International Paper SWOT Analysis

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, International paper is the largest paper company in the world. It employs around 60000 workers globally.  Though established in 1890, International paper was re-incorporated in 1941, and remains the same till present. The annual revenue of international paper for the year 2011 was $25179 M, which was 7.8% greater than that of previous year. This means that international paper is improving since then. Presently, according to CNN (fortune 500; 2011), IP ranks 105 among the top 500 companies in America. IP manufactures very high quality paper and pulp products, and that too in a very eco friendly way. It is the supplier of almost 60% of paper products I America.

International Paper Strengths

Economies of scale are perhaps the greatest advantage and strength of International paper. Because of its superior and mighty position, it can avail financial economies, raising finance from any source and that too, on low interest rates and longer repayment period. Since the company is too large and well known, it has to spend less on the promotion and marketing of the company, thereby availing marketing economies. In its case, International Paper is the worldwide leader of this industry and thereby controls the widest market share. Because of this it is widely demanded globally. The business is well established on geographical lines. It has offices and factories on the most appropriate locations which are facilitated by the latest machines. This makes its paper standardized, because of which it is widely demanded. This has led to a strong brand image of International paper and made it the virtual paper leader of the world.

International Paper Weaknesses

According to reports and surveys, international paper has been declared as ‘harmful to the environment’. This is because of two reasons. Firstly it is claimed that the wood require for making paper has led to widespread deforestation in America and secondly the paper making factories are causing pollution and problems for the adjoining areas. These claims have led to a tarnished reputation of IP. However, it is constantly experimenting new ways to avoid these problems.

International Paper Opportunities