Showing papers on "Value chain published in 1996"

Managing the Supply Chain: A Strategic Perspective

Abstract: The Evolution of Logistics and the Supply Chain as Management Disciplines - Customer Focus in the Supply Chain - Achieving Customer Satisfaction Objectives - Corporate Profitability and the Supply Chain - Intra Company Cross Functional Roles in Logistics - Value Chain and Value Delivery Systems for Supply Chain Management - Facilities Decisions - Inventory Management and the Supply Chain - Transportation Choices in the Supply Chain - Supply Chain Communications - Formulating a Supply Chain Strategy - Distribution Channel Design and Management - Forming Strategic Partnerships and Alliances - Customer Account Profitability and Direct Product Profitability Analyses - Best Practice and Benchmarking - International Supply Chain Management: Issues and Implications - Optimisation of the Supply Chain - Information for Supply Chain Management - Organisation Design and Management of the Supply Chain - Retailing Management and the Supply Chain Interface - Case Study: Canterbury Sealants

Competitive strategy in the market-focused business

Abstract: Market orientation is a business culture which enlists the participation of all employees for the purpose of creating superior value for its customers and superior performance for itself. A substantial body of research finds a positive relationship between a business's magnitude of market orientation and its performance. However, there has been no research into the competitive strategies through which a market-oriented business creates customer value. This paper extends previous work by showing that market-oriented businesses aggressively develop new products and services, focus on opportunities in market segments rather than in the mass market, and attempt to achieve competitive advantage both by increasing customer benefits and by reducing costs.

The supply chains of perishable products in northern Europe

Abstract: Looks at the concept of supply chain management, discussing the theory and its relevance to perishables distribution and marketing. Shows how supply chain management (SCM) moves on from neoclassical theories of the firm to a new paradigm for business where competition pits channel against channel, and where supply chain partners combine skills and resources which none of the participants would be able to achieve independently. Argues that a growing recognition of the competitive advantage that can be gained through improving co‐ordination in the supply chain is the starting point for SCM initiatives that are evolving in the fresh produce sector. Observes that the fruit and vegetable supply chain has traditionally been fragmented but the last decade has seen rapid structural change. Briefly analyses the results of a qualitative survey of several northern European markets, in context, to highlight the differing degrees of pipeline integration within each system.

Business on the Web: strategies and economics

Abstract: The World Wide Web has literally burst upon the businesses in recent times. With the Web doubling in size every 53 days or so, the growth is biological. With a technology as recent and fast proliferating as this one, paradigms often lag behind action, and the hype. Still, paradigms alone provide an objective coasting course through turbulent waters. Two paradigms which are thought to be helpful in formulating a strategy for doing business on the Internet are the value chain analysis and transaction cost economics. Value chain analysis helps businesses identify specific areas where the Internet can add value and the transaction cost analysis provides a basis for why value is added as transactions move across boundaries in value chains. In this paper we employ these twin analyses and propose a framework for strategic planning to develop business opportunities in the new arena of the Internet. This is expected to provide a basis for further analysis of Web-based business. Some examples from the real world help put this twin analysis in perspective.

Electronic Commerce (Finally) Comes of Age

Abstract: Independent developments have accelerated the pace of on-line transactions One thing is clear: brokers and existing vendor - supplier relationships are vulnerable You could be too if you don't understand the economics of the electronic marketplace A new breed of intermediary is taking advantage of the economics of information. One of them may already be at work in your market, insinuated between you and your customers. New entrants such as Industry. Net, IBEX, and Auto-By-Tel are using electronic networks to jump into the value chain in markets from software to industrial goods. The Internet's World Wide Web, along with the many private networks now emerging, allows these intermediaries to match buyers with sellers and deliver products and services at much lower cost and asset intensity than would be possible within a physical value chain. Opportunities for buyers, sellers, and new intermediaries to create value in electronic channels are by no means limited to start-ups. Established companies are also moving to capitalize on the economic benefits and marketing reach of e-commerce technologies. Banks are moving to shift their customers to electronic channels - and cross-marketing related financial services such as brokerage and travel along the way. Retailers including Wal-Mart and Kmart have announced on-line sales programs. Some of these shifts are being driven by the entrance of new intermediaries; others are designed to discourage new entrants. These moves indicate that electronic commerce - defined as the electronic exchange of information, goods, services, and payments (Exhibit 1) - has finally come of age. Companies still mulling over technological issues - like how to establish a web site - and wondering when or if to include electronic commerce in their plans, may be missing opportunities or threats that are now emerging. Just about any industry is a fertile field for benefits to be captured or for new intermediaries to take hold. More than opportunity cost is involved: for established players in such industries as financial services, electronics (including software), publishing, industrial goods, entertainment, healthcare, and retailing, electronic commerce holds the potential to place revenue streams at risk. In payment systems alone, a portion of the $33 billion in transaction revenues may be up for grabs as payments are transferred from the physical to the electronic value chain. We estimate that for every percentage point shift to electronic payments, anywhere from $50 million to $300 million in payments revenues, could be captured by payments processors companies that may or may not be the existing financial institutions who currently capture those revenues and the related spread and float income. Established players of all stripes are often at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to competing on these new terms. Their existing products, culture, business practices, channels, and customers can all militate against seizing new opportunities particularly if these involve cannibalizing current revenue streams. But they can compete in electronic commerce provided they have a solid understanding of what it is, how new intermediaries are using it to reduce costs and to grow revenues, and what structural changes will arise as their industry migrates from the physical to the electronic value chain. Exhibit 1 E-commerce applications Business-to-business services Business-to-consumer services Traditional E-commerce Messaging services * EDI and EFT * E-mail * Messaging/E-mail * Fax * Fax Online information services, Online information services, eg Lexis-Nexis eg America Online, CompuServe Electronic marketplaces/ Electronic marketplaces/ transactions, eg Industry.Net, transactions, eg Internet home electronic malls shopping E-commerce comes of age Electronic commerce used to be the preserve of large companies that could afford to build or lease the necessary proprietary networks. …

