External assesment of Snyder's lance inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

External assesment of Snyder's lance inc - Essay Example y has managed to grow that thrive despite the fact that the snack industry is highly competitive is greatly affected by changes in the external climate such as economic and political change. The company was able to survive the recent economic crises which crippled many organizations (Standard & Poors, 45). This paper analyzes the Snyder Lance Inc in terms of its competitors and carries out a SWOT analysis to determine the companies threat, opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. The company currently faces market risks that are linked to energy cost, packaging and ingredients. Since the company has to adhere to certain protocol set for the food industry in terms of packaging and ingredients, this is a potential for increase in costs. The company incurs interest on existing debts depending on the US dollar and the Euro rates of exchange (Poole & Daryl, 37). To manage the risk of exposure to changing exchange rates, the company has entered into interest swaps that ensure that there is balance between the variable rate and fixed rate debt. The company is as exposed to risk of losses arising from exchange rate variation through its operations in Canada where it has a subsidiary. Raw materials used in this subsidiary are obtained by the Canadian dollar while the revenue is dominated by the US dollar. The company is also exposed to credit risk associated with its debtors. The company has over the years engaged in offering credit services to her customers. There i s a need to continually evaluate the customer credit standing to prevent the company from getting into bad debts (Slonecker, 138). Increase in amount in the account receivable has the potential of making it impossible to pay dividends on time and repurchase common stock. We are living in an age where the consumers are aware of the company’s responsibility towards the environment and energy consumption. The company is thus required to adopt greener technologies but at the same time ensure that it maintains