The Pros and Cons of Vertical Integration

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It leads to reduction of transportation costs as the common ownership results in closer geographic proximity. The transaction costs can be controlled if a firm acquires the other firms in the vertical chain, then one division of the same company will transfer goods to other divisions. So, transaction costs in form of transport, cost of negotiation, cost of control etc. will be eliminated. The overall average cost of the firm will decrease because if the divisions are under same management control then there will be in house supply and departmental heads will determine the transfer price. An example could be pokarna granites limited. The company was established in 1991 as a partnership firm quarrying black galaxy granite in India. Transportation of granite to factories where they can be cut and polished is quite difficult. Since that time, the company has grown to a major quarrier and fabricator of stones from India and around the world. From the very beginning, the company has believed in vertical integration. They begin with the finest raw materials, invariably from their very own quarries, assuring consistent, high quality suppliers.

Uniform governance; If a firm purchases semi finished goods from an outside source then the work culture will be different and there are chances of dispute regarding terms and conditions of supply or if the outside supplier makes breach of contract and does not supply the goods on time then the firm can not fulfil its commitment to the third party and the goodwill of a firm will come to an end. Organizational inferences; If the supplier supplying the raw materials to a firm is big, in terms of size and structure, then it will dictate the terms and conditions. On the other hand if an in-house source is used then there will be no market variation and the supplier can not impose any unfavourable conditions. Due to this reason in November 1999, Exxon Corporation and Mobil Corporation, two of the largest petroleum and petrochemical companies merged to form the Exxon Mobil Corporation. Today Exxon Mobil explores for and produces oil, natural gas and coal in 49 countries around the globe. It sells fuels in over forty thousand service stations in one hundred and eighteen countries.

For firms who are purchasing semi finished goods from outside supplier will make a contract for a long period and due to repeated relationship the fir...

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...ss flexibility in accommodating buyer demands for product variety. It extends firm’s scope of activity, locking it deeper into the industry. Vertical integration poses problems of balancing capacity at each stage of value chain. It can reduce a firm’s manufacturing flexibility, lengthening design time and ability to introduce new products.

Vertical integration may not even be necessary to exert control. e.g. Marks and Spencer. The textile supplier of corah (knitwear) and IJ Dewhirst (suits, coats, skirts) and SR Gent (blouse, skirts, nightwear) each send in excess of 75% of their output to Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer can thus exert control and restrict profit margins, aim for stockless purchasing and insist on frequent batch delivery.

If supply of components is greater than that required by the parent company then either production will have to be reduced or the surplus will have to be sold to rival firms. Customer choices may be restricted if the parent company insists on only its products being offered for sale.

The disadvantages also include higher costs due to lower efficiencies, requires radically different skills and that there are increased bureaucratic costs.

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