Success Through Shared Services: From Back-Office Functions to Strategic Drivers
If you think the book has already been written on shared services, think again. With the renewed emphasis in recent years on profitability as the key corporate metric, “forgotten” functions such as finance, human resources, procurement and IT are back in the spotlight. They are not only being viewed as sources of cost efficiency, which has been the traditional focus, but also as tools for … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: Best Practices, Operations
The Four Stages of Industry Consolidation
Customer Loyalty Interdependencies
What to Move Offshore? Selecting IT Activities for Offshore Locations
Going offshore has become less a strategic advantage and more a competitive necessity. Pioneering firms are adopting more aggressive plans and the followers are struggling to keep up. Approaches that were leading edge just two years ago are little more than an entry ticket today. By all projections, offshoring should continue to see unprecedented growth and will dominate business strategies in the coming months and … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Outsourcing / BPO
Technology and the Value Chain
How Many Supply Chains Do You Need? Matching Supply Chain Strategies to Products and Customers Products and Customers
In the field of supply chains, there are many different strategies, fads and cures for a variety of problems. There is an abundance of information that outlines every new concept and idea on how to improve supply chain performance. But what works for one company or industry will not necessarily work for another. Given the diverse needs of different industries and businesses, one-size-fits-all or try-everything-until-something-sticks … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: Operations, Strategy
Improving the Medicine Supply Chain: An Imperative for Public Health Care
Medicines play an important role in public health care programs, saving lives and drawing people to health facilities, where they can also receive preventive treatment. Medicines can also help keep health care costs down. Many insurance carriers would rather pay for drug treatment than for potentially risky and more expensive surgery. And the cost of complications from not treating illness with medicine in the early … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subject: Industry Specific | Industry: Healthcare
Breakaway Speed!: Strategies for Creating a Faster, More Empowered Workforce
There is an old African proverb: When the sun comes up, the gazelle wakes up knowing that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be eaten. The lion knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. So it doesn’t matter if you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun comes up, you had better be running. … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior
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Anyone who has tried to justify investments based on cost avoidance rather than cost reductions knows it is difficult to make the financial case by comparing against “what might have been.”
Content: Quotation | Source: “Kearney” | Subject: Finance
Demand Management: Changing the Way Organizations Acquire Goods and Services
In today’s organizations, managers are required to do more with less. Everyone is looking for new ways to cut costs and increase value. A.T. Kearney is helping a growing number of companies take a new approach to cost reduction. Instead of focusing primarily on suppliers and prices, we are helping launch firmwide initiatives in “demand management” – a proven mechanism to take costs out of … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: Best Practices, Management
Finding New Answers To the Pricing Question: What’s It Worth to the Customer?
The two most popular approaches to pricing a new product or service are cost and competitive positioning. But it’s time for a third option: an approach that focuses on value. Unlike the traditional methods, companies use value-based pricing to build a deeper understanding of their customers’ business drivers, align their goals with their customers’ goals, and share in each others fortunes in a way that … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: Marketing / Sales, Pricing
Elements of Supply Chain Segmentation
Developing a Supply Chain Strategy
Match Strategies to Supply Chains
Prioritizing IT Offshore Opportunities
Offshore Maturity Curve
Winning the China FMCG Market: Growth Strategies for an Evolving Opportunity
Companies that consider investing in China’s huge but challenging market face an array of questions. What successful strategies have leading players adopted in the past? How are strategies best tailored to different markets in China? What trends are on the horizon? How can differentiation help a company beef up its competitive edge and become tomorrow’s winner? To answer these questions, A.T. Kearney researched the leaders … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subject: International – China
The Road to Business Value: An Integrated Approach to IT Investment
Given the increasingly critical role technology plays in the competitive positioning of an organization-from adaptive supply chains to innovative customer relationships-the gap between companies that use their technology effectively and those that don’t is destined to widen. How can a company build an IT organization that fosters innovation and creates long-term value for the business?
An A.T. Kearney study conducted by Harris Interactive asked executives … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Strategy
Making Offshore Decisions: A.T. Kearney’s 2004 Offshore Location Attractiveness Index
The scene is a familiar one. A new offshore venture hosts its grand opening celebration as the mayor lights a ceremonial lamp and a client makes a traditional food offering. An Indian businessman steps to the podium, commenting on what the new company means in terms of improved service and growth. Events like this take place all over India, all the time. But this one … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: “Kearney” | Subjects: International, Outsourcing / BPO