• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Investing to Become 'Fit for Growth'

Investing to Become 'Fit for Growth'

February 25, 2016
SupplyChainBrain

In today's rigorous and fluid business climate, companies need to transform how they operate, while creating the capacity to invest in growth. We call this becoming Fit for Growth, and it involves articulating a clear cost agenda, continues with the building of lean and resilient processes, systems, operations and organizational structures, and keeps resources flowing to "good" costs and away from "bad."

Among the very best “good” costs are those around differentiating capabilities. Every company requires a unique combination of capabilities to differentiate itself. When your operations teams have clarity on what these are, it’s easier to blueprint, build and scale them across the enterprise. You can more readily spot where disconnects occur or priorities are misaligned. For a given company, there are only a few capabilities that make that company unique. Other capabilities have become industry norms but aren’t differentiators. Some are basic and can be managed for efficiency.

PwC’s 2015 Global Operations Survey of more than 1,200 operations decision-makers across geographies and industries, found some telling patterns among companies that are engaged in capability building. Among the most strategically aligned companies in the survey, about 15 percent of the survey pool, a few characteristics set them apart. First, they’re far more likely than others to focus on building a few differentiating capabilities to drive a competitive advantage (51 percent vs. 29 percent). They’re also more confident they’ll achieve a broad set of performance objectives: achieving revenue and cost targets, driving strategy, providing a distinctive customer experience, and adapting to change. The survey also ranked the top three areas of capability building:

65 percent are building capabilities around measurements (KPIs) and rewards (incentives) tied to overall business performance. To drive performance and execute the business strategy, these companies are working hard to make sure the metrics they choose to follow align with that strategy. They are also motivating the workforce—through accountability and incentives—to make adjustments based on those metrics.

63 percent are building capabilities to eliminate unproductive complexity. The goal here is to better understand where to streamline operations and take costs out of the system, and where to invest to build differentiating capabilities. For example, investing in a distribution network closer to the customer might create more complexity, but it might be a differentiating capability that fits the business strategy.

61 percent are using technology to build capabilities related to value chain collaboration. Investment in planning systems, lifecycle management and supplier connectivity help to speed the flow of information, spot and control for defects, and create a more differentiated customer experience with faster delivery, quicker pull and better packaging.

The Outlook

Going forward, companies need to balance where to streamline and take costs out of the supply chain, and where to invest and build supply chain capabilities; this will enable them to create a differentiated customer experience and competitive advantage. Getting this balance right will require some difficult trade-offs. To win the support of employees, executives will need to communicate that the company is investing to win in the marketplace and not simply cutting costs.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology SC Finance & Revenue Management Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management Quality & Metrics Food & Beverage
KEYWORDS Business Strategy Alignment Food and Beverage Global Supply Chain Management KPIs metrics Principal PwC’s Strategy& PwC’s Strategy&; John Plansky quality Quality & Metrics Revenue Management Rodger Howell SC Finance & Revenue Management Supply Chain Analysis & Consulting Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management: Business Strategy Alignment Technology
  • Related Articles

    Being Fit for Growth During Digital Transformation

    Skyrocketing Growth of Bluetooth-enabled Devices Enables 'Internet of Everything' to Become Reality

    Is Combining Procurement and Risk Management Functions a Natural Fit or Recipe for Disaster?

  • Related Events

    Post-Pandemic Impacts on Food & Beverage Businesses and How to Ensure Resiliency

    Using Warehouse Automation to Create Happy Employees, Happy Executives and Happy Customers

SupplyChainBrain

100 Great Supply Chain Partners Issue 2009

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Pfizer Ramps Up Production; Biden Says There Are Enough Doses Without J&J

    Coronavirus
  • Shipping Costs

    Higher Shipping Costs Are Here to Stay, Sparking Price Increases

    Coronavirus
  • Indoor Farm

    Vertical Farming: A Solution to Waste and Inefficiency in the Food Supply Chain?

    Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Shipping Logjam

    Reducing Supply-Chain Disruptions Through Integrated Logistics

    Coronavirus
  • Robotic automation

    The Impact of Robotics on Supply Chain 2.0

    Coronavirus

Digital Edition

Scb feb 2021 lg

2021 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • Remote Implementation: A Dose of the Right Medicine for B2B Pharmacy

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming 6 River Systems ArcBest
Armada aThingz BluJay
Burris Logistics DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association)
DHL Resilience360 Flash Global Genpact
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Honeywell Corporate Honeywell Intelligrated Infor
Inmar Kibo Commerce Kinaxis
Logility Magnitude Software MPO
Old Dominion Oliver Wight OpenSky
Paccurate Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
S&H Systems Snapfulfil TGW Systems
Tradepoint Atlantic Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2021 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing