Essay about Value Chain Analysis

The value chain, made by Michael Porter, is really important to see how a company structure is created. The value chain is constituted by two parts: support activities (firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology development, procurement) and primary activities (inbound logistic, operations, outbound logistic, marketing and sales, service). (Johnson et al. 2011, p.97-99)

One of Porter’s main contributions was Porter’s value chain. The value chain is all the activities an organization undertakes to create value for a customer. According to Porter, there are two ways to gain an edge over competitors. A firm must provide comparable but value but perform the activities on the chain at a lower cost, or; Perform services in a unique way

“Competitive Advantage introduces the concept of the value chain, a general Framework for thinking strategically about the activities involved in any business and assessing their relative cost and role in differentiation”. Michael Porter, (1985).

A value chain analysis is a strategic analysis of an organization that uses value creating activities (Dess, McNamara, & Eisner, 2016, p. 76). The value chain analysis describes a company’s activities and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the company

Effective value chain as a competitive advantage can contribute significantly to the prosperity of a firm in the competitive arena, but it can cause dire situations if not operated properly (Guy, 2011). However, there are conflicts among companies as to how stakeholders think they gain competitive advantage. Porter (1996) suggests: A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at lower cost or do both.

Value chain is the ability to take a product and add some value along the way to make it appealing to the customers in such a way that they be willing to buy the product at a certain price. Many companies in today’s business world analyze their value chains to identify the ways which continue to attract their customers. The value chain analysis consist of two parts, primary activities and secondary activities. The first ones support the actual physical process of buying, manufacturing, shipping and selling the product and the secondary activities are actions that support the process, such as procurement, technical support and human resource management.

Costco is among the leading global retailers which provide customers a wide range of merchandise, ranging from small to well-known brands. The company began operations in 1983. Over the years, Costco has been a retailer in low cost membership-only leader, in warehouse club of merchandise. Moreover, Costco does not offer frills warehouse business models as its competitors do.  Costco’s major competitors are BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam Club (Costco, 2010).

According to Michael Porter’s concept about value chain, “activities within the business companies add value to the product and service that the business organization or companies produces”. The idea of the value chain is based on the process view of organization, the idea of seeing a manufacturing firm as a system, made up of subsystems each with inputs transformation process and output. Inputs, transformation processes, and outputs involve the acquisition and consumption of resources – money, labour, materials, equipment, buildings, land, administration and

Value chain is the ability to take a product and add some value along the way to make it to appeal to the customers in such a way that they be willing to buy the product and pay the asking price. Many companies in today’s business world analyze their value chains to identify the ways which continue to attract their customers. The value chain analysis consist of two parts, primary activities and secondary activities. The first ones support the actual physical process of buying, manufacturing, shipping and selling the product and the secondary activities are is actions that support the process, such as procurement, technical support and human resource management.

Keane (2008) stated to design, manufacture, promote, offer and facilitate its product or services, all organization engages in some activities. All of these activities of an organization are shown through the use of value chain process. The manner in which organization performs its varying activities along with the firm’s value chain mirrors the organization’s background, strategy along with the way in which the organization executes its strategy. Ponte (2008) stated that the analysis of value chain of an organization is used to develop the organization’s competitive strategies along with formulation the connected and interconnectedness between all the organizational activities that formulate value. Francis, Simons, and Bourlakis (2008) stated that value chain analysis is a helpful tool as an organization looks to attain competitive advantage. Furthermore, Rieple and Singh (2010) stated that a value chain is a useful tool in conceptualizing the varying activities

Value chain analysis looks at every step a business goes through, from raw materials to the eventual end-user. The goal is to deliver maximum value for the least possible total cost. It is a systematic approach to examining the development of competitive advantage. The most basic breakdown of primary functions includes inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, sales and marketing and service. People should use the other models and frameworks within this software to further differentiate between, and add to, these domains. Product Innovation is one area that is not normally included in the de jure model but is often included in the de facto model. Value Chain Analysis describes the activities that take place in

The value chain is understood as a series of activities linked vertically to create and increase value for our customers (Leiponen and Helfat, 2009). Understanding these issues is important because the firm earn above-average returns only when the value it creates is greater than the cost incurred to create that value (Kasper, Mühlbacher and Müller, 2008). Today’s competitive landscape demands that firms examine their value chains in a global rather than a domestic-only context (Haworth, 2013). When using their unique core competencies to create unique value for customers that competitors cannot duplicate, firms have established one or more competitive advantages (Saliola and Zanfei, 2009). Competitive Advantages (strengths) of the business comes from many separate activities in the design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, so on. Each of these activities contributes to reduce the relative cost of enterprise or create a basis differentiation, thereby can creating competitive advantages for

The value chain analysis describes the activities an organisation performs and links them to the organization competitive position. Porter further states, “value chain evaluates which value each particular activity adds to the organisation products or services.”

The value chain analysis (shown in appendix) was also generated by Michael Porter. This model is referred to “identifying ways to increase the efficiency of the chain” (Investopedia, n.d.). Furthermore, the overall objective is to produce maximum value with minimum total cost and establish a competitive advantage.

Within technology and the value system, this called for an emphasis on media relations to disseminate information to the local community and its leaders. Solid communication practices, i.e. strategic communications, was of the utmost importance to gain the respect and acceptance of the population.