Showing papers on "Value chain published in 1995"

The Nonmarket Strategy System

Abstract: For managers, the challenge of understanding nonmarket forces ? government, interest groups, activists, and the public ? is frequently more difficult than understanding the market environment. The author develops a strategy system of principles, frameworks, and action plans to deal with the issues, institutions, interests, and information that characterize the nonmarket environment. He uses the concept of a rent chain, analogous to the value chain, to show how companies can participate in policy-setting processes and generate leverage to their own benefit.

Volatile demand calls for quick response: the integrated supply chain

Abstract: Highlights the problems encountered by a traditional supply chain system and shows how these problems can be eradicated by implementing an integrated supply chain. Discusses the workings of an integrated supply chain with the example of a US sports clothing manufacturer. Concludes by including a supply chain diagnostic guide which can be used to assess the efficiency of a company′s supply chain.

Re-positioning the supplier: an SME perspective

Abstract: As manufactured products become more complex, their design and manufacturing demands more and more resource which is being increasingly shared between the supply/value chain members. Competition is being typified less by firm versus firm and more by supply chain versus supply chain. The final assemblers are simplifying their supply chain to reduce logistics complexity and provide best value to the final customer. To suppliers, particularly SMEs, this gives rise to both opportunities for increasing 'added value', as well as threats of being dropped from rationalized supplier bases. Historically, SMEs have been sandwiched between large customers and suppliers and have always reacted to their superior bargaining power. Now, if the SMEs want to survive and grow, they have to adopt a more proactive stance to re-position themselves in response to these supply chain trends. In this paper, we present a technique for re-positioning the supplier in terms of'physical value added' and competency/practice-bas...

The Extended Enterprise — Manufacturing and The Value Chain

Abstract: The Extended Enterprise where core product functionalities are provided separately by different companies who come together to provide a customer defined product is made possible by the emerging integration of computing and telecommunications technologies. These technologies facilitate the development of competitive advantage by exploiting linkages in the value chain. If the challenge of CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) was to realize integration within the four walls of the plants, the challenge to manufacturing systems analysts and researchers today is to support inter-enterprise networking across the value chain. Changes in product and process technologies and the emerging pressure for environmentally benign production systems and products further enhance this challenge.

Organisational Buying Behaviour

Abstract: When a business wishes to sell its products to other organisations, rather than to the individuals at the end of the value chain who will consume the final product for their own satisfaction or utility, it faces a rather more complex marketing situation. This complexity is a result of the number of people often involved in the decision to purchase, the situation in which those people operate and the activities which, together, form the stages of the decision-making process. These processes are not entirely dissimilar to those followed by consumer purchasers, but tend to be characterised in different ways as a result of the contexts in which an organisation buys. For example, organisations have more formalised purchasing procedures as a consequence of the need to monitor and control purchasing activities, and they will often appraise a product in more technical terms because of the impact which a wrong purchase may have on the organisation’s operations.

Information technology in operations management: a theory-of-constraints approach

Abstract: The theory of constraints (TOC) has recently gained much success in its application to industrial and service organizations. This paper applies the TOC principles to the management of information technology (IT) in the organization. The paper creates a four tiered model for the application of the TOC to IT, starting with TOC's throughput-driven business policy; on with the seven step resource management methodology; through the cost/utilization capital investment technique; and concluding with the drum-buffer-rope production activity procedure. We draw a framework and a methodology showing how IT can be more effective using the TOC way of management. In order to systematically explore the location of the organization's constraints we adapt to the TOC a synthesis of three established management frameworks: stakeholder analysis, the value chain and Boston Consulting Group's portfolio analysis model

Supply Chain Reengineering: A Supplier's Perspective

Abstract: One of the more significant structural changes in Western manufacturing industry is the redistribution of “value addition activities” in product supply chains. Final assemblers are often choosing to subcontract the design and manufacture of large sections of their products in an attempt to focus their effort. In turn suppliers take on more of the design and assembly of the end product and may also choose to delegate some of their own activities to second line suppliers. These changes require that the profile of capabilities necessary to design and manufacture the product is also redistributed among the partners in the chain. Competition between suppliers is fierce, particularly in view of the fact that the changing structure favors fewer sources. The suppliers which survive will probably be those who successfully position themselves in terms of appropriate value adding capabilities and differentiation through high levels of customer service.

