Value chains today have a huge impact on multinational corporations’ right to exist and the way they compete.
The future challenges associated with value chains are also huge and include new demands from society, emerging-market strategies, resource scarcity, risk proliferation and other issues. Anticipating and addressing these future challenges are crucial if companies are to compete effectively.
IMD and several multinational companies created the IMD Global Value Chain Center (VC2020) in June 2011 to develop research about the future of value chains. This book summarizes some of the key findings from this two-year project.
How speed affects risks, opportunities and new business models in value chain
Summary
The impact of speed on risks and opportunities is tremendous. While higher speed increases costs, it can also reduce risks and increase business opportunities. However, the “faster is better” maxim has its limitations. Depending on the industry and the context in which companies are operating, they need to determine their optimal speed. Despite the fact that many companies would like to increase their speed because of the volatile context of recent years, increasing levels of control, bureaucracy and¦compliance regulations are decreasing speed and making companies more vulnerable to risks and less able to take advantage of opportunities. The VC2020 research proposes a new model in this chapter that shows how companies¦can substantially improve both their speed and costs by standardizing products and removing variability. However, they need to find the right balance among speed,¦efficiency and variability. A supply chain or a process might be strong on two of these dimensions, but it cannot be strong on all three. The right speed falls at the point¦where the cost is minimized.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Measuring corporations' cost and contribution to society
Summary
Prior to the 2008 crisis, it was an (almost) universally held belief that business should be conducted for the benefit of shareholders. Governments should interfere as little as¦possible with business to avoid hampering efficiency, wealth creation and economic growth. That world collapsed in 2008. During the months following the Lehman¦Brothers debacle, politicians and governments across the globe were forced to save their countries’ largest businesses, from auto manufacturing to banking. This soon¦became a tragi-comedy. The CEOs of America’s largest automotive companies flew to Washington in their luxurious private jets asking for bailouts worth billions in taxpayer money. Since then, it has become more openly recognized that businesses depend on a variety of different stakeholders and today’s business leaders increasingly¦need to show how they create value for stakeholders along the entire value chain of their products or services.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Optimizing IT-enabled processes and systems in the value chain: The role of governance
Summary
IT-enabled processes and systems are widely acknowledged as key drivers of global value chain management. When investing in these processes and systems, corporations want to benefit from standardizing their worldwide networks, but they are faced with¦the challenge of how to adapt to and support differentiated markets and business models with standardized solutions. The goal of this chapter is to understand the implementation journey to IT-enabled processes and systems in global corporations and to provide insights into the governance challenge of balancing centralization¦versus localization.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Scale and speed: Traditional multinationals versus emerging market firms
Summary
For multinationals in the West, emerging markets represent both a growth story and, increasingly, the need for a pre-emptive strategy. Why? Because emerging-market¦firms have begun to display a clear pattern, they are focusing on customer market segments that are less attractive to – and therefore not satisfactorily served by –¦traditional multinationals. In addition, a poor country is usually surrounded by other poor countries. Once these firms secure a foothold in those markets, they begin to¦improve their product offerings at such a low cost that traditional multinationals find it difficult to replicate. The Japanese applied this strategy when the country began to¦take off almost 50 years ago. And there are a rising number of emerging-market firms in almost every industry imaginable that are keen to establish a foothold in the global marketplace.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
The organizational design shift
Summary
Over the past years, organizations have evolved from being very independent and internally focused to becoming part of an ecosystem that includes the entire value chain. The high level of outsourcing and specialization has resulted in companies having interdependent relationships with the other companies in the value chain. While the focus continues to be mainly internal and on the customer, it is starting to move towards the ecosystem that serves and manages the whole value chain (with the client serving as a prime driver). This change implies that traditional organizational structures with their business units,¦geographic structures or other models, need to be adapted to consider the whole ecosystem. The challenge is how to organize and structure the management of the value chain, from supplier to customer.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
The value chain shift: Seven future challenges facing top executives
Summary
Value chains today have a huge impact on multinational corporations’ right to exist and the way they compete. The future challenges associated with...
Copyright
©2014
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
The five types of negotiators: Understanding diverse negotiator styles
Summary
This note, designed for use in sessions and programs on negotiation, explores five distinct negotiator types: competitor, collaborator, strategist, innovator and problem solver. Each type has unique characteristics, strengths and weaknesses that come into play in negotiation scenarios. The competitor is assertive and results-focused, excelling in crises but potentially struggling with long-term relationships. The collaborator seeks win-win outcomes and thrives in complex negotiations. The strategist is analytical and methodical, focusing on long-term outcomes. The innovator is adaptable and creative, finding unique solutions in dynamic environments. The problem solver is practical and efficient, focusing on workable solutions. The note provides detailed profiles of each type, including their approach, assumptions, strengths and weaknesses, and it also makes recommendations for improvement. It offers guidance on identifying these types and suggests strategies for effectively negotiating with each one. A comparative analysis explores how the types differ in primary focus, approach to conflict, and risk tolerance. The framework builds upon previous negotiation models while offering a more comprehensive and actionable categorization. It also discusses cultural considerations in negotiation styles and includes a self-assessment tool to help readers identify their own negotiation style.
Reference
IMD-7-2596
Copyright
©2024
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Lessons from a legacy: Keeping business and family in balance to create a multigenerational enterprise
Summary
Bruce Grossman shares his family’s journey from mining to building Arca Continental, Latin America's second-largest Coca-Cola bottler, and their commitment to legacy and impact.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Three ways GenAI could transform supply chain management
Summary
GenAI is becoming a more common feature of the supply chain function, but significant areas of opportunity remain, suggests IMD’s Carlos Cordon
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Unlocking value in manufacturing by taking continuous improvement to the next level
Summary
Manufacturers must adopt a unified strategy across different divisions if they are to extract the full value of Industry 4.0.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Decathlon’s circular revolution: Scaling sustainable business models
Summary
The case focuses on Decathlon’s journey from 2023 onwards as it seeks to scale its circular business models and transform from a successful pilot phase to large-scale industrialization. Anna Turrell, Decathlon’s chief sustainability officer, is ta...
Reference
IMD-7-2599
Copyright
©2024
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Decathlon
Industry
Consumer Goods, Sports Equipment
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
EXPRESS: Balancing resilience and efficiency: A literature review on overcoming supply chain disruptions
Summary
The supply chain risk management literature differentiates between disruption risk that arises from supply disruptions to normal activities and recurrent risk that arises from problems in coordinating supply and demand in the absence of disruption...
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Sustainability reporting marks a window of opportunity that will close soon
Summary
A lot has been written about the bureaucratic burden of sustainability reporting regulations with a focus on what companies must do to comply. We recommend not wasting too much time on detangling compliance, scope, materiality and timelines. Your ...
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Working with third party logistics
Summary
Supply chain management experts Ralf Seifert and Richard Markoff pose the question: is fulfilment still an FMCG core competency?
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Integrating sustainability for long-term business resilience and value creation
Summary
Companies that proactively address climate risks are better equipped to adapt to a rapidly evolving business environment, making them more attractive to investors seeking sustainable long-term returns. Addressing environmental concerns is now esse...
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Weaponized electronics: A wake-up call for supply chains
Summary
The deadly blasts from tampered devices in Lebanon highlight the fragility of supply chains, making it clear that better security measures are urgently needed.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications