Freaking Question!
Pay close attentions to key words like ‘not’, ‘always’, or ‘select three of’
CIPS exam tip 2 - Read, PAUSE, ANSWER
Read the question and answer it in your head, then have a look at the options you’ve been given. Compare what you thought with the answers available and find the similiarities.
CIPS exam tip 3 - Find the wrong answers
If you don’t know the answer right away, eliminate the wrong ones. Look at the language and you’ll often find one or two answers which clearly don’t fit what you’re being asked. Once you’ve done that just repeat steps 1 and 2.
CIPS exam tip 4 - Answer everything
If you don’t know an answer then flag the question and move on. Often CIPS will ask several related questions and sometimes a later question will help answer an earlier one.
Once you’re finished then come back and answer the flagged questions. If you still don’t know the answer and steps 1-3 don’t help then as a very last resort take a guess. This is the last option once you’ve exhasted everything else, but a 25% chance of being right is better than 0%.
CIPS exam tip 5 - time management
Don’t obsessively watch the clock, but keep an eye on it. Before going into the exam you should figure out what the time should be when you’re 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 of the way through the exam, allowing for a 10 minute buffer at the end.
If you’re taking your exam in an exam room don’t worry if other people leave before you. We all do exams at our own speed as fastest doesn’t mean best.
Cips Exams - What not to do
When in doubt do not just click C! Use the steps above
If you’ve answered A three times in a row already don’t assume it can’t be A again. The questions are in a random order.
Don’t do eeny meeny miny moe. Unless you’ve already tried all of the steps above, and there’s 30 seconds left in the exam.
CIPS Exam Information
Overall, don’t panic.
It’s the best advise we can give and the hardest to follow.
You’ve worked hard for this exam (or, you know, opened the book at least), and the content is in your head already. You’ll be absolutely fine. Just breathe.
CIPS Level 6 Senior Procurement and Supply Chain Professional Apprenticeship
Level 6 Senior Procurement and Supply Chain Professional Qualification is designed for individuals across sectors, offering specialised knowledge in procurement and supply chain strategy. Achive MCIPS through the apprenticeship levy with the final CIPS level.
Level 6 Procurement Apprenticeship
It will soon be possible to study CIPS Level 6 and achieve MCIPS through government levy funding. This programme is designed for individuals across sectors, offering specialised knowledge in procurement and supply chain strategy.
The Level 6 Senior Procurement and Supply Chain Professional Apprenticeship is available to all students who have completed CIPS Level 4, and CIPS Level 5.
New CIPS Procurement Apprenticeships
ABA are particularly proud of this apprenticeship as one of only two study centres in the UK invited to sit on the Trailblazer panel and help to shape precisely what our students will study. It certainly wasn’t an easy road, taking over two years to ensure that this high level qualification encompassed what it means to be a procurement professional, but we’re finally at a point to release it to the world.
This puts us in a unique position to really offer our students a bespoke experience, built on our own extensive understanding of the course foundations.
Apprenticeship Sign Up
Our procurement apprenticeships are open to enrolment all year, so get in touch today.
CIPS March Exams - Norwich
Please be aware that if you are sitting your CIPS March exams in Norwich there is currently a lot of roadworks in the area.
Key issues to be aware of:
Sweetbriar Road - closed (bridge collapse!)
Riverside Road - closed
Reepham Road - resurfacing (one lane)
It’s still possible to get to the exam centre but we would advise that you leave earlier than usual to make sure you don’t end up rushing.
November 2021 CR Results
Our students produced some outstanding results in this sitting, with a 93% pass rate across all of our Classroom, Apprentice, and Distance Learners, with many of our students achieving merit and Distinction grades.
First CIPS Constructed Responce Exam
This was the first CR exam for many of our Norwich and Colchester students, and its great to see that the combination of their hard work and our dediacted Essay Writing Prep Day have produced some of our highest CR results to date.
NEXT EXAM
March Exam booking has now closed, and we will be opening for May exam bookings soon.
Good luck everyone!
Job Vacancy: Supply Chain Operations Administrator (Apprentice)
Our friends at Applied Satellite Technologies currently have a vacancy for a Supply Chain Operations Administrator (Apprentice).
Applied Satellite Technology Limited based in Gt Yarmouth, is a privately-owned specialist Telecommunications Company providing equipment and connectivity for organisations operating in remote locations of the world.
Vacancy includes the Procurement Level 4 Apprenticeship with training from ABA.
Our friends at Applied Satellite Technologies currently have a vacancy for a Supply Chain Operations Administrator (Apprentice).
Applied Satellite Technology Limited based in Gt Yarmouth, is a privately-owned specialist Telecommunications Company providing equipment and connectivity for organisations operating in remote locations of the world.
AST has an exciting opportunity within our Supply Chain Operations team based in Great Yarmouth for a level 4 Supply Chain Operations Apprentice. As part of this role, the Supply Chain Apprentice will be expected to complete the Level 4 Apprenticeship in Commercial Procurement and Supply Chain, whilst providing administrative support to the wider Group Operations team. You will learn the discipline of procurement and supply with ABA Procurement’ along with on the job training.
Applied Satellite Technology has been established for almost 30 years and are a well respected company within the satellite communications industry; known for being technically advanced, and using and developing cutting-edge technology; this is an exciting opportunity to join a highly motivated team and develop a career in the industry.
Primary Duties & Responsibilities:
• Generating internal business unit sales orders, invoices, and credit notes.
• Preparing and generating both UK and international inventory for dispatch.
• Creating supplier purchase orders in AST’s ordering system.
• Ensuring purchase orders are acknowledged in line with expectations.
• Monitoring goods in transit to ensure OTIF deliveries.
• Ensuring accurate due dates by product within the inventory management system.
• Creating part numbers & maintaining data within the inventory management system.
• Communicating both via telephone and e-mail with suppliers, customers, and logistics companies.
• Ensuring accuracy on purchase ledger invoices prior to authorisation.
• Analysing freight costs for approval.
Qualifications/Skills/Behaviors Required
• 3x A-Levels (or equivalent) ideally in business, economics or similar
• Confident
• Attention to detail
• Competent numeracy skills
• Reliable
• Clear communicator
• Enthusiastic
• Practice good common sense
Closing date: 9th July 2021
Interview date: 14th July 2021
Start date: 26th July 2021
Application Information
If this opportunity is one you would like, please apply with a CV and completed application form to:
Stacey Cranswick
Supply Chain Operations Manager
e-mail: Stacey.Cranswick@theastgroup.com for more info
Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.