Streamlining the supply chain in the pharmaceuticals industry

Abstract: The pharmaceutical industry is now facing major challenges that have led to the restructure and redesign of strategic processes. The supply chain is one of these strategic processes. In their attempt to build a world class supply chain, companies are facing a number of obstacles that need to be addressed in order to “debottleneck” it. Investigates ways of streamlining the supply chain by finding and eliminating bottlenecks along the various processes. Introduces original proposals to turn this process to major competitive advantage in terms of cost of goods, service, quality and capital utilization.

Trends in Managing Industrial Innovation-First Insights from a Field Survey

Abstract: In an ever-changing world, management practices do not remain static This truth certainly holds for the management of industrial innovation In order to better understand how the management of industrial innovation activities might change over the next decade, we conducted a research study combining the insights of the chief technology officers at a multinational technology-intensive company and of 22 academic experts in the management of technology Based on semistructured interviews and an iterative survey approach, we examined important trends and changes in the management of industrial innovation In this brief report, we shall highlight the major issues raised by the participants in the study, both industrial and academic (the complete study report is available on request) Based on the interviews with corporate CTOs (about 25), five major foci of attention in managing industrial innovation were detected We classified them as (1) scope, (2) organization, (3) control, (4) strategy, and (5) people The "scope" category focuses on the fundamental content of industrial innovation activities Taking into account a time-horizon that spans the past, the present and the future, the participants pointed to the following trends: Whereas five years ago, the subject of the design cycle might have been regarded as getting a product out, this is no longer true and will be even less so in the next decade The ultimate objective of design will be the incorporation of the full context of the application, meaning the interrelation with other products in that application, and the change of the customer's perception Obviously, products will still be developed, but only as part of interrelated products and services Cross-Functional Specialists The organization of the innovation process is also subject to considerable evolution Integrative efforts by grouping functional experts tend to become increasingly unsatisfactory and obsolete As technological knowledge in different specialty areas diffuses throughout the organization, the workplace becomes populated with specialists at cross-functional work rather than with technical specialists It is crucial that this breed of crossfunctional specialist (even if the concept might seem a contradictio in terminis) have a deeply-ingrained intellectual understanding of the various knowledge areas that have to be integrated in order to make a system architecture work in its application environment This change in organization, of course, involves the other modes of managerial control In a context-rich, functionally-fused innovative environment, direct control over results and processes simply becomes impossible Instead, management becomes a monitor or coach in stimulating information sharing and processing (both quick and thorough) in order to enable the fusion of competences required by the "new" innovative environment Only then will management create a true "learning" organization; ie, an organization in which members actively seek the information they need (instead of waiting for it to emerge) and, also, in which members actively share information they consider relevant to their value-creating workplace context Focus on the Value Chain As a consequence, the strategic management of innovative activities will become increasingly valuechain-focused Competitors and key players along the value chain will become deeply embedded in the company's innovation strategy Needless to say, these evolutions have a dramatic impact on the role of people along the innovation trajectory Technical experts have to be at the same time focused and differentiated They should develop a deep appreciation (without necessarily becoming experts) for the different knowledge areas at the nexus of new system architectures, and they also have to develop a value-oriented understanding of their organization and its context …

The value chain component in a decision support system: a case example

Abstract: This paper discusses the contribution and use of the value chain component within a prototype decision support system (DSS). Here, the authors focus on the inclusion of Porter's value chain within the general design of the DSS for a purchasing manager in the Norwegian wood processing industry. They discuss the value chain and cost driver parameters as well as those design principles that they found significant for the creation, inclusion, visualization, and use of the value system. They summarize related research that they conducted concerning the analysis and diagnosis of decision processes for this particular decision maker and his organization and the formulation of a prescriptive model. They then discuss some of the general design and implementation features of their prototype DSS. The goal of this DSS is to present a tool for the decision maker that addresses qualitative decision making and improve the user's mental model and modeling capacity.

