Understanding the Dynamics of the Value Chain

Value Chain Design

Let us assume that a company sees an opportunity in the market to compete on the basis of response time. Today, speed to market is a critical competitive weapon. The significant components of the company’s value chain must then be designed for speed. The starting point is at the beginning of the chain during the product-development process. That process must be configured (or reconfigured) for speed. As we saw in Figure 1.4 of Chapter 1, Situation A is the siloed organization. Beginning with concept development, each activity passes its work “over the wall” to the next, slowing down the process and extending the completion time. Worse, once the design gets to pilot production, those in charge of production may say “who developed ...