...Make vs. Buy Revisited Reassessing your company’s manufacturing strategy M ake or buy? The classic manufacturing question still has no easy answer. Amid signs of demand recovery, but with capital still limited and resources thinned by restructuring, top executives today are revisiting the issue. To come to the right make-or-buy decision, leading companies resist the temptation to “feed the beast.” Instead of focusing only on short-term gains, these leaders keep their long-term strategy and corresponding core competencies in mind. They adopt a clearly defined manufacturing strategy, and then adopt the right tactics that can lead to smart decisions and a competitive advantage. The trade-offs between making a product inhouse and buying it externally are well known to most senior executives. The “buy” approach— a manufacturer purchasing a necessary part from an outside source—frees up resources, reduces capital demands, increases flexibility and improves returns on capital employed, but in a tough market companies may seek to avoid potential quality concerns and supply risks. On the other hand, a “make” approach—developing and building that same necessary part internally—enables the company to utilize available internal capacity, absorb fixed costs and protect intellectual property, but it can lead to unnecessary complexity and divert time and attention away from highervalue activities. Choosing “make” simply because the capacity already exists, or “buy”...
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...competitors present a potential threat to companies in developed countries. Mergers and acquisitions have become a staple of newspaper headlines. Although most M&A activity is initiated by companies in the developed world, a recent A.T. Kearney study of global M&A reveals that a paradigm shift is occurring: Beginning in 2002, deals between developing and developed countries grew at an annual rate of 19 percent— far in excess of the industry average and four times faster than deals conducted within either developing or developed countries alone (see figure 1 on page 2). While not large in absolute terms, this rate of growth indicates how rapidly the developing world is catching up in the M&A business. In fact, the study found that companies from developing countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa are snapping up established firms at an astonishing rate. Of the 2,168 majority acquisitions between developed and developing A.T. Kearney | countries in 2007, almost 20 percent — a total of 421 — were driven by companies from developing countries. Furthermore, this pattern is growing by 26 percent annually. This paper highlights the key findings of the global M&A study, and lays out a strategy...
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...Internet Value Chain Economics Gaining a deeper understanding of the Internet economy W hen considering the technological innovations of the past 50 years, the Internet is probably the one that has had the greatest impact on everyday life in developed economies. Nearly six out of 10 Americans now shop online and more than four out of 10 bank online. Twenty hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, while 5 percent of all time online is spent on the social networking site, Facebook. The Internet has also changed the way in which businesses operate—today, 64 percent of C-level executives conduct six or more searches per day to locate business information. The Internet has been a source of great good—as evidenced by the role played by Internet-based mapping and communications in the relief effort following the recent Haiti earthquake. The Internet also has shown a negative side—more than 97 percent of all emails are spam, while more than 70 percent of Americans fear online identity theft and 57 percent feel that their personal privacy has been greatly diminished by the Internet.1 Behind these statistics and headlines, however, there remains a low level of understanding of how the Internet economy works. Who are the different players involved in the Internet, beyond the flagship names? How is the industry structured and how concentrated is it? How do players make money and how do revenues flow across the value chain? Is the industry attractive in terms of growth...
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...Cracking the Growth Code in IT-BPO Mergers As the market matures, consolidation can be the key to growth. Most IT-BPO companies in India have a focused M&A strategy to build growth momentum. But what will it take for these strategies to pay off? Cracking the Growth Code in IT-BPO Mergers 1 India has been the world’s dominant destination for information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. However, as the market matures the industry has experienced a slowdown in growth, pushing IT-BPO providers toward focused M&A strategies to build and sustain growth momentum. Growth through M&A is now a core strategy influenced by the need to: • Fill gaps in service portfolios or geographic presence, to meet client demands and compete with the global majors; examples include Infosys’ acquisition of Lodestone to tap its European customer base, Wipro’s acquisition of Opus CMC to tap into its capabilities in high-end mortgage BPO, and Genpact’s acquisition of Triumph Engineering to bolster engineering capabilities • Manage cash reserves more effectively to meet shareholders’ expectations • Capture opportunities from client divestitures of services assets; examples include Cognizant’s acquisition of ING’s and CoreLogic’s captives, TCS’ and Wipro’s acquisition of Citigroup’s captives, and Tech Mahindra’s acquisition of Hutch BPO Done well, M&A strategies can help Indian players tap into $2 billion to $4 billion in revenues each year. Yet, about 70 percent of...
