Capgemini 3
Capgemini 3
Capgemini 3
M A N U FAC T U R I NG
CONTENTS
4 Introduction
6 Executive Summary
9 Research Design
14 Manufacturing
26 Support Functions
39 Appendix B: References
© 2009 Capgemini. All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be modified, deleted or expanded by any process
or means without prior written permission from Capgemini Rightshore® is a trademark belonging to Capgemini.
Simon Harris Floyd D'Costa
Brad Mackay Victoria Eavenson
Introduction
4
Reaction to the broadening global economic crisis has hit much of
the manufacturing world hard. Reduced consumer demand has led to
swift production cuts at factories in many markets, while the credit
crunch has prompted some companies to hoard cash.
5
Executive Summary
New perspectives on value chains are needed. It is a collaborators and competitors as well as in-house
concept developed in a different era, an era before the resources), from anywhere across the globe, while
disaggregation through outsourcing and the globalization concentrating their own research on big projects where
of supply and manufacturing that we witness today. To they have world-class capability.
gain these new perspectives, we examined the global
In manufacturing, we witness a shift from
value chains of some leading manufacturers that are manufacturing to manufacturing management. Where
deeply immersed in these changes. We examined how world-class manufacturing resides at the heart of the
these firms are dealing with or leading these changes, business, perhaps with global competitive location
and we have identified the lessons of their experience. advantage, this is kept in-house. A focus on manufacturing
management, however, means that manufacturing is done
The study found that the value chain idea, with raw by others, anywhere in the world, principally in
materials being processed through to consumed products, collaborative partnership arrangements where both parties
is no longer relevant. Instead, we find that best-in-class gain through mutual learning and innovation.
manufacturers actively manage globally networked value
circles, with:
In supply chain management, we witness a shift from
contracts to partnerships. Best-in-class manufacturers
Customer relationships leading innovations to generate leverage their purchasing power in how they outsource
a value circle rather than a linear chain activity where they do not have competitive advantage,
and in how they control these suppliers. But they
Close collaborative relationships for design, supply and
exercise that control by developing closer relationships
customer satisfaction with fewer suppliers, who are closely monitored. In a
Highly complex network relationships with customers,
way, this gives both parties competitive advantage.
suppliers and competitors worldwide
In marketing, sales and service, we witness a shift
Value creation reflecting intricate combinations with the
from relationship management to a perspective of
value circles of other manufacturing networks worldwide partnership with customers. Best-in-class
Active management involving advanced use of IT
manufacturers address customers’ needs and problems
approaches. by developing closer relationships that enable them to
understand and then deliver what they require. This is
This has led us to develop the global networked value circle achieved through location, through deeper collaboration
model, shown opposite. The best-in-class firms operating with local distributors, and through direct close contact
in this environment display three essential abilities: with customers, all of which are facilitated by
information technology. This not only improves the
The ability to identify realistically global competencies
customer lifetime experience with the manufacturer, but
(and retain only these competencies in-house) also helps drive the product development and
innovation process. We find this links the two ends of
The managerial and IT ability to form, manage and
exploit relationships (despite these becoming more the value chain together.
profuse, more global and more complex)
In support functions, we witness a shift from support
of an internal value chain to the active management
The foresight to identify relationships that will become
strategic assets (since many are available, but only a few of a value-creating network. Best-in-class
will deliver competitive and strategic advantage). manufacturers are outsourcing, globally dispersing,
dissolving management in greater and closer
The key findings within the five elements of the value collaborations with suppliers, customers and even
circle that we examined are: competitors. Value creation now requires the creation
and productive management of highly complex global
networks. Achieving this without loss of control, value
In product design and innovation, we witness a shift
from doing it, to resourcing it. Best-in-class or margin requires the use of the latest IT approaches.
manufacturers have developed new systems involving Indeed, these approaches are not just supporting the
dispersed activities to capture and absorb new ideas and new network management approach; by making it
innovations from anyone (customers, suppliers, feasible, they are driving it.
