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Advantages Of Economies Of Scale

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Economies of Scale
As a company grows, not all costs increase with it, and some may even go down. Incumbent companies who have economies of scale can hence have a significant cost advantage over new entrants and smaller competitors.
Economies of scale can be demand-side or supply-side and may be found in the cost of:
• Original research
• Raw materials
• Manufacturing and production
• Marketing to larger audiences
• Shipments and logistics
• Service and support
• Attracting talented personnel
Overcoming economies of scale requires innovation and bold moves, such as devising lower-cost manufacturing methods or sourcing overseas.
In practice, economies of scale are often not as significant as they may appear, as the costs associated with their …show more content…

When rapid growth is essential, this is a less valid approach and collaborative options such as partnering or licensing may be preferable.
When there is rapid change in the industry, with such as the need to replace out of date machinery, and incumbents are slow to made needed investments, then this can play to the advantage of new entrants.
Cost Disadvantages
As well as capital costs there are all kinds of other types of cost that can give incumbents an advantage and new entrants a headache. These are often independent of the size of the company and can hence give smaller firms a big advantage over new-entrant large companies.
Such additional costs/advantages may include:
• The learning/experience curve gained from trying different things in the marketplace.
• The sheer extent of how much knowledge is required to operate in the market, and the accessibility of this.
• Proprietary technology that cannot be copied.
• Preferential access to limited supplies of materials and parts.
• Assets bought when they were much cheaper.
• Advantageous locations, from shopping mall positions to being close to customers.
• Government subsidies and other national

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