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...Vertical View A Nano Car in Every Driveway? How to Succeed in the Ultra-Low-Cost Car Market Henry Ford’s historic promise in 1908 to “build a car for the great multitude” resulted in the production of more than 15 million Model Ts and created unprecedented mobility for consumers everywhere. Will India’s Tata Motors deliver on its equally bold promise to a new generation of consumers to bring the Nano to market for the “great multitude” at a price of $2,500? T o fulfill his promise “to build a car small enough for the individual to run and care for, [of ] the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise, [and] low in price,” Henry Ford exploited innovative product design, vendor relationships, manufacturing techniques and distribution methods. One hundred years later, entrants into the ultra-low-cost car (ULCC) market have the same agenda in their attempt to build a car with a price tag of $2,500 to $5,000, which is lower in comparable dollars than Henry Ford’s $850 Model T. Vertical View But this is not a history lesson that can be easily repeated. Today, all indicators point to an automotive industry in recession, requiring its leaders to balance the global economic crisis with future market demand. Industry consolidation and restructuring in global markets will accelerate, propelled by the lack of availability to capital and consumer financing, high fuel costs and low consumer confidence. Undoubtedly, a new and improved automotive...
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...Harvard Case Study Stryker Corporation: Capital Budgeting Term Paper Laini Tsang Golden Gate University MS Finance, FI 312 Summer 2013 Stryker’s Capital Budgeting Harvard Case Study Table of Content Case Background and Summary Pharmaceutical Industry’s Landscape Stryker’s New CERS and why it is “painful”? Propositions Conclusions 2 Stryker’s Capital Budgeting Harvard Case Study Case Background and Summary Founded in 1941 in Michigan, Stryker Corporation is a fast-paced company with continuously exceptional growth rates. Over the last 27 years, the company historically increased revenues by 20%. The company’s culture prides itself on service ethics, integrity, innovations, accountability, and customer relationships; it is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies with history of successful stories. Stryker’s products focus on implants for joint replacement, trauma, spinal surgical products, neurologic and endoscopic equipment. The company has well diversified product portfolios with solid fundamentals. Over the years, the company’s accretive mergers and acquisitions brought operational synergies and cost efficiency, strengthening the pipeline with increasing profitability. This paper examines Stryker’s capital budgeting process (CER – Capital Expense Request) and why this process, after its modifications in 2005, had slowed down the company’s internal capital project requests. From the company’s financials, we can see their capital...
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...SUPPLY CHAIN UPPLY HAIN MANAGEMENT ANAGEMENT Report produced for the EC funded project INNOREGIO: dissemination of innovation and knowledge management techniques Sotiris Zigiaris, MSc, BPR engineer by BPR HELLAS SA J ANUARY 2000 1 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Contents 1 Description 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 What is the Supply Chain Management (SCM) What is the importance of Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Today Supply Chain Management Tomorrow The Supply Chain Management Pipeline 1.2 Objectives of the Supply Chain Management 1.3 Supply Chain principles/ Methodology and Solutions 1.3.1 Supply Chain Principles 1.3.2 Methodology of a Supply Chain Management project-solutions 1.4 Expected results/ benefits 1.4.1 Opportunity areas (examples) 1.4.2 There for the Taking 1.5 Characteristics of firms/ organisations and service providers 2 Application 2.1 Where the technique has been applied 2.1.1 How can Supply Chain Management (SCM) be applied to an organisation? 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Types of firms/ organisations where SCM can be applied Duration and implementation cost of Supply Chain Management Conditions for implementation European organisations supporting the implementation of the method 3 Implementation procedure 3.1 Steps-actions/ phases 3.1.1 Implementing a competitive approach to Warehousing and Distribution 3.2 3.3 Partial techniques and tools included in each...
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...Research paper Supply chain management integration and implementation: a literature review Damien Power Department of Management, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review a sample of the literature relating to the integration and implementation of supply chain management practices from a strategic viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach – The literature is examined from three perspectives. First, supply chain integration covers issues relating to integration of core processes across organizational boundaries through improved communication, partnerships, alliances and cooperation. Second, strategy and planning examines supply chain management as a strategic matter for trading partners, along with factors relating to the amount of planning required. Third, implementation issues concern factors critical for successful implementation, as well as issues specific to inter and intraorganizational aspects of supply chain initiatives are contained in this sub-group Findings – An important emergent theme from the literature is the importance of taking a holistic view, and the systemic nature of interactions between the participants. At the same time, it is also apparent that this requirement to take such an holistic and systemic view of the supply chain acts as an impediment to more extensive implementation. The strategic nature of adopting a supply chain wide perspective, on the one hand provides significant potential...