6
INNOVATION PARTNERS
AND NETWORKS
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MANUFACTUING PARTNERS
AND NETWORKS
7
The Value Chain
Originally developed by Michael Porter in the 1980s, the concept of the value chain has
been employed as a valuable management tool for almost a quarter of a century. The
global business environment in which firms operate has changed massively since then; the
whole nature of the global manufacturing landscape is different. The way firms manage
themselves has also changed; the large, centrally planned industrial monoliths, for which
the original value chain was geared, have largely disappeared.
The value chain used in this report is an adaptation of the one used in the ‘Manufacturing
in 2020’ report. It is shown below, and the following pages outline what we found out from
leading companies concerning the best-in-class global value chain. We were aware that
the way we need to look at the value chain could have changed; the concept itself may no
longer be ‘fit for purpose’ as it is currently constructed.
8
Research Design
The best-in-class value chain research initiative draws The details of the research process are outlined in
on a wide range of expertise from both Capgemini Appendix A. In sum, eight companies were studied
and the University of Edinburgh Business School. The in depth, two from each of the automotive, consumer
collaboration between our two organizations includes electronics, aerospace and general manufacturing sectors.
two consultants from Capgemini and two investigators Extensive documentary analysis of data collected from
and four researchers from the University of Edinburgh press releases, media coverage, industry reports, trade
Business School. There were four phases in the research journals and academic research, was undertaken. Eight
process, including two issues workshops, documentary in-depth interviews with industry experts and a further
analysis and semi-structured, in-depth single interviews. 135 interviews conducted for the recent ‘Manufacturing
in 2020’ report were used to triangulate the findings
underpinning this report.
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Product Design
and Innovation
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Product design and innovation
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
All manufacturing value chains start with a system for The potential partners on the collaboration horizon need
capturing ideas and developing them into new products, not be restricted to traditional patterns either. Academics,
processes, services or innovations that add value. Our artists, fashion designers, entrepreneurs and even
value chain, therefore, starts with product design and competitors, customers and suppliers are all examples of
innovation. This study uncovered several emerging potential sources of new ideas, technologies and product
leading practices for innovation and product design, innovations. While collaborations can focus on both
several of which challenge old orthodoxies. product development and basic research, a hallmark of a
successful collaboration is the speed by which research is
For instance, companies are finding that a go-it-alone, translated into marketable products.
secretive approach to research and development is not as
likely to yield the same results as collaborating openly Best-in-class manufacturers take innovative influences
with other institutions. Sources for ideas are as global as from all sorts of people. The market for ideas is
the value chains they feed into. Leading companies are becoming increasingly open and unconventional for
organizing research and development (R&D) activities best-in-class manufacturers. Examples include: Philips’
around collaborations, centers of excellence and big drive to gain continual feedback on how well it meets
ideas. At the same time, companies are seeking to build end-user needs through a people-centric approach in
partnerships with external institutions, and a parallel its experiences research and innovations pipeline; HP’s
trend is placing more emphasis on competition internally. Idea Lab, which allows outsiders to view early-stage
innovations through the web and its partnering with
Best-in-class manufacturers tap the world for ideas, fashion designer Vivienne Tam to create accessories and
with R&D in local companies and dispersed labs. packaging for its notebooks; and student competitions.
Globalization of industries, businesses and markets
is often discussed, but globalization of ideas is just as
important. For many firms, the era of the global R&D
center or ‘University’ is over. Instead, for industry leaders
such as ABB, EADS and Philips, R&D is dispersed
across the world in R&D units that can reside within CASE POINT: Philips
local subsidiary companies, partners or joint venture
businesses, or within dispersed research or development
units. Close coordination is then maintained so that the
developments and ideas in these centers can quickly At Philips, with cutting-edge products, open
be shared and exploited across the groups’ worldwide innovation has become a method of working
operations. For example, ABB strikes a balance between because ‘going it alone makes absolutely no
staying close to customers and the technical influences sense’, according to Dr. Rick Herwig, CEO of
driving innovation by dispersing its R&D in locations Philips Research. ‘We team up with academic and
around the world, including China, India and Singapore, industrial partners who have competencies and
giving it a competitive advantage over rivals with large, interests complementary to our own, join forces
centralized R&D centers. with industry peers on standardization, and create
momentum in the future directions of technology.
