Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Competitive Advantage Examples in Business Strategies

Competitive Advantage

Efficient supply chain management and logistics can offer a significant supply of real sustainable competitive advantage. Quite simply a situation of creating brilliance above your market challengers for client satisfaction might be accomplished by greater control over your logistics and supply chain management.

Foundations for business success that are available on the market are wide ranging – clients and competitors – the 3Cs, however a straightforward design relies across the triangular relationship within the value chain of your company.

Seeking a lasting and sustainable competitive advantage is just about the problem faced by any serious business manager – who’s aware of the reality of his/her industry.

At the most elemental level, achievement stems from whether price advantage or even any value advantage are available. Fact is that, most profitable rival in almost any market sector is commonly the low-cost provider.

 

 

Put simply, and – even greater – the combination of two – effective businesses possibly have steady value advantage and they will use it in creating long term business strategies.

 

Cost advantage provides the offering and product a differential plus above competitive offerings.

 

In numerous sectors there will typically be a single competitor that will certainly function as the low-cost producer. When you are looking at price advantage there’s considerable evidence to point out that big is beautiful. This is supported by scale, yet much more especially to the outcome of experience curve, which allow fixed costs being spread on a higher volume.

By improving marketplace presence traditionally it’s been suggested the primary path to price decrease had been through higher product sales. The pursuit of economies of scale by quantity increases might not always result in higher profit for the business. This is because currently much of price of an item is away from the internal company operations and driven by the overall supply chain dynamics.

That is by better supply and logistics management. Logistics and supply chain management can offer numerous methods to boost effectiveness and efficiency and hence lead considerably to decreased overall and unit costs.

For example, these competitive advantages might be intangible as well. The delivered product might be viewed as to outperform the rivals in a few practical aspect, in addition to prices or product quality.

How the competitive advantage might be accomplished?

Essentially the improvement of the methodology based on additional values will certainly usually need a much more divided strategy to marketplace. That you will find distinct value segments when a business scrutinizes marketplaces. Different categories of clients in the market attach various significance to various benefits.

Frequently you will find considerable possibilities with regard to creating appeals for particular segments and the market segmentation should be the very first step in business strategy development.

It is today the actual situation that every business model is accomplished in a number of ways and not based on a single strategic move.

Adding value by being different is really an effective way of attaining an advantage within your market. This is in many cases achieved by strong product portfolios – for example Toyota, Honda, GM and Ford – they all provide a wide targeted selection of product versions positioned at various prices within the market segments that they are after.

This on hte other hand obviously creates challenges with regard to logistics management. This is why competitive advantage is strongly related to supply chain and logistics management these days. It is no longer enough to offer a better product. The power is within the delivery and servicing.

There is really a trend in lots of markets of decline within the power of branding. Equally important in the way of adding customer value is support, logistics and services.

By focusing on support as the way of getting competitive advantage is something a lot of companies have taken care of already. A perfect example for this is Amazon. High on product offering and high on logistics and supply chain performance – it is very very hard for others to compete with Amazon.

Main sources of creating powerful competitive advantage

Next time you work on developing a new business strategy or reviewing your current approaches – focus on the 3 major areas in creating competitive advantage:

  1. Cost advantage
  2. Product advantage
  3. Logistics advantage

Competitive Advantage Examples in Business Strategies

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

China gears up for leap into digitisation of industry

Many sectors in China are ripe for digital disruption because they are fragmented and inefficient, writes Jonathan Woetzel in Financial Times.
China gears up for leap into digitisation of industry

War and peace: Evolving challenges and strategies in the US military

Five experts describe the technological, environmental, and other disruptions that are changing the way the US armed forces manage conflicts and pursue peace initiatives.
War and peace: Evolving challenges and strategies in the US military

Insuring hurricanes: Perspectives, gaps, and opportunities after 2017

A year marked by several devastating hurricanes raises fundamental strategic questions about the readiness of the United States for the next decade of large-scale catastrophes.
Insuring hurricanes: Perspectives, gaps, and opportunities after 2017

9 Simple Ways to Evaluate Manager’s Commitment

Evaluating Managers in Business

These are easy-to-use ways to evaluate managers. You can quickly rate and compare different individuals in management positions or use it to evaluate potential candidates for management.

You can also take this to the next level and create a simple survey questionnaire to better compare people and collect data… 

Typically, just the outstanding people, are able, prepared and capable, to correctly manage the challenges, problems, and pressures, for achieving high-performance management.

Possibly, among most ignored elements, and characteristics, required, would be to regularly and constantly, preserve his/her dedication, to anything and everybody, he’s trusted to guide successfully.

 

Management

 

This calls for a mix of real, personal self-confidence, a good mindset, a very creative ability with established skills, and a number of other issues… yet, without determination, it’s demanding, to properly, regularly, dedicate, to performing the very best, one can do.

With this in mind, this short article would try to quickly analyze, evaluate and review the main elements of truly successful leaders.

Quality

Evaluate quality for somebody personality, by their particular conduct and measures, even if nobody is, clearly, viewing and monitoring.

Would the person state his / her factors, with clearness, and create options, according to a supportive, instead of adversarial method?

Options Available

How must a manager establish and think about the choices and options available?

What he or she sees, listens to, and encounters, must help guide him or her, to pick the very best feasible possibilities in order to attain the planned targets and goals.

Creating Positive Influence

Everybody in almost any placement for management, creates some influence, possibly good or sometimes unfavorable, within the team. Think about how the specific manager concentrates, and if he / she views implications, therefore he or she makes impression, for the very best, feasible result.