Value chain management: a project management approach

Abstract: Having examined several process-oriented approaches to value chain management, the authors concluded that the project management model (and systems) was a suitable mechanism for managing the value chain. Experiences with managing the value chain using these systems has led to a thorough understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and an understanding of the need for extensions and enhancements in a next generation project management systems for value chain management. This paper presents the requirements that were synthesized through these experiences. To demonstrate value chain management using a project management approach, the authors developed a prototype compound application, P++, using commercially available high-level, object-oriented tools combined with a small amount of procedural programming. Use of P++ to manage the value chain confirmed the project management approach to value chain management. >

The quality chain: a total quality approach to external and internal supply chain management

Abstract: The paper describes a study developed with the intention to bring the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy in the Supply Chain management. The result is a conceptual model called Quality Chain that allows a production system to manage quantitative and qualitative factors, avoiding dangerous quality dispersions and costs risings.

Organizational Competencies for Managing Investments in Visionary Applications of Information Technology

Abstract: Despite the noted potential of information technology (IT) for enhancing organizational effectiveness (Boynton and Victor 1991; Venkatraman 1991), few firms seem to have achieved consistent success in deploying IT in ways that fundamentally alter industry practices or existing work processes associated with value chain activities and customer interactions (McKenney 1995) Prior IS research has focused attention on the impacts and organizational drivers associated with strategic applications of IT (Sabherwal and King 1995) The main objective of such applications is the seizing of competitive advantage in the marketplace The focus of this research is upon applications of IT that arebroader in organizational scope: whiletheir ultimate goal might be the attainment of market advantages, their immediate focus might beon the enhancement of business competence with respect to managerial decision-making, customer service manufacturing management, or launching of a variety of value-added products and services In order to distinguish such strategic applications of IT, we term them as visionary applications of IT We consider them to be different from strategic applications of IT in two respects: (i) while visionary applications are aimed at the augmentation of business competencies, strategic applications are often targeted on exploiting market or competitive advantage opportunities and (ii) visionary applications are usually driven by the visionary insight of a senior business executive and exhibit an enterprise-wide flavor in their implementation scope, whereas strategic applications often arise in business units and are restricted to a specific market or business in their implementation scope The focus of this research is upon understanding how firms manage the process ofjustifying investments in visionary uses of information technology (m Recent publications and observations of industry practice suggest that the mobilizing of organizational attention and investments in visionary applications of IT is a crucial IT management challenge (Hopper 1990; Sambamurthy and Zmud 1992) Existing ideas maybe inadequate for understanding how firms manage the justification process for visionary uses of IT Our research project is motivated by the belief that a subset of organizations have succeeded in dealing with tile above investment justification challenges for visionary applications ofIT The goal of our research is to examine the following research question: What competencies underlie an organization's abilityto ensure the sustained funding of ideas for visionary applications of IT? Specifically, we will explore the following issues: • What are the stages of the process by which visionary applications of IT are surfaced, developed, and justified? • How is the relationship between investments in visionary applications of ]T and the "bottom-line" visualized and articulated to mobilize organizational suppolt? • How are structures, control systems, rewards and incentives, leadership roles, and cultures utilized in the investment justification process for visionary applications of IT? • How do organizational factors influence the nature of the investment justification process? Our research methodology involves multiple case studies of eight firms carefully selected for their success in mobilizing visionary uses ofm At each firm, we employ a variety of data gathering techniques, including short questionnaires, interviews, and gathering of relevant documents Our information is gathered from senior IS and line executives who are involved with the specific projects ainitd at visionaryuses ofrrand members of the top managementteam The data gathering has been completed and we will present the results of our exploratory investigation at the conference We anticipate that our results will be valuable to both IS researchers