We jointly aspire to and are active in establishing
Best-in-class manufacturers use open innovation,
strong local networks of leading industries and
taking ideas from anywhere. Open innovation is a term research institutes.’ Philips is also increasingly
coined by Dr. Henry Chesbrough, a business professor at involving strategic suppliers at an earlier stage in
the University of California, Berkeley. It is an approach product development. In its ‘Partners for Growth’
where companies strive to speed up innovation by program, suppliers are taking an increasing share
collaborating with a range of partners. In contrast to of the value added in its business.
the old approach to R&D, where companies sought to
protect their core competencies and intellectual property,
this new strategy acknowledges that partnering with
leading researchers in other businesses, government and
universities can make for faster progress.
11
Here, customers are increasingly the most important Researchers inside leading companies are increasingly
source of innovative ideas. In the ‘Manufacturing in required to compete for project funding, which helps to
2020’ study, 58% of companies expected to collaborate cultivate an entrepreneurial culture within R&D. This
with customers in product concept development by involves competitive processes similar to university grant
2020, compared with 50% now. In product design and applications to research funding bodies. Proposals and
refinement, suppliers are also increasingly important: business plans are developed and submitted for critical
40% of leading manufacturers will increase their review, from which the most competitive are selected.
involvement with suppliers here. 3M, for example, has developed a process whereby
inventors can compete for seed capital from units within
As an innovative leader, EADS is always on the look- the company.
out for ideas of innovation and for people who think
differently. A student competition organized by EADS Best-in-class manufacturers focus on big ideas,
calls for students to give their ideas on areas like aircraft emphasizing the ‘R’ in R&D and actively selecting
parts, materials and systems. Airbus will select a shortlist the winners. A common R&D orthodoxy in the 1990s
of 100 teams that will eventually be whittled down to can best be summed up by the expression ‘let a thousand
five finalists who will be helped by an Airbus coach to flowers bloom.’ Spreading resources across a number of
upgrade their projects. The winning project could be small, often blue-sky thinking R&D projects, the theory
incorporated in one of Airbus’s programs. suggests, will allow creativity and innovation to flourish.
Some leading firms, such as HP, however, are finding that
Best-in-class manufacturers innovate by collaborating a downside to this approach is that resources become
externally while fostering competition internally. spread too thinly over numerous projects. So, many leading
Competition is an important part of the product design companies have begun streamlining their R&D processes.
and innovation process. For many companies, this is
being internalized. Daimler, for example, nurtures the Experience suggests that small R&D projects, even
entrepreneurial spirit by encouraging its designers to if successful, do not necessarily result in commercial
compete against one another to have their designs selected offerings. Promising research on large projects can
for production. As part of the streamlining efforts of R&D generate high added value. For this reason, industry
processes, competition is used as a way of selecting the leaders such as ABB, HP and Philips have been
best ideas for further research and development. streamlining their research processes into larger, high-
impact projects. This approach is considered to be an
essential factor for achieving fundamental breakthroughs.
12
Product design and innovation
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
13
Manufacturing
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MANUFACTURING
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
Firms are no longer just talking about globalization as While many hold on to core activities such as R&D,
something that is and will be happening: this world is marketing and finance, increasingly even intellectual
already here. Manufacturing can take place anywhere property, such as design and engineering, is outsourced.
that there is a cost advantage. At the moment, it’s in Asia; TomTom knew from the outset that its strengths would
tomorrow it could be elsewhere. 60% of the firms in the be in innovating, in its expertise in a particular area of
‘Manufacturing in 2020’ study expected to be sourcing technology and in its understanding of and its ability
from more companies within the next ten years. We are to meet customer needs in this area. It established
seeing a transition in best-in-class manufacturing from manufacturing outsourcing capability rather than
being manufacturing firms, to being manufacturing manufacturing capability.
management firms.