Inspiration & Motivation

A really dedicated innovator, understands and knows, the majority of other people, are favorably inspired, whenever they’re described, in a good light. The effective manager communicates and inspires all team members.

 

Management team metrics

 

Creativity & Open Mind for Feedback from Team Members

It is important for any business to have managers, who have complete openness, higher degree of creativeness, that presents and deploys lots of ideas and suggestions, that are synchronized with the philosophy and vision of the business.

Reliable

Why people have confidence in you? Why they believe in you? When people know you are reliable and follow the very best for the team on a consistent basis – they trust you.

Management Skills

Frequently ignored, in analyzing possible managers in organizations, is whether or not they are well organized, motivated, focused and have management skills.

Goals

What are the real priorities and what is the manager dedicated to? The requirements, targets, and goals the manager focuses on.

Acting On Time

Some people simply procrastinate all the time. Timing is important in achieving good business results. Acting on time is critical for success.

Exactly how could you evaluate the leader’s dedication? In the event you choose to follow the duty, how would you obviously show, you have the required needs and characteristics?


9 Simple Ways to Evaluate Manager’s Commitment

Great Ideas Are Getting Harder to Find

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

What successful digital transformations have in common

Technological innovations have radically transformed the business landscape in many ways over the last two centuries, our research shows how digitization can significantly hurt incumbent firms in many industries, write Jacques Bughin and Tanguy Catlin in Harvard Business Review.
What successful digital transformations have in common

An analytics approach to debiasing asset-management decisions

Asset managers can find a competitive edge in debiasing techniques—accelerated with advanced analytics.
An analytics approach to debiasing asset-management decisions

Driving business growth by zeroing in on the consumer decision journey

A big part of driving marketing-led growth is getting into, and remaining part of, consumers’ initial consideration set of brands to shop. Companies can give themselves a leg up by making that a priority.
Driving business growth by zeroing in on the consumer decision journey

Accelerating the shift to a next-generation operating model

Digital-native companies have captured value by mastering the use of next-generation operating models. Now established companies must race to catch up.
Accelerating the shift to a next-generation operating model

The New Economic Benefits of Older Workers

Could AI Be the Cure for Workplace Gender Inequality?

Saturday, December 16, 2017

McKinsey Quarterly 2017 Number 4: Overview and full issue

This issue of the Quarterly, available here as a PDF download, examines AI-driven automation and how it will transform the economy, discusses why lifelong learning should be a corporate priority, and lays out the health imperative for organizations.
McKinsey Quarterly 2017 Number 4: Overview and full issue

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Why Your Marketing Strategy Is So Important?

Having effective marketing strategy is as important as having a good business strategy in general. Because your marketing strategy makes all the difference in the marketplace. The most essential elements of growing the business are part of your marketing strategy.

Firms that fall short to make a progress with their marketing strategies will be determined to possibly fall short and struggle indefinitely these days. Nevertheless, just merely generating a good strategy by itself – won’t guarantee business success!

Here are several important elements that could make and break the marketing strategy in your business. While building marketing plan can be at first overwhelming – you should begin by inputting your insight you already know – even if it seams like all your details are unrelated and don’t fall in place…

Start by figuring out your client demographics. You can’t go wrong when you start by looking at your typical customer or customer segments. What makes them unique and identical at the same time? This is a great start in developing your marketing strategy and crafting your marketing plan.

By starting with your customer in mind you will accidentally start a process of identifying most important drivers for your business such as your offering, delivery system, support processes, product and service development, purchasing….

 

Few examples in creating your customer persona or profile are location, age, status, gender and income for B2C and SIC code, business size and decision makers for B2B businesses. However regardless of the kind of business – the flow in creating marketing strategy is the same.

The thing is that you should absolutely know where and how to focus in your market, how your typical customers, leads and prospects behave and of course what is important for them.

All this will make sure for you that you are communicating the right message. You have to obviously outline precisely what your product or service offers and why is the best fit for your clients’ needs.

The better job you do with the planning – the easier the execution will be. Having and tracking the right marketing and sales metrics and performance indicators is a must-have for successful implementation. There is absolutely no excuse for not maintaining up to date information on your customers, sales and marketing campaigns. After all if you are not measuring – you are not managing!

Fact is that failure to invest time needed to look at information could mean the failure of your whole marketing strategy. Business is really a long-term investment you have to discover a powerful motivator at the start of your marketing plan.

Insufficient enthusiasm will certainly hurt your marketing and sales. Keep this in mind before you even start to plan. This is important to consider and plan so you approach your marketing and sales meetings with a purpose. Start with the goal in mind and work backwards. Communicate this with your sales people and marketers.

Successful marketing requires working with all your departments not just sales and marketing people. Research and development, purchasing, supply chain, etc. they all need to understand your purpose in order to support you.


Why Your Marketing Strategy Is So Important?

