13. Value Chain Analysis

Description and Purpose

Value chain analysis (VCA) is used to identify a company’s potential sources of economic advantage and to achieve an optimal allocation of resources. For our purposes, a value chain can be defined as the full range of sequential organizational activities that are needed to take products and services from the original idea through the different stages of production. This includes the physical transformation and inputs of various producer services, delivery, and post-sale services to final customers. Value chains within a company or industry are actually composed of a specific model of performance characterizing the discrete stages of organizational value creation.

A company’s value chain is part ...

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