15
In-sourcing is where business processes are acquired All the manufacturers surveyed in the ‘Manufacturing
by a firm, which can allow companies to control quality in 2020’ study expect to rely more on overseas suppliers
up the value chain while reducing costs. For firms in coming years. But in many industries, proximity
with a narrow product range, such as TomTom, the to markets is important for manufacturing location,
streamlining and integrating of the supply chain can add especially those where distribution costs are substantial.
competitive advantage. Even though it has outsourced all Distribution can account for 30% of automobile costs, so
manufacturing, TomTom improved the accuracy of the Eastern Europe has become an attractive manufacturing
navigational instruction by vertically integrating with Tele location for Western European markets, while the
Atlas, an e-map developer. This reduced costs and yielded Southern United States holds a comparative advantage
a significant competitive advantage in e-maps. over the Northern United States.
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manufacturing
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
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Supply Chain
Management
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supply chain management
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
As supply chains have become increasingly globalized, Best-in-class manufacturers leverage their purchasing
leading manufacturers are searching for ways of power. The relentless quest to drive costs down continues.
leveraging their considerable purchasing power for greater For some leading companies, this means leveraging
cost savings earlier in the production stages. By taking purchasing power for global sourcing and procurement.
control of procurement, for instance, companies are able For example, HP has assumed control of purchasing on
to generate cost savings through purchasing such inputs behalf of its contract manufacturers. It hides the price of
as raw materials on behalf of their suppliers, which their strategic components from both competitors and contract
suppliers’ economies of scale may not have otherwise manufacturers by buying them directly from contract
allowed them to do at the same price. This has also manufacturer suppliers and reselling them to their contract
facilitated greater control over pricing of components manufacturers. This also leverages HP’s significant
bought from their suppliers. purchasing power on behalf of its contract manufacturers,
cutting costs without the risk of contract manufacturer
The biggest change in supply chain management suppliers feeling pressured into reducing prices for the
identified in the ‘Manufacturing in 2020’ study was contract manufacturers. HP can then distribute strategic
increased transparency in ‘open networks’. By 2020, 30% components based on contract manufacturer need.
of the leading manufacturers questioned expected to
improve their IT systems for managing their supply chain. But a number of weaknesses are inherent in traditional
Creating on-line business-to-business marketplaces is supply chains. The cost of inputs into key components
one way of reducing costs and managing disaggregated produced by suppliers, and consequently, the price of
suppliers, and reverse auctions and e-sourcing are purchasing them, can be difficult to determine for the
transforming the way in which contracts can be tendered manufacturers. Quality can be hard to monitor. Supply
and potential suppliers can compete for them. and demand patterns can be challenging to determine.
And buying power can be weak. TomTom, for example,
Also evident is a trend towards developing closer outsources all of its manufacturing, and that would present
relationships with suppliers. Competition is no longer a business risk if there were a disruption with a supplier
the sole driver behind efficiency and cost reductions. relationship. So the number of single-source components
Manufacturers are seeing collaborations, information is minimized, and the highest-volume products are dual-
sharing and explicit and transparent expectation setting sourced from two manufacturing partners.
within a family of suppliers, populating each link in the
value chain as a greater driving force behind efficiency, To overcome these supply chain risks, some
quality and reliability. While managing complexity is a manufacturers have turned to buy and sell programs
hallmark of this brave new world, best-in-class supply designed to increase control of supply chains. But
chain management practices also seek to simplify this outsourcing manufacturing can decrease transparency
complicated process through IT or outsourcing to a over demand and supply patterns of key components.
number of trusted specialist logistics firms. Costs can be hidden by suppliers, increasing the risk of
price inflation for the manufacturer and decreasing their
buying power. It also makes it difficult to monitor quality.
19
Best-in-class manufacturers develop reliability
chains through closer relationships with suppliers.