Coping with success: Managing overcrowding in tourism destinations

McKinsey and the World Travel & Tourism Council examine how destinations can reap the benefits of tourism while preserving their unique qualities.
Coping with success: Managing overcrowding in tourism destinations

Why digital transformation is now on the CEO’s shoulders

Big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence hold such disruptive power that they have inverted the dynamics of technology leadership.
Why digital transformation is now on the CEO’s shoulders

Seeking Scale? Think Old

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

How the auto industry is preparing for the car of the future

Autonomous and electric cars, connectivity, and ridesharing are changing the way auto industry players think about value chains, data analytics, and manufacturing.
How the auto industry is preparing for the car of the future

Reducing churn in telecom through advanced analytics

A comprehensive, analytics-driven approach to base management can help telecom companies reduce churn by as much as 15%.
Reducing churn in telecom through advanced analytics

Monday, December 11, 2017

Cashing in on the US experience economy

The time may be right for private equity to reach for experiences.
Cashing in on the US experience economy

Sustainability’s deepening imprint

Companies are more active than ever in pursuing sustainability to align with values and engage stakeholders, a new survey shows. To see financial returns, though, integrating sustainability into core functions is key.
Sustainability’s deepening imprint

Getting personalization to work for your company and your customers

Personalization may seem complex, but the best companies know how to use it to drive growth quickly.
Getting personalization to work for your company and your customers

What to Expect From Agile

The Trouble With Homogeneous Teams

The Truth About Hierarchy

A New Approach to Designing Work

Drivers of student performance: Insights from North America

Our analysis of OECD PISA results from North America highlights four insights on student mindsets, teaching practices, instructional time, and early childhood education.
Drivers of student performance: Insights from North America

AI in storytelling: Machines as cocreators

Computers don’t cry during sad stories, but they can tell when we will.
AI in storytelling: Machines as cocreators

Thursday, December 7, 2017

How China became a digital leader

More businesses in China are putting digital technologies at the heart of their operations and strategy. These digital forces can potentially shift and create 10% to 45% of industry revenue in China by 2030, write Jonathan Woetzel, Jeongmin Seong, and Kevin Wei Wang in Fortune.
How China became a digital leader

The four questions to ask when serving on a nonprofit board

Directors need to probe, nudge, and prod to make sure the organization achieves its full potential.
The four questions to ask when serving on a nonprofit board

Building Scalable Business Models

Planning for the Future of Work

A foundation for value in capital markets

Digital capabilities can fulfill their promise in the industry only if companies build them on a solid foundation: a strong data and application architecture.
A foundation for value in capital markets

Subscription myth busters: What it takes to shift to a recurring-revenue model for hardware and software

The benefits of moving to flexible subscription pricing are closer than they appear, but common misconceptions hold companies back.
Subscription myth busters: What it takes to shift to a recurring-revenue model for hardware and software

Reimagining the bank branch for the digital era

Even in an increasingly digital arena, the branch network can play a critical role in building trust and credibility, providing financial advice, offering convenience, and easing the transition to digital channels.
Reimagining the bank branch for the digital era

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Driving Operational Cost Savings With the Internet of Things

Commercial drones are here: The future of unmanned aerial systems

Investment in unmanned aerial systems is soaring, but challenges remain. Here’s what stakeholders need to know about the evolving landscape.
Commercial drones are here: The future of unmanned aerial systems

How airlines can gain a competitive edge through pricing

Most airlines have optimized their core ticket costs. But as ancillary purchases represent an increasing percentage of customer spending airlines must rethink their revenue-management practices.
How airlines can gain a competitive edge through pricing

Five Fifty: The organic path to growth

What’s the best way to grow a company? Many executives gravitate toward mergers and acquisitions. But organic growth, done right, delivers long-term value, too.
Five Fifty: The organic path to growth

Recovery gains pace

A rise in oil prices to two-year highs should further stimulate a recovering OFSE sector, despite lower-than-expected activity in US shale.
Recovery gains pace

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Digital China: Powering the economy to global competitiveness

China, already a global force in digital technologies, is set to experience huge shifts in revenue and profits as businesses digitize, boosting the economy’s international competitiveness.
Digital China: Powering the economy to global competitiveness

Friday, December 1, 2017

A virtuous cycle for growth: Finding profit after the initial sale

Advanced analytics can extend the profit lifecycle for carmakers who know how to use it.
A virtuous cycle for growth: Finding profit after the initial sale

The first step to fixing U.S. manufacturing

New research from the McKinsey Global Institute analyzes firm-level financial results and finds a stark contrast in performance between the biggest U.S. manufacturing multinationals and the small and midsize firms that make up most of the sector’s establishments and employment, write Gary Pinkus, Katy George, and Sree Ramaswamy in Harvard Business Review.
The first step to fixing U.S. manufacturing

Women in the food industry

Where does the sector stand when it comes to gender equality? We look closely at employee experiences as well as policies and programs the industry has implemented to promote diversity.
Women in the food industry

Readiness for agricultural transformation

What makes a country ready to implement a good agricultural transformation plan?
Readiness for agricultural transformation

What is the future of work?

A new podcast series from the McKinsey Global Institute explores how technologies like automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence are shaping how we work, where we work, and the skills we need to work.
What is the future of work?

