Caterpillar Inc. SWOT & PESTLE Analysis
COMPANY PROFILE -Caterpillar Inc.
Business Sector :Construction and Heavy Equipment
Operating Geography :United States, North America, Global
About Caterpillar Inc. :
Caterpillar, Inc was formed in 1925 by the merger of Holt Manufacturing Company and C.L.Best tractor company. Since, then the company has targeted its equipments towards end markets like road and highway construction, mining and quarrying, infrastructure projects, power generation and Oil & Gas. This American Construction Company is involved in developing infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. The company’s product line includes construction equipments, mining equipments, etc. The construction conglomerate operates via three primary segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. The company is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, USA and as of early 2020, the Illinois-based manufacturer of machinery and engines employed over 102,000 people globally.Caterpillar’s long-standing purpose reads “Our solutions help our customers build a better world.” Caterpillar’s USP or unique selling proposition lies in being the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.Caterpillar ranks #82 and #89 amongst the 100 most valuable brands in 2017 by Forbes and Interbrand respectively. It also features on #74 in the Fortune 100 companies.
Caterpillar Inc. Revenue :
US $53.8 Billion – FY ending 31st Dec 2019 (y-o-y growth -2%)
US $54.7 Billion – FY ending 31st Dec 2018 (y-o-y growth 20%)
US $45.5 Billion – FY ending 31st Dec 2017
Competitive Analysis of Caterpillar Inc.
1. Strong dealer distribution network 2. Reputation for high quality and safety 3. Massive scale and volume 4. Significant investment in R&D 5. Performance of CAT financial division | 1. Decreasing revenue and profits 2. Inventory turnover issues 3. High dependency on heavy equipment, low diversification 4. Debt obligations |
1. High potential in Digitization and Automation 2. Rising Urbanisation 3. Renewable energy markets | 1. Difficult economic conditions 2. Poor industry outlook Escalating costs due to US/China trade tensions |
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Detailed SWOT Analysis of Caterpillar Inc.
Strength
1. Strong dealer distribution network: Caterpillar, Inc. has a strong dealer network of 175 dealers spread across 2100 dealer branches, with over 160000 empoloyees in over 180 countries, providing strong technical expertise and quality service. The net worth of the dealership network is approximately $23.4 billion. Caterpillar’s dealer network is one of their greatest competitive advantages. A lot of its dealers have been working with the Company since 1925. For example, Yancey Brothers has been one of the oldest company-dealership network. Infact the Company's dealership network employee count is more than the company itself. This allows Caterpillar’s customers to have a low operating and owning costs through global coverage by sales and service network. The company implements a strategy named “Across the table” to improve accountability and governance of CAT dealers. The company has prioritized to generate higher value from its existing dealers over blindly bringing more dealers into its fold which has helped them to ensure that there is a tight control over costs while helping the Company to diversify geographically.
The remaining section of Strength is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.
Weakness
This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.
Opportunity
1. High potential in Digitization and innovation: The Company has made significant investment in digital strategy. The company has more than 350000 CAT machines and close to 50000 engines, turbines and locomotives, and aims to reduce the operating costs through digital technology by predicting failures through analytics. There is also focus on increasing efficiency and reducing fuel consumption through data analytics. Recently with growing need for automated technologies, industrial automation is currently a race between many of the large players in the heavy machinery industry. New applications are being tested and applied every new iteration of products. As a R&D spending focussed company Caterpillar is in a favorable place to make the first moves in innovation.
2. Urbanisation of Emerging Markets: The global trend of urbanization is a key source of finding future growth in Caterpillar’s construction and energy industries. Countries like China and the Middle East have grown and Caterpllar’s major revenues are a result of this. In 2017, as a result of growth in construction in both regions the revenues grew more than $2 billion more in revenue as compared to 2016. On a future prospective these regions will continue to demand a high volume of Caterpillar products as development continues to grow in 2018. As a result of continued urbanization in China there will be the need for greater infrastructure investment, thus creating tremendous opportunities for Caterpillar. In the fourth quarter of 2017, The sales in Asia Pacific rose 22 percent year on year. Half of the sales improvement was in China, resulting from its increased focus and investment in the field of building construction and infrastructure.
According to a report by NY times, by 2020, China plans to build 60 NEW AIRPORTS. Economic Times – Railways’ target: Laying 9.5km of tracks every day, reports that India’s national railway is laying 9.5 KILOMETERS of track daily and approximately 300 construction projects totalling worth ≈US$324 BILLION are in the runway phase in Africa according to Africa Construction Trends Report. These are great opportunities for construction conglomerates like Caterpillar.
The remaining section of Opportunity is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.
Threat
This section is available only in the 'Complete Report' on purchase.
Major Brands :
- CAT
- CAT FINANCIAL
- CAT REMAN
- CAT RENTAL STORE
- Ltd (SEM)
- SOLAR TURBINES
- TURNER POWERTRAIN SYSTEMS
- YELLOWMARK
- KEMPER
- OLYMPIAN
- PERKINS
- PRENTICE
- PROGRESS RAIL
- HINDUSTAN
- HYPAC
- MAK
- MWM
- Anchor Coupling
- ASIATRAK
- FG WILSON
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References used in Caterpillar Inc. Analysis Report
1. Caterpillar,Inc. Year in Review: https://www.caterpillar.com/en/investors/year-in-review.html
2. Caterpillar, Inc. Annual Report: https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Caterpillar/C10876416
3. Sustainability Commitment-https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/caterpillarNews/sustainability/caterpillars-commitment-to-sustainability-doug-oberhelmans-remarks-from-the-2014-annual-shareholders-meeting.html
4. Governance and Ethics- https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/appendix/governance-and-ethics.php
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Caterpillar Inc. SWOT and PESTLE analysis has been conducted by Aditi Chaturvedi and reviewed by senior analysts from Barakaat Consulting.
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