A framework for environmental quality assessment

Abstract: Asserts that an environmental quality assessment programme is essential in ensuring sustainable development. Management needs a programme to enable it to provide value in its product and service delivery at high quality while also ensuring the safety and health of both the users of its services and the environment. Argues that, in order to achieve this goal, the value chain of the product must be studied from its inception to the end of the product’s life. Provides discussions and suggestions as to how this study could be undertaken and achieved.

The value chain, critical success factors and company information needs in two Finnish companies

Abstract: The use of the value chain concept and the critical success factor (CSF) approach is used to identify the information intensive areas of an organization and corporate information needs for evaluating strategic information systems. The major findings are reported of a qualitative study carried out in two companies in the pharmaceutical and the publishing sectors of Finnish industry. Information Management (IM) is identified as the most critical Success Factor for the pharmaceutical company but less critical for publishing. The findings indicate that : the CSFs and related information needs cluster according to the value activities ; IM is an essential support activity and a necessary part of an organization's infrastructure ; and the industrial sector partly determines the clustering of the CSFs. The interaction between the primary activities was emphasized. Social network theory is recommended for identifying deeper information-seeking structures and as being appropriate to analyse the impact of critical areas of the value chain for organizing the IM function in a most effective manner.

The outlook for globalization

Abstract: Bruce Lloyd of the South Bank University reports on an interview with Professor George S. Yip, author of Total Global Strategy: Managing for Worldwide Competitive Advantage. Argues that managers must analyse their industry and identify the specific drivers that affect their operation and development. Leads to the identification of a number of global strategy levers: global market participation; products (global products, or local products); location of the value chain; marketing strategy. Explores critical success factors: a combination of traditional concepts associated with building and maintaining a competitive advantage and creating global capabilities and a global network that can tap into the best resources and expertise available around the world, as well as knowing how to pull it together and use it effectively. Maintains that the greatest challenge for management education all over the world is how to reconcile theory and practice. You must understand what you need to learn, then develop the capability actually to learn it.

Value Chain and Value Delivery Systems for Supply Chain Management

Abstract: Much of the interest in the developing areas of logistics as a discipline has been focused upon the interrrelatedness of functions, activities, companies and cultural intermediaries within developing partnerships and alliances. A useful analytical model with which to explore the tasks and roles within the overall process of delivering customer satisfaction is the value chain (see Figure 6.1).

Customer Focus in the Supply Chain

Abstract: The use of market segmentation techniques to identify market opportunities and customer profile targets has become widespread. Where it is particularly successful is in defining market segments for which there are two or three major criteria that remain stable over a period of time and are flexible enough to permit some movement of the criteria which does not result in disrupting the positioning of the business offer. The use of broad demographic and socioeconomic criteria is sufficient for many retailing situations such as locating food superstore outlets. The successes of Tesco and Sainsbury in the UK are examples.

Gaining competitive advantage through environmental management

Abstract: The role of environmental management as a potential economic and strategic leverage is considered, based on the practices of 20 multinationals and medium-sized companies based in France. Corporate tactics and strategic moves aimed at transforming environmental constraints into durable competitive advantages are addressed. Based on the notion of the value chain, three priority strategic fields are encompassed: cost reduction, differentiation and power control through corporate image. Various opportunities for strategic creativity are described, on the basis of corporate experiences, such as the anticipation of recycling phases, new market positioning, improving customer loyalty through revamping techniques or the collection of end-of-life products, diversification or technology transfer. All the strategic moves described show changes in the perception of executive managers. These changes range from the awareness of market value associated with environmental management, to notions such as hidden costs, ‘transaction’ costs, latent environmental debt or even ‘virtual’ costs linked to missed opportunities on the market. The next phase, already initiated in a few pioneering companies, deals with the elaboration of measurement tools, such as green management control charts or non-financial indicators. These innovative formalized approaches, far from the initial work on ‘green accounting’, tend to monitor the relationships between environmental management and the creation of competitive advantage using marketing techniques or even cognitive mapping.

Manufacturing system constructs: the need for resource alignment

Abstract: Argues that all manufacturing organizations contain the same basic elements needed to be world class, but some perform much better than others through attention to integration and closer synchronization of value‐adding activity. Considers the evidence that throughput time reduction in the material conversion chain has been most successful when restructuring a company. Managers and all employees, however, need to develop a new mindset which can focus on the manufacturing system constructs that effectively link the value chain. Gives case history results to expand on the problems encountered in developing the value‐adding capability of organizations.

DraKula™: Medieval Value Chain Analysis Lives OK?

Abstract: “Manufacturing good, marketing bad” was the official view in the Soviet Union - with dire economic results. Even in the market economies, tax authorities are prone to take the Soviet line….