Fueling growth through data monetization

A new survey finds that many companies are launching data-focused businesses. But few have achieved significant financial impact, which requires the right combination of strategy, culture, and organization.
Fueling growth through data monetization

Applying stress tests beyond banking

The technique can provide important insights to many companies operating under uncertainty.
Applying stress tests beyond banking

Fighting portfolio complexity

Many consumer-packaged-goods companies are placing too many bets. Greater simplicity and agility increase the odds of higher performance.
Fighting portfolio complexity

We Must Rescue ‘Win-Win’ From Its Buzzword Status

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Renewed optimism for the fashion industry

After a challenging stretch, has fashion turned the corner? Things are looking up, but the rebound may be uneven, says this year’s The State of Fashion report.
Renewed optimism for the fashion industry

More tooth, less tail: Getting beyond NATO’s 2 percent rule

This excerpt from a new book published by Aspen Strategy Group offers a path to better and more meaningful metrics.
More tooth, less tail: Getting beyond NATO’s 2 percent rule

Reflections on digital M&A

What exactly is digital M&A and how does it compare with garden-variety deal making?
Reflections on digital M&A

To survive in the age of advanced cyberthreats, use ‘active defense’

Anticipating attacks, responding to them in real time, setting traps to contain them, and protecting assets according to their value can help companies stop sophisticated cybercriminals.
To survive in the age of advanced cyberthreats, use ‘active defense’

The future of connectivity: Enabling the Internet of Things

With new connectivity technologies unlocking opportunities along the IoT value chain, companies must create detailed plans to harness their potential.
The future of connectivity: Enabling the Internet of Things

Surviving a Day Without Smartphones

Friday, November 24, 2017

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Are AI Learning Scenarios Unpredictable Enough?

The Pitfalls of Non-GAAP Metrics

Surviving in an Increasingly Digital Ecosystem

The Board’s Role in Managing Cybersecurity Risks

Give Technical Experts a Role in Defining Project Success

Hydrogen: The next wave for electric vehicles?

Battery electric vehicles are making headlines, but fuel cells are gaining momentum—with good reason. Hydrogen could play a vital role in the renewable-energy system and in future mobility.
Hydrogen: The next wave for electric vehicles?

Are AI Learning Scenarios Unpredictable Enough?

What every leader needs to know about organizational management

Leaders of organizations should beware chasing the next shiny object and instead focus on practical, time-tested topics that have proved to bring success.
What every leader needs to know about organizational management

Friday, November 17, 2017

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Improving infrastructure outcomes through better capital allocation

In an age of fiscal uncertainty, US cities and states must optimize capital allocation to improve infrastructure planning.
Improving infrastructure outcomes through better capital allocation

A consumer-centric approach to retail banking sales

Scrutiny of retail banking sales practices is at a high pitch—banking leaders should also see this as an opportunity to reset and strengthen relationships with their customers.
A consumer-centric approach to retail banking sales

Analyzing start-up and investment trends in the mobility ecosystem

How can companies identify—and source—the technologies that will be critical for crafting a strategy to keep up in the shifting automotive landscape?
Analyzing start-up and investment trends in the mobility ecosystem

Why you need a digital data architecture to build a sustainable digital business

Companies that succeed at meeting their analytics objectives let business goals drive the technology. Here’s how they structure a data architecture that works.
Why you need a digital data architecture to build a sustainable digital business

Ops 4.0: The zero hour for a budget-driven transformation

Sophisticated analytics techniques make zero-based budgeting more feasible, flexible, and profitable than ever for an entire organization.
Ops 4.0: The zero hour for a budget-driven transformation

Give Technical Experts a Role in Defining Project Success

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Service Management System

Managing service processes for better quality and responsiveness Inventory is the only difference between production system and service system. Product inventory management has been traditionally [...]
Service Management System

10 Ideas to Start Improving Your Productivity Today

Have you ever applied the Pareto Rule to your everyday tasks? While we all know Pareto suggests that 80% of our productivity is a result [...]
10 Ideas to Start Improving Your Productivity Today

How Turkish companies can become global successes

The country’s demographics and business climate have made it fertile ground for local companies with global aspirations.
How Turkish companies can become global successes

Doubling your company’s growth in a volatile region

Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa hold tremendous growth potential for consumer-centric, digitally savvy companies that take a long-term view.
Doubling your company’s growth in a volatile region

Human Resource Training and Development Tools and Tips

Defining HR training, Development and Education in Business Organizations Training and development is a key human resources function for every company. HR professionals in competitive [...]
Human Resource Training and Development Tools and Tips

HR Reporting Strategies

HR KPIs and Metrics: The Holistic View and Planning of HR Reporting Numerous HR KPIs and metrics are frequently used in HR dashboard reporting and [...]
HR Reporting Strategies

Employee Satisfaction Survey Excel Tool

7 Steps to Developing and Implementing Employee Satisfaction Survey High performance is the overall goal of each and every business. Motivated and engaged employees help [...]
Employee Satisfaction Survey Excel Tool

Dashboard Performance System

Is Your Business Dashboard A Performance Management System? Business managers focus on financial targets to deliver the expected performance. Your financial objectives are everywhere – [...]
Dashboard Performance System

What the Military Can Teach Organizations About Agility

Winning With Open Process Innovation

Monday, November 13, 2017

Free Download: Break-Even Analysis in Excel

Break-Even Analysis is used to calculate the break-even point where total revenue equals total costs. This point results in zero profit or in other words [...]
Free Download: Break-Even Analysis in Excel

The Top Reasons to Benchmark Performance

“Measuring performance helps us evaluate how good we are at achieving our overall goals, identify ways to improve and continuously create a healthy and sustainable [...]
The Top Reasons to Benchmark Performance

Making it in America: Revitalizing US manufacturing

The erosion of US manufacturing isn’t a foregone conclusion. The decade ahead—with increased demand, new technology, and value chain optimization—will give the sector a chance to turn around.
Making it in America: Revitalizing US manufacturing

How the paper and forest-products industry thrives in the digital age

Digitization hasn’t spelled the end of paper and forest products, but it is requiring that leaders think differently about growth opportunities.
How the paper and forest-products industry thrives in the digital age

