Lesson Plan

• Describe how supplier power influences key business decisions such as pricing, production planning and location.
• Analyse the effect of supplier concentration, switching costs and availability of substitutes on a firm’s profitability.
• Evaluate at least three strategies for managing supplier power (e.g., multiple sourcing, vertical integration, long‑term contracts).
• Apply Porter’s Five Forces to assess the strength of supplier influence in a real‑world case.
• Formulate a brief recommendation for improving supplier relationships in a given business scenario.

• Projector and screen
• PowerPoint slides covering supplier power and Porter’s Five Forces
• Printed case‑study handout (smartphone manufacturer scenario)
• Supplier‑power worksheet for group work
• Whiteboard and markers
• Sticky notes and pens for strategy brainstorming
• Exit‑ticket slips

Begin with a quick video clip showing a smartphone brand scrambling after a key component price hike. Ask students what external factors might cause such a reaction, linking to previous lessons on competitors. Explain that today they will uncover how suppliers shape business decisions and what managers can do about it. Success criteria: students will identify supplier impacts, analyse a case, and propose management strategies.

1. Do‑now (5'): Short quiz on external influences to activate prior knowledge.
2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Overview of supplier power, Porter’s Five Forces and key factors from the notes.
3. Case‑study analysis (15'): In groups, students examine the smartphone supplier scenario, fill out the worksheet identifying impacts on pricing, production, location, design and risk.
4. Whole‑class debrief (10'): Groups share findings; teacher highlights connections to business decisions.
5. Strategy brainstorming (10'): Groups propose management tactics (multiple sourcing, contracts, integration, etc.) and record ideas on sticky notes.
6. Exit ticket (5'): Each student writes one key insight and one action a manager could take.

Summarise how supplier dynamics directly affect core business choices and why proactive management is essential. Collect exit tickets to gauge understanding, then assign homework: research a recent news story where a supplier issue forced a company to change its strategy and prepare a one‑page summary.