Value Chain : Competitive Advantage

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)

“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).

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.

The value chain is one of the critical elements of a company’s strategy in today’s competitive world, because company’s profit depends on how the successful and efficient it runs its operations and how the end product appeals to the customers at a price that covers all the expenses of the company.

There are two different types of competitive advantage: low cost and differentiation. We will develop them in this part I.

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

The value chain is one of the critical elements of a company’s strategy in today’s competitive world, because company’s profit depends on how the successful and efficient it runs its operations and how the end product appeals to the customers at a price that covers all the expenses of the company.

|Offers low cost, shopping convenience and desirable tenant mix |Unenclosed malls yield higher cost during winter season e.g. snow|

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

Porter (1985) argues that competitive advantage cannot be understood by looking at a firm as a whole. It stems from the many discrete activities a firm performs in designing, producing, marketing, delivering and supporting its product. A firm can achieve competitive advantage if it posses ‘capabilities’ that allow it to create not only positive value but as well additional total value than its competitors. Porter maintains that a company’s competitive advantage derives as much from the nature of the linkages among activities as it does from the activities themselves. Using Porters value chain Appendix 4 as a tool to examine how Greggs’ strategy is operationalised creating value through linkages in the value

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

In differentiation strategies, the emphasis is on creating value through sustainable uniqueness. This can be achieved through product innovations, superior quality, or superior service, which is then sustained and leveraged through creative advertising; brand-building and strong supply chain relationships. Another requirement for a successful differentiation strategy is that customers must be willing to pay more for the uniqueness of a product or service than the firm paid to create it. A differentiation strategy will lead to higher firm performance only if buyers value the attributes that make a product or service unique enough to pay a higher price for it or if they choose to buy from that firm preferentially. If

A company or an organization can create competitive advantage only when it is able to distinguish itself from the rivals by implementing a value creating strategy over a longer period of time. It is said to have a sustainable competitive advantage when other rival firms are unable to duplicate the value creating strategy of the firm which has led to the achievement

Michael Porter in his book “Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining superior Performance” published in 1985 introduce the Value Chain Analysis. His theory explained how an organisation can use or maximise its competitive position or strength by linking the activities it performs. This theory assumes that the organisation is more than a random compilation of machinery, people and money. It also proposes that if these things are arranged into systems and systematic activates, the organisation will be able to produce a product or provide a service that customers are willing to pay a price.

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.