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...a similar trend to reorganize business processes and the trend was called offshore outsourcing. The major driving force for offshore outsourcing are customers who wants more of everything for less money. In MIDAS Bulletin Oct-Dec 2004 publication mentioned that, “ Malaysia is among the top three contenders for offshoring business in the world according to the 2004 Offshore Location Attractiveness Index compiled by the global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, sources were quoted. Malaysia is ranked 3rd behind India (1st) and China (2nd) but ahead of Singapore (5th), Philippines (6th) and Thailand (13th). In its report, A.T. Kearney considers Malaysia a “ natural choice” for offshore services in view of its low costs, particularly for infrastructure, the most attractive business environment among emerging markets, strong global exposure of the workforce, and government support for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Other significant initiatives cited by A.T. Kearney include the government’s investments in infrastructure and developing the intelligent cities of Cyberjaya and Putrajaya as part of the Multimedia Super Corridor project. Thus, numerous companies –...
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...conduct a more thorough and accurate analysis in order to have a better comprehension of the possible issues, opportunities and challenges that may occur upon entering the market. 3.3.1 The economic environment Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the South African economy has demonstrated uneven growth, with an average increase of above 2%. This is largely due to the effect of the global economy in addition to the country’s strong ties to advanced economies (Statistics South Africa n.a.). According to Schwab et al. (2013), South Africa was ranked as the 53rd most competitive country worldwide, overtaking Brazil to take second place among BRICS-countries. Regardless of some soft macro- economic indicators such as an extremely high unemployment rate (25.4%) and rising inflation (5.9%) (Trading Economics 2014), direct foreign investments (FDI) continue to flow into the county. As shown in Figure 1, South Africa is ranked as the 13thmost attractive FDI destination globally, coming ahead of Switzerland, Spain and Italy. This positive rating is a result of numerous successful large merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. Figure 1. FDI Confidence Index 2014. Ranking and Scores For instance, the British oil giant BP has announced its decision to invest $550 million in its refinery, terminal and service station retail network in South Africa. It is also partnering with Pick n Pay1 to open 120 'Pick n Pay Express' stores across the country (A.T. Kearney 2014). Furthermore, South...
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...The Report For Canadian Attractiveness For FDI Executive Summary The aim of this report is to assess Canadian attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment. It will adopt the Political Economy Analysis to discuss the benefits, risks and costs from Canadian political, economical and legal systems for FDI. It is stated that Canadian democratic systems prevent government from abusing power; market-oriented economic systems advocate innovation and property rights protection and its legal systems provide safeguards to property rights protection. Therefore, it believes that investing in Canada is a good choice. Since Canada is rich in natural resources and has rich human resources, it is recommended that Canada is appealing for firms which are doing business in the field of natural resources or high-technology. Table of Content Executive Summary 1 1. Introduction 4 2. Political Economy Analysis 5 2.1. Political System 5 2.2. Economical System 6 2.3. Legal System 8 3. Recommendation 9 4. Conclusion 9 References 10 Appendix 12 Table of Figures Figure 1 FDI Index 4 Figure 2 Protection Years 7 Figure 3 Net government debt as percent of GDP 8 1. Introduction Canada, with a population approximately 34 million people, is the second largest country in size after Russia (CIA, 2013). Canada is also one of the largest advanced economies in the world. In the respect to attracting FDI, it jumps 16 spots into 4th place (ATKearney, 2013). Figure 1 FDI Index Source: (ATKearney...