Manufacturer-supplier relationships have traditionally CASE POINT: EADS
been characterized as adversarial. Cost-oriented
competitive approaches to managing suppliers dominated
business orthodoxy. Several exemplars of best-in-class
supply chain management practices have rejected these EADS has a sourcing strategy that emphasizes
old dogmas. Many leading manufacturers actively seek leveraging purchasing power across the business
long-term relationships with suppliers that perform well through joint sourcing initiatives, identifying and
on such metrics as quality and reliability. evaluating potential suppliers globally based on
their capabilities and certification, and regularly
evaluating supplier performance. For suppliers to
Driven partly by ‘lean production’ philosophy,
be considered for partnership with EADS, they
manufacturers wager that greater cost efficiencies can be must demonstrate constant excellence across a
derived from bilateral goal setting, information sharing and range of metrics.
working with suppliers. TomTom, for example, continues
to depend on a limited number of suppliers, and sometimes
sole suppliers, for component supply and manufacturing.
This improves purchasing power. But the relationships
with key manufacturing partners and component
suppliers such as Quanta and IAC are close and long-term,
although moderated by regular audits and reviews by local
engineering and quality-assurance departments.
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supply chain management
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
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Marketing, Sales
and Service
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marketing, sales and service
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
Where customers are located across the globe, businesses For example, customers typically contacted ABB when
face not only the physical challenges of maintaining the equipment wasn’t working properly, or when they
relationships across such wide distances, but the cultural needed spare parts. These events might have been treated
challenges as well. Manufacturers have long faced a well, but they were still seen as on-off transactions. Now
tension between localization to customers’ needs and they are viewed as relationship-building opportunities in
global standardization for productive efficiency. There is which ABB is able to differentiate itself markedly from its
a fine balance to be determined by every business, and competitors. A competitive supplier that does not offer
competitive disadvantage is the result of getting it wrong. the same confidence, value and relationship qualities,
Firms must consider how much their production needs to even if it has a better product, will not have the same
be globalized to achieve the necessary level of productive competitive advantages. But this also costs money: HP
efficiency. This depends on the amount of actual working invested massively in training to offer its ‘Total Customer
together with customers that they desire, the level of Experience’ program, which involves sales executives
communication and the language involved, as well as the taking responsibility for customers’ product experiences.
effect of cultural differences on the relationship.
23
For best-in-class manufacturers’ customer relationships, Best-in-class manufacturers achieve closeness by
location matters. Competitive advantage in customer collaborating down the value chain. Retailers’ and
relationships requires the appropriate level of physical distributors’ connections with customers can be critical.
closeness, sometimes with regular discussions and The best manufacturers increasingly adopt collaborative
working sessions with customers. So strategic decisions approaches rather than simply competitive supplier
need to be made regarding the extent to which sales relationships, in order to give greater value to customers.
structures are centralized or decentralized, and the extent There are benefits for both sides. As the complexity of
to which local operations are given autonomy of decision- manufactured products increases, greater training of
making. So even in globalized value chains, successful retail or distributor staff is required, and this demands
manufacturers are decentralizing their marketing longer-term collaborative arrangements with distributors.
relationships and allowing strong local autonomy. Deeper collaborative relationships give them the incentive
to feed customer and market information back to their
Like many companies, HP has struggled to achieve the collaborating manufacturers. This is changing the
right balance between localization and centralization in distribution landscape. The majority of Chinese and
its customer relationship management. A good recent US manufacturers in the ‘Manufacturing in 2020’ study
sales performance reflects a massive shift towards expect to rely on overseas distributors for addressing local
decentralization, despite some loss of clarity of structure market needs; this is presently the minority.
and some duplication of effort. The US sales force of
17,000 has been decentralized into individual business Best-in-class manufacturers achieve closeness by
units, administrative layers have been stripped out and increasing psychic as well as physical closeness.
division heads have been given control over their own Achieving more direct relationships with customers may
sales forces. require physical connection between manufacturer and
customer, but other activities can increase closeness
But there is no general rule: the extent of use of the in a ‘psychic’ sense, helped by the use of IT. A ‘virtual
distribution channel, or direct sales, varies according customer environment’ involving more sophisticated web
to business area and region. In this decision, local interaction can help more than the selling process; it can
responsiveness needs to be allowed, but mediated also help consumers conceptualize products that may be
by coordination with the center so that coordinated of interest, as well as allowing them to leave feedback, so
responses to global trends can be developed. deepening the manufacturer-customer relationship.
