Detailed SWOT Analysis of ACC Limited – One of The Largest Producers Of Cement In India

Quick Stats on ACC Limited

Founder	F E Dinshaw
Year Founded	1936
Origin	Mumbai, India
No. of Employees	6,643 (2020)
Company Type	Public
Market Cap	Rs. 40,599.23 Crore (2021)
Annual Revenue	Rs. 15,975 Crore (2020)
Net Income/ Profit	Rs. 1,363 Crore (2020)

 

Products of ACC Limited

The major products which ACC Limited has been manufacturing are:

• Bulk Cement
• Ready-mix Cement 
• Blended Cement
• Premium Cement 
• Portland Cement  

Competitor of ACC Limited

• Ultra Tech Cement Ltd.
• Ambuja Cement Ltd.
• Shree Cement Ltd.
• India Cement Ltd.
• Heidelberg Cement India Ltd.

Now that we have assessed the background of ACC Limited, let’s delve right into the SWOT Analysis of ACC Limited.

SWOT Analysis of ACC Limited

This study focuses on the internal and external factors that can affect any company. External variables include opportunities and hazards, whereas internal variables include strengths and limitations.

It’s a planning and decision-making tool for strategic planning. It is usually more useful to conduct a SWOT analysis of ACC Limited with a specific goal in mind, such as seizing a new business opportunity or adapting to new trends.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of ACC Limited, refer to the infographics below:

So let’s start with a SWOT analysis of ACC Limited:  

Strengths of ACC Limited

The first tool of SWOT is the Strengths. These are the factors that place the company at the top of the industry and make it look prospective. The strength of ACC Limited are as follows:

• CSR Activities: ACC Limited does many CSR Activities. Some of the major CSR Activities include providing high-quality education to children of employees, encouraging women from SHGs in the communities around its plant location, health and sanitization, improving livelihoods, and many more.
• No. of Plants: ACC Limited has 17 manufacturing plants whereas Ultratech, Ambuja, and others have fewer.
• Reducing Carbon Footprints: ACC Limited was one of the first Indian firms to make environmental protection a corporate goal. They’ve built this commitment into every aspect of their value chain, from mining to sales to supporting the use of alternative fuels and resources, resulting in one of the minimal carbon footprints in cement manufacturing.
• 50000+ Dealers: ACC Limited today boasts of  50000+ dealers and retailers across India. This far and wide distribution network ensure that ACC Limited reaches all corners of India.
• Awards: ACC Limited has won many awards. Some of them are National Award for Excellence in Water Management by CII, Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award, Drona Trophy, Subh Karan Sarawagi Environment Award, and many more.

Weaknesses of ACC Limited

Weaknesses are aspects of a business or brand that should be improved. ACC Limited’s major flaws are as follows:

• Lack of Promotional Activities: Other cement manufacturing companies are taking away the market with their ads. Ambuja’s ad with the great Khali was appreciated all over. Similarly, Ultratech is taking away the market with its tagline “Engineers Ki Pasand”. Overall, ACC Limited’s production strength is solid, but still, its marketing and push strategy is mediocre.
• Only in India: ACC Limited’s footprint in India is limited, and as a result, it faces competition from Aditya Birla’s Ultratech, which exports large quantities of cement. Ultratech is enhancing its turnover by a significant percentage by exporting.
• High Transportation Cost: They have a huge transportation cost to transport cement to different retail shops. Also with the increasing fuel prices, it will further increase.
• Lack of Awareness Programs: To protect the interest of consumers, awareness programs are necessary.
• Losing Brand Equity: ACC Limited is losing its brand equity as Ultratech is gaining brand equity.

Opportunities for ACC Limited

Like weaknesses, opportunities are the areas where a company needs to focus, on improving results, increasing sales, and, ultimately, profits. 

• Branding Activities: It can initiate comprehensive branding in the country, which may help them enhance brand memory and, as a result, help the brand expand as a whole. By investing in branding campaigns for one or two years, ACC Limited may easily restore market share and brand equity, and become India’s leading brand.

The best and cost-effective way to do brand campaigns is social media marketing. ACC Limited can create targeted organic & paid social media marketing campaigns to boost brand awareness, acquire quality leads and get repeat sales. If you are at the initial stages of your business then you must learn this one of the digital marketing skills to save your extra cost which might get spent if you choose traditional ways of marketing.  

• Global Expansion: ACC Limited can make use of India’s market supremacy to expand to other regions of the world.
• Improving Infrastructure: One of the most huge advantages of ACC Limited is that it is a prominent brand in the cement industry, which is expanding in India owing to an increase in infrastructure demand. This need will not diminish any time soon, given the growing population and improving economic conditions.
• Increasing Demand: People are opting for more stable structures and intensive use of cement is taking place, even the government is spending heavily on infrastructure projects. Thus, this is the right time to fully tap these markets. 

Threats to ACC Limited

Last, under the segment of SWOT Analysis of ACC Limited, we have the Threat. These factors are important to consider as it protects the organization from dealing with potential losses and more.

• A Huge Number of Participants: The cement industry’s high number of companies makes it difficult for ACC Limited to set a competitive price for its product.
• Threat From Global Players: It faces stiff competition in Indian markets from global players. Due to India’s rapid expansion, many new multinational cement businesses are projected to emerge in the future years, ushering in a wave of change and potentially igniting a price war.
• Price Competition: When a business engages in price competition, its bottom line suffers. The threat to ACC Limited is just the same. ACC Limited is obliged to compete on price due to the enormous number of brands offered, which has a detrimental impact on its bottom line.
• Threat From Local Players: The emergence of small players in this market may increase the competition and start malpractices, and heavy discounts to retailers. One of the challenges to ACC Limited and the business is a slew of local brands offering cheap products.

This ends our absolute SWOT analysis of ACC Limited. Let us conclude our learning below.