Autonomous-driving disruption: Technology, use cases, and opportunities

Executives in the automotive industry can keep pace with advances in autonomous driving by closely tracking developments.
Autonomous-driving disruption: Technology, use cases, and opportunities

CIOs and the Future of IT

How to Develop Strategy for Execution

Four Logics of Corporate Strategy

Friday, November 10, 2017

A strategic approach to climate action in cities—focused acceleration

Prioritizing efforts in four areas could help cities achieve 90 to 100 percent of the emissions reductions needed by 2030.
A strategic approach to climate action in cities—focused acceleration

Ops 4.0: Digital enablement, driving journeys from end to end

Lean management’s end-to-end perspective revealed the power in remaking customer journeys. Adding digital and agile makes these transformations easier, quicker, and more sustainable than ever—and at unprecedented scale.
Ops 4.0: Digital enablement, driving journeys from end to end

A framework for improving cybersecurity discussions within organizations

Clear and frequent communication is essential but often lacking in companies’ cybersecurity programs. Here’s how security professionals can create tighter bonds with some critical stakeholders.
A framework for improving cybersecurity discussions within organizations

Bringing Basel IV into focus

How banks can mitigate €120 billion in capital requirements and avoid an ROE haircut.
Bringing Basel IV into focus

Controlling machine-learning algorithms and their biases

Myths aside, artificial intelligence is as prone to bias as the human kind. The good news is that the biases in algorithms can also be diagnosed and treated.
Controlling machine-learning algorithms and their biases

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Putting the right price on customer interactions

Consumers are willing to pay more for choice in their interactions, yet most companies remain perplexed about which ones their customers really want—and how much to charge for them.
Putting the right price on customer interactions

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

The neglected art of risk detection

At the core of risk management is risk detection, an art that can be skillfully improved if banks and regulators accept new analytical methods.
The neglected art of risk detection

How advanced industrial companies should approach artificial-intelligence strategy

Leaders need to determine what AI can do for their company by looking at potential applications and scenarios and then building their approach around those findings.
How advanced industrial companies should approach artificial-intelligence strategy

Ten trends redefining enterprise IT infrastructure

The IT infrastructure landscape is evolving rapidly. What will it look like in 2020?
Ten trends redefining enterprise IT infrastructure

How the public sector fits in the productivity puzzle

A benchmarking study finds that governments could save $3.5 trillion a year by 2021 if they were to improve at the rate of their best peers.
How the public sector fits in the productivity puzzle

The new frontier in anti–money laundering

New analytical tools and surgical automation can help banks take the fight to fraudsters.
The new frontier in anti–money laundering

Women in Leadership: Lessons from Australian companies leading the way

Over recent years, there has been growing concern about the under-representation of women in leadership across industry. Organisations are deploying a range of strategies to address the known issues affecting women’s advancement.  
Women in Leadership: Lessons from Australian companies leading the way

Ops 4.0: Turning digital analytics into 20 percent higher productivity

Digital and analytics provide four distinct opportunities for organizations to achieve productivity breakthroughs.
Ops 4.0: Turning digital analytics into 20 percent higher productivity

Are You Taking the Wrong Approach to Digital Transformation?

Monday, November 6, 2017

Friday, November 3, 2017

The transformative power of automation in banking

A second wave of automation in banking will increase capacity and free employees to focus on higher-value projects. To capture the opportunity, banks must take a strategic, rather than tactical, approach.
The transformative power of automation in banking

Powered by data, driven by people: The travel sector’s future

Without human beings to develop and apply new technology, to direct the analytics, and to implement the findings, nothing ever happens.
Powered by data, driven by people: The travel sector’s future

Don’t Get Caught in the Middle

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Friday, October 27, 2017

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Your Company Doesn’t Need a Digital Strategy

Auto Chart

The Problem:

Many clients don’t like the default excel charts because of the following:

1. When you create chart in Excel it is limited to the data you have selected at the time you created the chart. This means that if you need to add more data later to your spreadsheet the chart wont update unless you make manual changes to the data input for your chart.

2. If you want to see your data for different time periods you either need to make manual changes to your chart or create more charts.

These two major complaints are because people really waste time on these manual tasks. Instead of focusing on creating your presentation or analyze your business you waste time on creating reports.

We have developed some customized reporting tools and charts for a customer and one of the tools was the “Auto Chart” – the name was given by the customer (Rick from San Diego). Rick has agreed to share this tool with the entire Inner Circle. Thank you Rick!

The Solution:

The Auto Chart Tool solves the two problems described above at the same time. If you add data in columns A and B the drop down menus are automatically updated so you can update your chart with the new data. No need to make any changes to the chart if you add more data.

The chart is expanding automatically and you can filter the chart in many different ways.

Note: This tool works with daily data by using the date format in column A. If you need to use this tool for other type of data for example text format like January, February… right click the cells in column A and change the format of your cells and do the same for cells L4 and N4 and that’s it.