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marketing, sales and service
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
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Support Functions
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SUPPORT FUNCTIONS:
From supporting a
F r o m r e l a t i a r t n er s
t o c u s t o me
M A RK E TI
chain to managing a
value-creating network
NG,
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support functions
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
Best-in-class manufacturers support product design and Best-in-class manufacturers harness IT for faster
innovation by using central hubs to coordinate projects innovation and operational cost efficiencies. The
in dispersed labs. While the era of the central laboratories support is no longer just human and organizational. To
is over and the era of dispersed research has begun, cut the time and cost of developing IT systems, technology
innovations need to be captured, managed and exploited. now enables them to be simulated before they are
Much of Philips’ research is localized in its research labs produced. This allows for new systems to be experienced
around the world. The company is investing 40 million virtually before being prototyped, cutting the time-to-
Euros in R&D in China, in eleven R&D centers. The market, project costs and increasing their adoption.
challenge, however, is to ensure that this dispersed research
excellence contributes to Philips’ global competitiveness. A partnership between Capgemini and iRise, a world
This means that innovations locally in China (for example, leader in visualization software provision, for instance,
the value-segmented X-ray scanners developed in a Philips- has developed visual modeling technology that is being
Neusoft joint venture) need to be developed into a global deployed across General Motors. This technology is
opportunity for the group as a whole. helping to make traditional mock-ups a thing of the past.
Software applications can be modeled and experienced
This transformation requires strong network linkages through simulation before being developed. It cuts
within the group. Firms need well-organized central project time by an estimated 10%, allows for systems
‘hubs’, not geographically central, not central in a to be implemented very quickly, increasing innovative
discipline or functional sense, but central strategically applications in the process, and has received high
and commercially. HP set up a Technology Transfer customer satisfaction ratings.
office to speed the transfer of research undertaken in
the company’s 23 district laboratories in seven countries
into products and services in as many routes as possible.
The office facilitates product development within HP’s
different business groups, organizes intellectual property
licensing agreements with third parties, and manages
relationships with venture capital firms. The job of the
hubs is to:
27
Best-in-class manufacturers support supply chain Best-in-class manufacturers devolve management
management by using advanced IT solutions. For many of the complexity of manufacture. Given the sheer
manufacturers, the exponential increase in outsourcing complexity in managing logistics globally, many leading
poses considerable challenges for managing diffuse, manufacturers have also moved towards devolving
globally sourced networks of inputs. Advances in IT increasing responsibility for running supply chain
make it possible to manage supply chains from tens, management and logistics to specialized third parties.
hundreds and sometimes thousands of suppliers. It is in For example, under its Power 8 program, EADS is
the interest of many leading manufacturers to standardize consolidating local depots into district centers managed by
collaborative IT systems. Kuehne + Nagel in France, Germany, the UK and Spain,
from where DHL will deliver components, equipment and
raw materials to its production lines. EADS expects this to
become a source of competitive advantage and will meet
program efficiency improvement objectives.
