PEST analysis

A PEST analysis is a process for identifying the political, economic, social and technological factors that affect supply chains - both locally and globally.

Using the PEST analysis tool below will give you a better understanding of the environment in which your industry operates, and the external factors (now and in the future) that may impact on the production of your goods or services. Importantly, you can carry out a PEST analysis on the buyer - this will give you insights into their needs and requirements.

Once you have read through this example PEST analysis, you can delete the entries and insert whatever information you gather.

Political	Economic
Current legislation (local and international) Planned or future legislation Government policies Regulatory agencies Political change (elections) Funding, grants and other initiatives Wars or conflicts Local and internal trading environments	Economic growth and trends Local tax, interest, exchange and inflation rates International economic factors Trade cycles Growing and declining markets Industry trends Environmental factors (seasonal/weather trends)

Social	Technological
Consumer trends (behaviour and attitudes) Lifestyle trends Demographics (age, sex, gender, ethnicity, employment, home ownership) Media opinions Major events Advertising and brand image Ethical issues	Innovation and R&D Technology incentives Maturity of technology Barriers to entry Automation Digital economy Rate of technological change Telecommunications Manufacturing

Also consider...

Learn more about market and customer research.
Use our market research kit to learn more about economic and social trends.
When planning your tender it may be useful to conduct a SWOT analysis of your own business.

Last reviewed: 8 Nov 2013
Last updated: 20 Jun 2017