Auto Chart

Download


Auto Chart

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Five Robotic Process Automation Risks to Avoid

SME insurance in Australia—a market ripe for change

The market for providing insurance to small and medium companies is changing quickly, necessitating that providers target customer segments carefully.
SME insurance in Australia—a market ripe for change

2016 exchange market remains in flux: Plan type trends

Facts on the shift toward HMOs on the public exchanges.
2016 exchange market remains in flux: Plan type trends

What shoppers really want from personalized marketing

What customers want and what businesses think they want are often two different things. Here’s what customers are looking for.
What shoppers really want from personalized marketing

Who’s at the wheel? Changing culture and leadership to support innovation in autonomous vehicles

The new world of transport will demand different skills, capabilities, and culture.
Who’s at the wheel? Changing culture and leadership to support innovation in autonomous vehicles

Central Europe’s consumers: Looking for value

To attract the region’s value-oriented consumers, retailers and manufacturers in Central Europe must expand their assortments, both in stores and online.
Central Europe’s consumers: Looking for value

Global customer and channel management: What the best CPG companies do

To excel in customer and channel management, consumer-goods companies must emphasize different capabilities in different markets. Which ones matter most, and where?
Global customer and channel management: What the best CPG companies do

2014 individual market post-3R financial performance

2014 performance in the individual market varied among payors – most had negative margins, but ~30% of carriers’ margins were positive.
2014 individual market post-3R financial performance

Monday, October 23, 2017

Justifying Human Involvement in the AI Decision-Making Loop

Using Visualization to Connect Humans and Analytics in Supply Chain Decision-Making

In supply chains and other large systems, the complexity of decision-making is becoming increasingly problematic. To manage the process, we need sophisticated analytics — but we must still engage the human element for best outcomes. Now, there are exciting advances in visualization and human-machine interfaces that are allowing humans and machines to get to better decisions together.

In this webinar, Matthias Winkenbach, research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, discusses the ways companies and researchers can harness interactive visualization and augmented reality technology to change the way we access, understand, and utilize complex systems and logistics data.

In this webinar, you will learn:

  • How to choose the right mix of automated analysis and interactive visualization to get to better decisions in your organization
  • The importance of systematic use of data visualization as part of a corporate decision-making culture
  • The three main design principles for visually augmented analytics applications in supply chain management
  • What the future might hold in light of new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, and some possible use cases

Using Visualization to Connect Humans and Analytics in Supply Chain Decision-Making

Restoring Trust After a Scandal

Friday, October 20, 2017

Partnering for parity: Strengthening collaborations for gender equality

Organizations that form partnerships to promote gender parity can follow some best practices and avoid major pitfalls that hamper progress.
Partnering for parity: Strengthening collaborations for gender equality

China can be a more influential force in digital world

MGI has estimated that automation in China could add as much as 1.4 percentage points to GDP a year via productivity contributions, write James Manyika and Jonathan Woetzel in People's Daily.
China can be a more influential force in digital world

The department of transportation of the future

Transportation will be dramatically different in ten years. To adapt, public entities and stakeholders must act today.
The department of transportation of the future

How an oil and gas giant outmaneuvered low oil prices

Italian oil and gas company Eni has transformed under a leader determined to reduce costs without cutting jobs—instead including employees in the turnaround mission.
How an oil and gas giant outmaneuvered low oil prices

Elevating the impact of medical affairs in Japan

Recent research sheds light on the value of the medical channel and what it takes to have a high-performing medical-affairs organization.
Elevating the impact of medical affairs in Japan

Disrupting transportation: We need to think bigger than cars

Connectivity could dramatically change the commute of the future.
Disrupting transportation: We need to think bigger than cars

Improving Your Digital Intelligence

Thursday, October 19, 2017

How to break through the gravitational pull of your legacy organization

Initial successes in a digital transformation often break down over time. Digital winners know what it takes to break through.
How to break through the gravitational pull of your legacy organization

How container shipping could reinvent itself for the digital age

When McKinsey investigated containerization in 1967, we found that industry players would have to rethink everything. Is it time to rethink everything again?
How container shipping could reinvent itself for the digital age

Safe enough to try: An interview with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh

Organizations are more likely to innovate and thrive when they unleash the potential of individuals and the power of self-organizing teams, says the online retailer’s CEO.
Safe enough to try: An interview with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh

Innovative pharma contracts: When do value-based arrangements work?

Many are exploring alternatives to traditional ‘per pill’ arrangements underlying reimbursement. This holds implications for pharma manufacturers.
Innovative pharma contracts: When do value-based arrangements work?

The granularity of Medicaid MCO growth

Despite present uncertainties, MCO leaders can still aspire to grow—and make decisions to support that aspiration. Our research shows that the key sources of growth for Medicaid MCOs are strategic, not operational.
The granularity of Medicaid MCO growth

AI in the Boardroom: The Next Realm of Corporate Governance

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

The future of risk management in the digital era

We, in collaboration with the Institute of International Finance (IIF), worked with more than 50 institutions around the world, including banks, regulators, and fintechs, to explore critical questions on the future of risk management. This report aims to answer these questions and shares insights to help organizations navigate a digital transformation of the risk function—now and in the long term.
The future of risk management in the digital era

Friday, October 13, 2017

Democratizing diversity

The general manager of people and culture at Australia’s Origin Energy explains why it’s important to go beyond top-down objectives and targets.
Democratizing diversity

Focusing your M&A team on revenue growth

Revenue synergies can make a good deal even better.
Focusing your M&A team on revenue growth

Bridging infrastructure gaps: Has the world made progress?

Despite increased spending and pockets of progress, infrastructure investment gaps remain.
Bridging infrastructure gaps: Has the world made progress?

