Value Chain System

The value chain, made by Michael Porter, is really important to see how a company structure is created. The value chain is constituted by two parts: support activities (firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology development, procurement) and primary activities (inbound logistic, operations, outbound logistic, marketing and sales, service). (Johnson et al. 2011, p.97-99)

Value chain is a set of activities a company performs in order to provide a valuable solution to their customer problem in their market space or industry. The value chain is made up of primary and support activities. Primary activities being research and development, production, marketing and sales and customer service. These are the primary steps that are required to get a product or service to market to solve the customer problems. Some of the secondary steps include company

One of Porter’s main contributions was Porter’s value chain. The value chain is all the activities an organization undertakes to create value for a customer. According to Porter, there are two ways to gain an edge over competitors. A firm must provide comparable but value but perform the activities on the chain at a lower cost, or; Perform services in a unique way

“Competitive Advantage introduces the concept of the value chain, a general Framework for thinking strategically about the activities involved in any business and assessing their relative cost and role in differentiation”. Michael Porter, (1985).

A value chain analysis is a strategic analysis of an organization that uses value creating activities (Dess, McNamara, & Eisner, 2016, p. 76). The value chain analysis describes a company’s activities and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the company

Effective value chain as a competitive advantage can contribute significantly to the prosperity of a firm in the competitive arena, but it can cause dire situations if not operated properly (Guy, 2011). However, there are conflicts among companies as to how stakeholders think they gain competitive advantage. Porter (1996) suggests: A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at lower cost or do both.

Value chain is the ability to take a product and add some value along the way to make it appealing to the customers in such a way that they be willing to buy the product at a certain price. Many companies in today’s business world analyze their value chains to identify the ways which continue to attract their customers. The value chain analysis consist of two parts, primary activities and secondary activities. The first ones support the actual physical process of buying, manufacturing, shipping and selling the product and the secondary activities are actions that support the process, such as procurement, technical support and human resource management.

Value chain is the ability to take a product and add some value along the way to make it to appeal to the customers in such a way that they be willing to buy the product and pay the asking price. Many companies in today’s business world analyze their value chains to identify the ways which continue to attract their customers. The value chain analysis consist of two parts, primary activities and secondary activities. The first ones support the actual physical process of buying, manufacturing, shipping and selling the product and the secondary activities are is actions that support the process, such as procurement, technical support and human resource management.

The series of activities that are enacted by a firm that add value to a product beyond the cost of the production are referred to as the value chain. Harley Davidson offers a combination of superior performance and unique attributes within its value chain that promotes their core competencies and provides them with a competitive advantage.

Intel has established alliances with other leading software technology providers and solutions such as Oracle and SAP to give added value to its customers.

Identifying the primary and secondary components of a value chain helps balance the activities that a company performs internally to create value for the buyers. A value chain is made up of primary and secondary activities. Primary activities relate directly to the physical creation, sale,maintenance, and support of a product or service. Primary activities consist of supply chain management, operations, distribution, sales and marketing, and service, as seen in figure 4.1, (Gamble, Peteraf, Thompson, 78). Secondary activities support the primary activities. Secondary activities consist of product research and development, technology, system development, human resource management, and general administration. Chipotle uses a value chain to lead their company to success while providing quality ingredients and service to their customers.

Above figure is retrieved from Standard Chartered Bank Value Chain, same as Porter’s value chain, it start with inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales and service. All of those are known as primary value chain. Next will be the support activities that consist of procurement, technological and development, human resources and infrastructure.

Value chain is an approach to know how an item or activities create value for consumers. The most of value provides to consumers, the most of competitive advantage an organization build. In this analysis, value chain model has separated into primary and support activities. Primary activities are included in the physical creation of the item and service. On the other hand, support activities give the inputs and infrastructure that enable the primary activities to happen. This value chain model can be refer to below figure 5.

Within the value chain there are two kind of activity, first one is Primary activity as they are directly related to the product or services that a firm produces to the customers and the other one is secondary activity, these are related to the activities that are within the company infrastructure that assist in the company’s primary activity.

Value Chain Analysis describes the activities that take place in a business and related to the business core competencies. It can classify by primary activities and supporting activities.