Value chains become crystal balls.
Value chains increase the capacity to get things done.
Value chains are also known as supply chains. Let’s say you are a small regional community. Imagine your businesses are competing against genuinely global, multi-service, and low-cost digital manufacturers. Customers access their accounts through their mobile phones, pay with a tap on their wearables, and learn heaps from their content marketing.
Imagine facing competitors like this, with a large footprint and quick prototyping of new services. They manage regulatory compliance transparently and use big data and artificial intelligence systems.
Most managers are used to cost-cutting drives on their value chain. Their role is to control revenue and expenses by finding operational efficiency. However, it is a different ballgame when you focus on improving the value chain.
It is now a genuine possibility. Many small businesses expect their technologies to improve efficiency and facilitate game-changing innovation. They also expect costs to be lowered somehow, while their competitors are already doing it or have already done it.
Use your imagination and visualise.
Imagining the value chain needed for a brighter future can be challenging on your own.
Customers and tourists have had their expectations set by many others with whom they work. They now demand better services, better customer experiences across touchpoints in our communities, and more value for their money. Social media and content marketing are excellent examples of utilising technology for better customer service.
A common mistake people make with technology is solving problems no one has and trying to do it with jargon no one understands.
To succeed in the rapidly changing technology landscape, you must agree with the rest of your team on the technology they wish to adopt. Will your businesses and non-profit organisations try to be industry leaders and fast followers, or will they react? Creating a clear strategy to move forward in their chosen direction would be best.
Maintaining the status quo will no longer be a good strategy if you want your community and its organisations to survive and thrive. Recently, my old hometown lost its last big bank. An active group then organised a community bank (Bendigo Bank). They have a far better business model for a regional community, including local management and sharing risks and profits with the community.
Fill your value chain with meaningful relationships.
Building meaningful relationships and connecting with others in your value chain is critical to making communities and businesses sustainable. It is also necessary for your sanity and returning the fun to the community.
However, how do you do it? Building relationships in business might be complicated for you for several reasons:
- There is no substantial purpose or vision for building future relationships
- You do not know where to find the right people or organisations to connect with
- People might feel your knowledge regarding value chains is too limited.
Enhancing your value chain can help improve the outcomes and performance of the community’s wants and needs. Most value chains are full of boring people, organisations, events, and other activities, so look carefully to spice it up a bit.
Value chains should focus on local purchasing.
Quotable Quotes
“Collaboration is replacing negotiations to improve a community’s and its business’s value (supply) chain”. Peter Sergeant
“The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. Winston Churchill