Valero Energy Corporation along with the subsidiaries is marketer of petrochemical products, manufacturer and transportation of fuels. The company is based in San Antonio, and successfully operating 15 petroleum refineries. Valero along with production capacity produces 3.1 million barrels daily and about 14 ethanol plants produces 1.73 billion gallons annually. Its petroleum refineries are situated in United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The ethanol plants are situated in Mid-Continent regions in United States. Valero energy has a joint venture with Diamond Green Diesel, and it operates in the renewable diesel plant. Valero Energy sells the products in wholesale rack or through bulk markets in Latin America, UK, USA, Canada and Ireland. (Valero, 2019).
Valero Energy Corporation is one of an international company. the company is operating at the global level, thus, should have industrial analysis. Porter five forces model will help the company in identifying the strategic position of the company. This model will help in determining the external factor analysis. Here is the detailed Porter five forces analysis of Valero Energy Corporation;
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The bargaining power of the buyers in Valero Energy case is low. The main reason of this is prices of oil and gas and other energy resources are set by the government. The government intervention does not provide much control to the company and consumers over prices. Moreover, consumers have limited options available to choose from. Valero Energy is working globally and is successfully able to manage the huge customer base. But the company should also expand more and increase its consumer base in order to maintain the market share. (Wendy, 2015).
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The bargaining power of supplier is high for Valero Energy. Suppliers are one of the main stakeholders of the company. The suppliers are dominating the small handful companies. The suppliers are mainly the explorer of oil, gas and energy, or the equipment or raw material providers. Valero Energy maintains very good relationship with its suppliers. It maintains long term contractual agreement and supplier relationship. The company also maintains efficient supply chain to reduce its dependency on few suppliers. The company is a large producer and manufacturer and suppliers are willing to be associated with the company (Case team, 2019).
Threats of New Entrants
Threats of the new entrants are low in case of Valero Energy Corporation. The main reason of this is high start-up cost. The setting-up cost of plants and manufacturing facilities are expensive to set for the new entrants. Moreover, the strict rules and regulations are necessary for the new entrant to follow. The new entrants have to compete with the existing competitors in the industry who are leading the industry. For this, the development of strong brand name and strong consumer base is important. Thus, Valero energy has protected itself from such threats, and tried its best to increase the barriers to entry (Case team, 2019).
Threats from the Substitute Products
Threats of the substitutes are low to moderate in case of Valero Energy. The company is successfully transporting the fuel in the countries. The company faces the threats through pipeline distribution and through rail networks in order to deliver it fast. The company should also look forward for these areas, which helps the company in covering all areas. This should be implemented in all the regions the company is operating (Wendy, 2015).
Rivalry of Existing Players
Valero Energy is working in the international market, where it faces tough competition from both local and domestic companies. The company has major competitors are Exxon Mobil, BP, Total, Conoco Phillips, etc. However, with such big names the company has made its own place in the industry. Valero Energy is one of a prominent name in the industry. However, Valero should expand more geographically, to increase the customer base and maintain the market share. The company should integrate forwardly to make its sales more in the industry (Owler, 2019).
References
Case team, 2019. VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION AND TIGHT OIL CASE STUDY HELP. [Online], Available at: https://casesteam.com/harvard/valero-energy-corporation-and-tight-oil/porters-analysis.php, [Accessed on: 1st January, 2020].
Owler, 2019. Valero’s Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions. [Online], Available at: https://www.owler.com/company/valero, [Accessed on: 1st January, 2020].
Valero Energy, 2020. About Valero. [Online], Available at: https://www.valero.com/en-us/AboutValero, [Accessed on: 1st January, 2020].
Wendy, B. 2015. VLO final. [Online], Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/BingqingWendyHe/vlofinal20141029, [Accessed on: 1st January, 2020].