chapter3: strategic initiatives for implementing competitive advantages

CHAPTER 3: STRATEGIC INITIATIVES FOR IMPLETING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

       Supply chain management (SCM) involves the management of information flows between and among stages in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and profitability

       4  basic components of supply chain management:

      Supply chain strategy- strategy for management all resources to meet customer demand

      Supply chain partner- partners throughout the supply chain that deliver finished products, raw materials and services

      Supply chain operation- schedule for production activities

      Supply chain logistics- product delivery process

       Effective and efficient SCM systems can enable an organization to:

o   Decrease the power of its buyers

o   Increase its own supplier power

o   Increase switching costs to reduce the threat of substitute products or services

o   Create entry barriers thereby reducing the threat of new entrants

o   Increase efficiencies while seeking a competitive advantage through cost leadership

       Customer relationship management (CRM) – involves managing all aspects of a customer’s relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and an organization's profitability

       Many organizations, such as Charles Schwab and Kaiser Permanente, have obtained great success through the implementation of CRM systems

       CRM is not just technology, but a strategy, process, and business goal that an organization must embrace on an enterprise wide level

       CRM can enable an organization to:

1.       Identify types of customers

2.       Design individual customer marketing campaigns

3.       Treat each customer as an individual

4.       Understand customer buying behaviors

       Finding opportunity using BPR

      A company can improve the way it travels the road by moving from foot to horse and then horse to car

      BPR looks at taking a different path, such as an airplane which ignore the road completely

       Enterprise resource planning (ERP) – integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system so that employees can make decisions by viewing enterprise wide information on all business operations

       Keyword in ERP is “enterprise”

      Consolidating touchpoints for saab:

      Saab required a consolidated customer view among its three primary channels:

      Dealer network

      Customer assistance center

      Lead management center