Making M&A deal synergies count

When investors understand where deal value comes from, they tend to reward companies up front.
Making M&A deal synergies count

How to make sure your next product or service launch drives growth

Fifty percent of launches don’t hit their targets. Launch champions follow these four rules.
How to make sure your next product or service launch drives growth

Navigating the uncertainty of potential ACA ‘repeal and replace’: A preliminary analysis

The findings in this Intelligence Brief provide an introductory perspective on how the next US administration and Congressional Republicans may approach altering the ACA and related legislation. The information is based on publicly reported information released through December 8, 2016. Our Reform Center team is continuing to refresh this perspective on a real-time basis and is closely analyzing potential implications and economic impacts for each policy element under a full range of scenarios.
Navigating the uncertainty of potential ACA ‘repeal and replace’: A preliminary analysis

Neutralize Internal Politics in Digital Initiatives

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Against the odds: How payors can succeed under persistent uncertainty

The US health insurance industry continues to be defined by uncertainty. The 25 articles in this compendium can help health insurers navigate the changes ahead.
Against the odds: How payors can succeed under persistent uncertainty

What enterprise-technology companies must know to drive digital-sales growth

B2B companies often achieve subpar results from digital-sales initiatives—and tech companies are not immune to this problem. How can they reverse the trend?
What enterprise-technology companies must know to drive digital-sales growth

How mobility players can compete as the automotive revolution accelerates

What is required to navigate the emerging personal-mobility landscape in an uncertain future?
How mobility players can compete as the automotive revolution accelerates

Optimizing production in the age of the machine

As machines play an ever more important role in production, companies need smarter and more holistic ways to optimize performance.
Optimizing production in the age of the machine

Extended lean toolkit for total productivity

Technology is on manufacturers’ side, but their next challenge is to create tools, infrastructure, and processes that turn rich data into real performance improvement.
Extended lean toolkit for total productivity

Navigating the digital future: The disruption of capital projects

Digital technology is disrupting capital projects. Companies that want to emerge as leaders must transform their organizations now.
Navigating the digital future: The disruption of capital projects

Women in the Workplace 2017

More companies are committing to gender equality. But progress will remain slow unless we confront blind spots on diversity—particularly regarding women of color, and employee perceptions of the status quo.
Women in the Workplace 2017

Shaping the future of work in Europe’s 9 digital front-runner countries

Our research shows significant value in embracing AI and automation for Sweden, but sees a requirement for new skill sets among employees and a policy response around education, training and the social contract.
Shaping the future of work in Europe’s 9 digital front-runner countries

Monday, October 9, 2017

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Going Mobile: The Personalized, On-Demand Future of Urban Transportation

Where is technology taking the economy?

We are creating an intelligence that is external to humans and housed in the virtual economy. This is bringing us into a new economic era—a distributive one—where different rules apply.
Where is technology taking the economy?

Women Matter: Ten years of insights on gender diversity

A decade into our research, we highlight key findings—and invite 16 global leaders to look at how to increase gender diversity in corporations and imagine the inclusive company of the future.
Women Matter: Ten years of insights on gender diversity

Energy transition: Mission (im)possible for industry?

Dutch industrial companies have a key role to play in repositioning the Netherlands to thrive in a low-carbon future. Despite technological challenges and the pressure of global competition, it is possible for them to lower their greenhouse-gas emissions in line with European goals.
Energy transition: Mission (im)possible for industry?

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Mapping the benefits of a circular economy


Mapping the benefits of a circular economy

Why oil and gas companies must act on analytics

Offshore platforms are, on average, running at only 77 percent of maximum production potential. Proper use of analytics can quickly improve on that.
Why oil and gas companies must act on analytics

Gauging the disruptive power of robo-taxis in autonomous driving

The self-driving taxi could ultimately take the global auto industry on a wild ride. Our use-case approach reveals why.
Gauging the disruptive power of robo-taxis in autonomous driving

Performance management: Why keeping score is so important, and so hard

The elements of a good performance-management system are simple, but integrating them into a business’s fundamental operating system is more difficult than it seems.
Performance management: Why keeping score is so important, and so hard

We are wrong about millennial sports fans

Millennials enjoy sports just as much as members of other generations. It’s the way they consume sports that matters.
We are wrong about millennial sports fans

Augmented and virtual reality: The promise and peril of immersive technologies

Immersive technologies, namely virtual and augmented reality, will fundamentally alter how we interact with content.
Augmented and virtual reality: The promise and peril of immersive technologies

For a Return on Platform Investment, Focus on New Capabilities

Advanced analytics in hospitality

Digital technologies are creating value and rearranging roles in the travel industry. Here’s how industry leaders are profiting from the change.
Advanced analytics in hospitality

Monday, October 2, 2017

Building smarter cars with smarter factories: How AI will change the auto business

From driverless cars to robots on the factory floor, AI is transforming the automotive industry. Here are the steps smart companies are taking to seize the opportunities it offers.
Building smarter cars with smarter factories: How AI will change the auto business

10 imperatives for Europe in the age of AI and automation

Europe, while making progress, is behind the US and China in capturing the opportunities of artificial intelligence and automation.
10 imperatives for Europe in the age of AI and automation

Toward an integrated technology operating model

Companies may be able to get digital transformations off the ground by separating digital from conventional IT, but that approach is not sustainable. Here’s a better way.
Toward an integrated technology operating model

Advancing manufacturing leadership

Transforming a manufacturer’s performance usually means changing its culture—and that means its leaders must change how they lead.
Advancing manufacturing leadership

Leadership in innovation needs innovation in leadership

As businesses face evolving challenges, four aspects of leadership will become dramatically more important: insight, integrity, courage, and agility.
Leadership in innovation needs innovation in leadership

How to create an agile organization

Transforming companies to achieve organizational agility is in its early days but already yielding positive returns. While the paths can vary, survey findings suggest how to start.
How to create an agile organization

Lions (still) on the move: Growth in Africa’s consumer sector

Africa remains a high-potential region, but growth is concentrated in a few markets and income segments. To win, companies need a tailored, data-driven approach.
Lions (still) on the move: Growth in Africa’s consumer sector

Strategic Priorities: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Launch the Quiz

Launch the Quiz

This quiz draws from ideas discussed in the article “Turning Strategy Into Results,” by Donald Sull, Stefano Turconi, Charles Sull, and James Yoder, MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2017.