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...Dheepak on Retail STVP 2007-002 STVP-2007-002 [June 12, 2007] Organized Retail “Inquilab” in India Current Landscape of Retail in India The Indian government does not recognize retail as an industry. In India 98% of the retail sector consists of counter-stores and street-vendors.1 With no large players, inadequate infrastructure and a small affording population that believed in saving rather than spending, Indian retail never attracted the interest of large corporations. That was till they realized that retail in India is a USD 320 billion dollar industry, growing at CAGR 5% and contributing to 39% of the GDP2 (See exhibit 1 for projected market size of retail in India.). It might seem almost nonsensical that this important sector of the country’s economy has been overlooked by corporate giants. One cannot blame them though. Indian retail has been a traditionally unorganized sector, dominated by counter-stores and street vendors (See Exhibits 2 and 3 for pictures). While retail employs a large sector of the population, most of these people are uneducated, unskilled individuals that regard retail as the preferred career alternative to agriculture. They never had the means nor will to develop the sector or expand their business. Retail never enjoyed the support of the Indian consumer. A miserly population that barely had the means to make end meet never treated shopping as a form of leisure. While individual retailers saw small gains, lack of infrastructure...
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...Careers in Management Consulting WetFeet Insider Guide 2005 Edition The WetFeet Research Methodology You hold in your hands a copy of the best-quality research available for job seekers. We have designed this Insider Guide to save you time doing your job research and to provide highly accurate information written precisely for the needs of the job-seeking public. (We also hope that you’ll enjoy reading it, because, believe it or not, the job search doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck.) Each WetFeet Insider Guide represents hundreds of hours of careful research and writing. We start with a review of the public information available. (Our writers are also experts in reading between the lines.) We augment this information with dozens of in-depth interviews of people who actually work for each company or industry we cover. And, although we keep the identity of the rank-and-file employees anonymous to encourage candor, we also interview the company’s recruiting staff extensively, to make sure that we give you, the reader, accurate information about recruiting, process, compensation, hiring targets, and so on. (WetFeet retains all editorial control of the product.) We also regularly survey our members and customers to learn about their experiences in the recruiting process. Finally, each Insider Guide goes through an editorial review and fact-checking process to make sure that the information and writing live up to our exacting standards before it goes out the door. Are we...
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...DIAGNOSING IMPACT OF MALL S O N SMALL SHOPS A STUDY OF DELHI AND NCR Kumar Singh* Reetesh K umar Singh* Aditya Prakash Tripathi** O RGANIZED retail sector has witnessed a CAGR of around 35 per cent over the past five years and currently contributing around 10 per cent to the country’s GDP & eight percent of the employment. The Retail Sector is seeing investments of up to Rs. 6000 crore by the 20 prominent retail players. On the other hand (A report by Govt. of India in 2004 by the centre for policy alternatives entitled FDI in India’s retail sector: ‘More bad than good’ stated that) retailing is “probably the primary form of disguised unemployment, underemployment in the country. India has 35 towns each with a population of over one million. If Wal-Mart were to open an average Wal-Mart store in each of these cities and they reached the average Wal-Mart performance per store, we are looking at a turnover of over Rs. 80, 330 million ($1.82 billion) with only 10,195 employees. Extrapolating this with the average trend in India, it would mean displacing about 4,32,000 persons. If large retailers were to obtain 20 per cent of the retail trade, ‘this would mean a turnover of Rs. 800 billion ($ 18 billion) at current market price. And of course, would mean an employment of just 43,540 persons displacing meanly eight million persons employed in the unorganized retail sector. Understanding the importance of the issue, the present study is aimed to investigate the impact of Malls...
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...entice companies to offshore production to their premises. LOCATION ATTRACTIVENESS | | PEOPLE ATTRACTIVENESS | | INFRASTRUCTURE | HIGH | QUALITY OF POEPLE | MEDIUM | COUNTRY RISK | MEDIUM | COST OF HIRING PEOPLE | MEDIUM | TIME ZONE ATTRACTIVENESS | HIGH | TYPE OF SKILLS | LOW | | | ENGLISH PROFICIENCY | MEDIUM | TOTAL | HIGH | | LOW | Global Services Location Index The ‘Global Services Location Index’ (GSLI) 2014 by A.T. Kearney is the sixth edition of the report in which the consulting firm examines the offshoring landscape in 51* countries around the globe, and ranks the top destinations for global offshoring. To come to this ranking, three main categories were researched; financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment. The weight given to these metrics is based on their importance to the location decision. ‘Financial factors’ constitute for 40% of the published index. ‘People skills and availability’ and ‘business environment’ both account for 30% of the total weight. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAZIL FOR OUTSOURCING Trends in Brazil that support sourcing. In 2009 Population – 193.7 million (fifth largest in the world) GDP – US$1574 billion (eighth largest in the world) GDP per capita – US$8220 (57th) GDP (PPP) as a % of world...
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