5 Markets Comprising the Internet Value Chain
Delivering Technology Innovation: A.T. Kearney’s IT Innovation and Effectiveness Study
In recent years, many of the most significant corporate success stories have been because of IT innovations. Despite the gloomy economic mood, success stories like Amazon’s Kindle demonstrate that the value of IT innovation has not diminished. In fact, leading executives understand that IT innovation is a major factor for their companies’ bottom lines and future growth.
Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Innovation, IT / Technology / E-Business
Think Small to Grow: The next chapter in the North America automotive industry
3 Factors Drive any Organization’s Capacity for Change
Smart Cost-Cutting
In the wake of an economic downturn, most companies take measures to conserve capital and control expenses. These measures work well in the short term but often have little effect on long-term growth or prosperity. By using a sustainable restructuring approach, small- and medium-sized companies can tackle today’s challenges while creating future opportunities.
Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subject: Management
Illustrative Breakdown of IT Applications Portfolio
A Blueprint to Fix IT Complexity
Many IT organizations are buckling under the pressure of corporate expectations–not because of a lack of know-how, but because of excessive complexity that has developed over time. By building an IT application blueprint, you can remain flexible enough to meet the changing needs of the business.
Content: Article | Authors: Christian Hagen, Dan Starta, Prabhakar Bhogaraju, Tejal Thakkar | Source: Kearney | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business
Industry Consolidation Curve and Niche Strategies
Main Variables in the Product-Channel-Customer Equation
Tinkering with the Go-to-Market(ing) Model
You know the drill: Implement a marketing strategy that is in line with your company’s broader go-to-market model but flexible enough to adapt to changing business conditions. As your go-to-market model shifts-to focus on products, channels or customers-so must the strategic role of marketing.
Content: Article | Authors: Andres Mendoza Pena, Craig Knox-Lyttle, Mary Larson, Mike Baum | Source: Kearney | Subject: Marketing / Sales
A Dangerous Time to Be a Niche Player
For niche companies, years of growth can quickly turn into losses when facing industry consolidation, and a wobbly economy is only increasing the peril. As Fritz Kroeger, Andrej Vizjak and Mike Moriarty write in this adaptation of their recent book, Beating the Global Consolidation Endgame: Nine Strategies for Winning in Niches (McGraw-Hill, 2008), long-term success is reserved for niche companies that truly understand the playing … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Andrej Vizjak, Fritz Kroeger, Mike Moriarty | Source: Kearney | Subject: Strategy
Untangling Product Complexity in M&A
M&A is a powerful instrument that can be used to gain access to complementary technology, channels and other critical assets without the risks or travails of organic growth. The downside is that acquisitions often result in product complexity. Successfully managing the complexity of a newly combined product portfolio can capture value, smooth the overall merger process-and deliver the full promise of M&A.
Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subject: Mergers & Acquisitions
Managing Sales Effectively in Tough Times
How can companies grow sales while keeping costs low, mitigating risks and maintaining customer satisfaction? The answer is to increase sales effectiveness. By optimizing the sales channel and product mix at every stage of the customer experience, a company can increase its sales force’s productivity and improve both the top and bottom lines. In this tough economic environment, these measures can help companies weather the … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subject: Marketing / Sales
Winning the Customer Service Battle
Simple, “one-size-fits-all” customer service strategies, focused mainly on fixing or replacing broken products, may have been sufficient in a time when phones were always landlines, mail was always delivered by a postman, and music was heard through the living-room radio. But in an interconnected world of empowered consumers, technological improvements and tight profit margins, customer service strategies have to be more efficient and more customized … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Ishmeet Singh, Michael Baum | Source: Kearney | Subject: Customer Related
Excellence in Capital Projects: Leveraging the knowledge and scale of a portfolio of projects
Capital projects quite literally shape our world, with more than $10 trillion spent each year to develop the infrastructure that supports modern life—from bridges to hospitals, ports to gasfields, broadband networks to missile defense systems. Yet, not a great deal has changed over the years in how capital projects are delivered, with some practices dating back to the 1920s. With the increasing demand for capital … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Badrinath Veeraghanta, James Pearce, John Wolff, Vance Scott | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Finance, Management
In Pursuit of Procurement Excellence: An Interview with Randy Watson of A.T. Kearney
The A.T. Kearney Assessment of Excellence in Procurement is the most comprehensive global study of supply management best practices. In the May/June issue of Supply Chain Management Review, Editorial Director, Frank Quinn interviewed A.T. Kearney Partner and AEP co-leader Randy Watson. In the interview, Watson highlights the traits of supply management excellence that differentiate leading companies from followers. There are three important factors: a clear … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Randy Watson | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Finance, Operations
Service-Oriented Transformation
Most large-scale business transformations face obstacles from start to finish, from aligning different systems into the right information technology architecture to capturing the intended business value. When confronted with the scope of transformation companies often opt for piecemeal moves that are easier to implement but fall short of true transformation. But the principles of service-oriented architecture can help companies manage transformation in a manner that … [ Read more ]
Content: Related Content | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Change Management, IT / Technology / E-Business