CASE POINT: HP Best-in-class manufacturers use customer information,
communication and technology in IT solutions to
manage complexity. Customers have the information
that manufacturers need, more than any other group:
For HP, supply constraints and/or price information about their needs, information about the
fluctuations in specific components present
manufacturer’s products (and competitors’ products), and
risks to revenue and gross margin. Managing
ideas for product, process or service developments. We
suppliers can involve straightforward inventory
management, but also contractual agreements
have noted how customer feedback is an integral part of
for critical suppliers and manufacturers. Under TomTom’s product development process, for example,
Procurement Risk Management, software tools and informs the company how it expands its products
developed by HP help quantify the inherent and services. Essential in this approach is the use of IT
uncertainties involved. Suppliers can get a lower systems for customer relationship management.
volume commitment, but HP benefits from
guaranteed minimum volumes. Marketing operations around the world have information
about local needs and about their responses to them;
information that will lie at the heart of a coordinated
response. Successful manufacturers receive this
information and manage and use it effectively to generate
appropriate responses. At ABB, for example, a more
customer-focused and service-oriented approach to
engineering products, and the development of full-
service maintenance agreements highlighted the need
for a new, technology-led inventory management system.
The outcome is reduced inventories, an improved service
offer with greater service revenue, and a proactive
approach to customer service that is seen to offer a
competitive advantage.
28
support functions
A New Model for Best-in-Class Manufacturing
29
Conclusions,
Implications
and Lessons
30
From a Value Chain to an Interlinked Global Value Circle
The value chain as a notion has its roots within the centrally-planned
firms of the 20th century. It was a useful way for firms to consider
the value of their operations, as well as their competitiveness in what
were often quite stable competitive environments.
Within the circle, we can see many changes and developments, some
of which have been catalogued here. The 1990s prescription of ‘letting
a thousand flowers bloom’ within dissipated innovation centers has
gone. But there has not been a reversion to the vast R&D centers.
Rather, we see increasingly tight control of and communication
between diverse innovation units, in an attempt to capture the
innovativeness of the small specialist units with the scale economies
of global firms, and their capabilities to push big ideas through
selective, focused investments.
31
In manufacturing, we see a retreat from blind outsourcing, close interaction with, monitoring of and coordination
but not to in-house manufacture. There is a new switch: alongside supply chain partners. In marketing, sales and
from manufacturing to manufacturing management, that service, we have abandoned the ideas of central sales
is, reliable, tight and close management, whether the operations for entire multinational operations, but have
manufacturing is undertaken in-house or outsourced. In not reverted to small, unconnected, locally responsive
supply chain management, we also witness a retreat from units doing their own things out of contact with anyone
‘outsourcing of everything, anyhow’, but not a reversion else. Rather, we have locally responsive units acting in
to doing things in-house. Rather, we see increasingly globally coordinated ways.
These changes within each element of our value chain show one thing very clearly:
there is a central coordinating hub to our new value circle. But this hub is not the
vast headquarters overhead of the 1960s and 1970s multinational corporation. We
still have lean operations; the competitive pressures allow nothing else. What then,
has allowed ‘lean coordination’ of innovation, of manufacturing, of supply chain, of
customer relations, and all the partners and collaborators involved with each?
It is the evolution (that has barely just begun) of ever-more sophisticated IT systems.
These have had the most profound effects on the value-generation process of
our leading manufacturers, and on how this value generation is organized. The
‘Manufacturing in 2020’ study noted how IT solutions are supported by hard
technology improvements. For example, more than two-thirds of the manufacturers
in that study expected Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to be used more in the
management of complex supply chains over the next ten years.
