341 Posts found for Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Fixed costs turn growth into profit. But they can also turn declines into big losses. Variabilization—transforming your fixed costs into variable ones—offers an attractive alternative. A variabilized cost structure is responsive, adapting rapidly to both increases and decreases in demand. Many companies are doing more than variabilize their own costs, they are developing and offering “variabilization solutions” to their customers. This trend suggests that the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Nicolas Kachaner | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Finance, Management, Operations, Strategy

This BCG Report summarizes our recent research into how leading companies are adapting their strategy development processes to today’s increasingly unpredictable competitive environment. Based on 100 executive interviews, we found that they are stretching their time horizons to give the short, medium, and long term each its due. Stretching their thinking with new techniques to boost creativity and insight. And stretching their engagement models to … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Camille Saussois, Michael S. Deimler, Nicolas Kachaner | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Strategy

Furor over banker’s pay has put the spotlight on executive compensation. What appears to be a disconnect between executive pay and a company’s results has inspired renewed demands that companies “pay for performance.” The critics are on to something—and it isn’t limited to the financial sector. There is something wrong with the way most companies approach executive compensation. Before companies can fix it, however, they … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Frank Plaschke, Gerry Hansell, Lars-Uwe Luther, Mathias Schatt | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Corporate Governance

Globality is not a new word for the well-known phenomenon of globalization; it is a fundamentally different business environment that has been been created by the rise of a set of companies based in the rapidly developing economies. These “global challengers” are giving the established multinationals ¯ the “incumbents” ¯ a run for their money in industries and markets around the world, and forcing them … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: International

Multichannel retailing has become a market imperative. Consumers who shop in two or more channels are often much more profitable than single-channel shoppers—although they expect a seamless experience across stores, catalogs, Web sites, mobile sites, call centers, TV networks, and direct mail. It’s a daunting challenge, but retailers often overestimate its difficulty. Rather than focus only on big investments in technology integration, retailers should also … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Jean-Manuel Izaret, Mary Egan | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Industry Specific, Marketing / Sales | Industry: Retail

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People challenges are greater than ever before at companies, thanks to globalization, an aging workforce, and employee desires for work-life balance. This report, which is based on a worldwide survey of more than 4,700 executives, lays out a comprehensive approach to enable companies to understand the HR environment and how they can create a people advantage. When companies that understand how to measure the effectiveness … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Human Resources

As the economic screws tighten, acquirers are under mounting pressure to realize synergies from their targets as quickly as possible. BCG’s series of Focus Reports on postmerger integration (PMI) has already covered many of the keys to success but there are several special issues that demand careful strategic consideration. The third Focus Report in our series on PMI addresses four of these issues including carve-outs, … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Daniel Friedman, Dinesh Khanna, Heiko Franken, Jean-Michel Caye, Jeff Gell, Jeff Hill, Peter Strüven | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Mergers & Acquisitions

Many companies are concerned about their ability to generate the funds needed for growth. But there is one potentially powerful source of cash that is often overlooked: working capital. By fundamentally rethinking and streamlining key processes across the value chain, companies can achieve greater reductions in working capital—as much as 30 to 40 percent—and cost savings of 5 to 10 percent. This increase in working … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Alexander Roos, Martin Wortler, Patrick Buchmann | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Finance

Models and concepts and frameworks are—to use another phrase—mental boxes within which we comprehend the real world. And ever since the 1960s, we have been taught to be creative by “thinking outside the box.”

The trouble is this: once you have mentally stepped outside the … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Alan Iny, Luc de Brabandere | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Creativity, Innovation, Thought

There is one problem with all forms of variable pay—whether short term or long term, based on cash or on equity. There is always a fi nancial upside for executives (and sometimes that upside is quite high), but there is not an equivalent downside. To be sure, executives may not receive a bonus if they do not beat their targets in the company’s plan, … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Frank Plaschke, Gerry Hansell, Lars-Uwe Luther, Mathias Schatt | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Corporate Governance

The biggest challenge in creating value from cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in rapidly developing economies (RDEs) is not extracting synergies, but understanding the full spectrum of risks before the deal is closed. Based on a survey of executives with extensive experience in M&A in RDEs, this focus highlights the four main drivers of these risks and how to minimize and manage them.

Content: Article | Authors: Andrew Clark, Dinesh Khanna, Yulius Yulius | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: International, Mergers & Acquisitions

Acquirers often squander value in mergers by treating integration of business functions as a mechanical, cost-saving exercise – overlooking valuable revenue synergies and value generating activities. By thinking more laterally and approaching PMI as an opportunity to rethink how functions can enhance value, acquirers can secure superior long-term growth. This Focus Report, second in our series on PMI, describes how this approach can be applied … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Christophe Duthoit, Ivan Bascle, Joerg Matthiessen, Peter Strüven, Robert Tevelson, Simon Goodall | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Mergers & Acquisitions

A billion consumers around the world—neither affluent nor poor—spend just over $1 trillion a year. As much as a third goes for trading up to better products and premium brands. Yet most consumer businesses don’t know how to reach them or serve them profitably. Drawing from their survey of 15,000 next-billion consumers, the authors discuss how companies can achieve sustained competitive advantage by understanding the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Arvind Subramanian, Marcos Aguiar, Michele Pikman, Nimisha Jain, Vikram Bhalla | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: International

Too often, industrial companies are leaving cash on the table – and missing opportunities to cement customer loyalty and boost repeat sales of their equipment – because they base decisions about bundling and pricing their services on anecdotal information. We offer a systematic approach to examining markets, leading to a much more informed perspective on the opportunities and risks in bundling and pricing services.

Content: Article | Author: David Rickard | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Market/Investment, Pricing

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Employees come and go with greater frequency than ever before. When they leave, years of invaluable experience and knowledge are lost. Companies that systematically identify “key knowledge holders” and work to retain the knowledge of these employees will gain an advantage over their less farsighted peers. The retention of key knowledge takes on even greater importance as the Baby Boom prepares to retire.

Content: Article | Authors: Anders Fahlander, Angela Schwartz | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Human Resources, Knowledge Management

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Companies sourcing from China are reaping huge benefits but also encountering increasingly tough challenges, both internal and external. A recent BCG study reveals the nature of the challenges and summarizes ten key practices that separate the most effective China sourcing offices from their peers: defining a clear sourcing strategy; aligning the China sourcing organization with global procurement; enabling collaboration across regional and functional boundaries; integrating … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: David Lee, Jim Hemerling | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: International – China

Many companies allocate as much to advertising as they do to capital expenses, but they can only guess at the return on their marketing investment. BCG’s holistic approach, which is founded on zero-based budgeting, differentiation of investment levels by brand and market segment, and precise metrics, ensures that dollars are well spent. Applying it has helped companies free up as much as 20 percent of … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Hubert Hsu, Jens Harsaae, Joe Manget, John Bogert | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Marketing / Sales