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Porters' value chain

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Michael Porter published the Value Chain Analysis in 1985 as a response to criticism that his Five Forces framework lacked an implementation methodology that bridged the gap between internal capabilities and opportunities in the competitive landscape. This framework focused on industry attractiveness as a determinant of the profit potential of all companies within that particular industry. However, significant differences in performance exist between companies operating within the same industry that can be explained either by the company 's participation in a successful strategic group or by a firm 's specific competitive advantages.
Value Chain Analysis helped identify a firm 's core competencies and distinguish those activities that …show more content…

Technology development activities can bring product differentiation by introducing improvements to the development process. Finally cost-effective procurement activities that look for the most reliable suppliers with the best quality of goods can significantly reduce costs and create more value.
By subdividing an organisation into its key processes or functions, Porter was able to link classical accounting to strategic capabilities by using value as a core concept, i.e. the ways a firm can best position itself against its competitors given its relative cost structure, how the composition of the value chain allows the firm to compete on price, or how this composition allows the firm to differentiate its products to specific customer segments.

Achieving Competitive Advantage with Value Chain
The value chain helps an organization in understanding where value is created at each of its activities and in linking those value-adding activities with the business strategy and customer needs. This set of activities which represents a unique and integrated value-creating sequence is hard for competitors to emulate and thereby sets up and maintains a long lasting competitive advantage for the organization. For example, The Warehouse Group Limited, the largest store retailer in New Zealand, has

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