32
INNOVATION PARTNERS
AND NETWORKS
ATION
N N OV
A N D I o u r cin g i t
IG N o res MA
D E S in g i t t F r o N U FA
T do wo m w C T
U C r om r ld o r
F - c ld
OD
U R l a s s nu f a
la s
PR
IN
- c ma
G
s
m a c t u r in
nu f
a c t u m a n a g eme n t
g
r in g t o
IT-FACILITATED
COORDINATION
SUPPORT FUNCTIONS:
From supporting a
F r o m r e l a t i a r t n er s
t o c u s t o me
M A RK E TI
chain to managing a
value-creating network
NG,
onsh
rp
S A L a nag
ip m ip
E S em
h
A N en
D t
ER
NT
E
S
VI M
CE G E ip s
N A h
M A er s
Y C H A I N pa r t n
SUPP L to
ac t s
F r om c on t r
MANUFACTUING PARTNERS
AND NETWORKS
33
Ability realistically
to identify global
competencies
The Key Abilities for the 21st Century Networked Value Circle
34
Therefore, the inner processes of value generation have The first is the ability to make tough and very difficult
changed beyond recognition, from the earlier notion strategic decisions about a firm’s core competencies, its
of firms competing with their value chains against deficient competencies and its incompetencies, and what
the value chains of other firms. Since then, the very can be done about them. Many manufacturing firms have
competitive battle in which they are fighting for survival determined that manufacturing, and possibly even supply
and success has changed. One-off joint ventures evolved chain management, are beyond their core competencies,
into sophisticated collaborations and these then became so by outsourcing, they effectively interlink to the value
intricate network relationships that interweave and circles of others. Most of the firms in this study, however,
interlock in almost unfathomable complexity. Customers have determined essential core competencies that they
are collaborators in innovation, and sometimes also can guard with vigor, nourish and invest in. By linking
in manufacture. Competitors collaborate in research, with other value chains, however, these firms can instead:
and sometimes in customer relationships. Supply
chain partners compete for customers and even with Avoid the vulnerability of carrying business costs
their customers as well. Firms put their own units in in areas of incompetence
competition with each other even while they collaborate Partner to overcome weaknesses in areas with
with other competing units in rival firms. deficient competence
Leverage the areas in which they have world-class
So we do not have firms’ value circles autonomously
core competence.
trying to gain competitive advantage on the value circles
of other firms. We now see complex networks of value
However, this requires the second and increasingly
chains that are both competing and collaborating with
important capability of the modern manufacturing age:
one another in intricate ways. This is the inevitable and
the ability to form, develop, deepen, manage and exploit
logical consequence of a search for competitive advantage,
complex and interlinking business relationships. These
achievable only on the basis of core competencies that
relationships are very varied, but they are evident in every
need to be world-class in a rapidly changing and deeply
firm examined here and in every element of the value
competitive global manufacturing environment.
circle. They can be pursued locally with physical contacts
or remotely through call centers or web systems. They
Manufacturing firms without world-class core
can be bilateral, involving close and closed relationships
competencies die. And in the current world recession,
between two firms in sensitive areas, or be wide, open,
they are dying fast. So firms with deficiencies in critical
network relationships. This all depends on the firms,
elements of their value circle need to collaborate with
the industrial needs and what is to be achieved. But they
other firms that have excellence, or with other firms with
are very important, operationally and strategically, and
whom they can jointly build up excellence, even if these
while there are many approaches to developing and using
other firms are customers, suppliers or rivals. So how
business relationships, and new approaches are being
is competitive advantage achieved in this context and
developed all the time, it is evident that some firms seem
what do firms need to do if they are to win in a global
to be better at it than others.
competitive landscape? Three key strategic capabilities of
this value-creation process emerge from this study.
The third new strategic capability is the foresight to see the
relationships that will represent a long-term asset within
a firm’s value circle and to find a way of linking this in
to creative competitive advantage. Gaining competitive
advantage in a value chain used to be seen as achieving
marginal developments to fix weak links in the chain.
Creating sustainable, competitive advantage in a networked
value circle is about engineering and negotiating a
mutually advantageous value circle with others.
35
Credits and
Contacts
36
The authors would like to thank the following people for providing
expertise, time and support for this project:
About Capgemini
Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting,
technology and outsourcing services, enables its clients to transform
and perform through technologies. Capgemini provides its clients
with insights and capabilities that boost their freedom to achieve
superior results through a unique way of working, the Collaborative
Business ExperienceTM. The Group relies on its global delivery model
called Rightshore®, which aims to get the right balance of the best
talent from multiple locations, working as one team to create and
deliver the optimum solution for clients. Present in more than 30
countries, Capgemini reported 2008 global revenues of EUR 8.7
billion and employs over 92,000 people worldwide.
37
Appendix A: Research Design
38
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