Strategic Priorities: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Friday, September 29, 2017

What’s next for pharma innovation in China

Three prominent Chinese executives discuss the progress of local companies in drug innovation and the evolving regulatory environment.
What’s next for pharma innovation in China

Biopharma valuations—onward and upward?

Companies focused on biopharma have done well in capital markets. A closer look at performance helps explain why.
Biopharma valuations—onward and upward?

The future of mobility in India: Challenges and opportunities for the auto component industry

The Indian automotive industry has started to experience the effects of the global disruption. Electrification is of particular importance, and might significantly impact auto component manufacturers.
The future of mobility in India: Challenges and opportunities for the auto component industry

Tackling infrastructure’s digital frontier

Once at the forefront of innovation, construction now lags behind in the adoption of new technologies. But the industry is at a tipping point. We spoke with executives from Atkins, Siemens, and RIB Software at GII 2017 about how they’re embracing the disruptive potential of digitization.
Tackling infrastructure’s digital frontier

The case against corporate short termism

Despite strong pressures to focus on the short term, it is possible to manage for the long term and reap considerable rewards, write Tim Koller, James Manyika, and Sree Ramaswamy in Milken Institute Review.
The case against corporate short termism

Economic Conditions Snapshot, September 2017: McKinsey Global Survey results

At the country level, economic optimism has reached a six-year high in our latest survey. Globally, concerns over geopolitics and asset bubbles are on the rise.
Economic Conditions Snapshot, September 2017: McKinsey Global Survey results

The Project Management Tool You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Don’t Confuse Digital With Digitization

Deepening capital markets in the Philippines

Establishing pro-market policies, along with supportive rules and institutions, should increase the flow of money to companies and public projects that can benefit society.
Deepening capital markets in the Philippines

China's renewable energy revolution

China is at the center of a global energy transformation, which is being driven by technological change and the falling cost of renewables, write Jonathan Woetzel and Jiang Kejun in Project Syndicate.
China's renewable energy revolution

Five management strategies for getting the most from AI

A survey by the McKinsey Global Institute of 3,000 C-level executives across 10 countries and 14 sectors identified five fundamental strategies for how to get the most out of AI’s potential, write Jacques Bughin and Eric Hazan in MIT Sloan Management Review.
Five management strategies for getting the most from AI

Don’t burn the ships: Sail for a new world of manufacturing performance

While there’s no going back to a predigital, pretechnology age, much of what manufacturers already know will still be of great value as they transform their performance.
Don’t burn the ships: Sail for a new world of manufacturing performance

What it takes to be successful: Three hallmarks of a healthy oil and gas organization

As oil and gas companies navigate a ‘new normal,’ embedding three hallmarks of organizational health will be key to success.
What it takes to be successful: Three hallmarks of a healthy oil and gas organization

Global reinsurance: Fit for the future?

There are many opportunities for the reinsurance industry to maintain and increase its relevance, as new risks grow in importance and global macroeconomic conditions become more complex.
Global reinsurance: Fit for the future?

Creating an innovation culture

Corning’s Silicon Valley technology chief shares how to stay creative over the long haul, drawing on 40 years of experience.
Creating an innovation culture

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Leading Analytics Teams in Changing Times

The future of customer-led retail-banking distribution

Customers are leading the way toward next-generation retail-banking distribution strategies.
The future of customer-led retail-banking distribution

What’s sparking electric-vehicle adoption in the truck industry?

Commercial fleets could go electric rapidly. Understanding total cost of ownership and focusing on specific cases is critical.
What’s sparking electric-vehicle adoption in the truck industry?

Building smart and affordable real estate

The global real estate market is changing. Standardization, prefabrication, and smart technology are gaining traction as rising populations confront the need for affordable housing and livable, sustainable cities. Senior partner Subbu Narayanswamy discussed these evolutions and more at GII 2017 with leaders from Arup, Barcelona Housing Systems, and the Centre for Liveable Cities.
Building smart and affordable real estate

Discussions in digital: Moving B2B companies into the digital world

Digital has changed how B2B leaders meet customer demands, but not in all the expected ways.
Discussions in digital: Moving B2B companies into the digital world

Same lean song, different transformation tempo

Transformation isn’t new to manufacturers—but sustained transformation is rare. It’s even harder at today’s fast pace, which calls for a different transformation approach. 
Same lean song, different transformation tempo

As European banks retreat from the world stage China is stepping up

As European banks retreat, China is leading something of a changing of the guard in global finance, write Susan Lund and Eckart Windhagen in Harvard Business Review.
As European banks retreat from the world stage China is stepping up

Banking landscape shifts as Chinese groups globalise

European and U.S. banks are refocusing domestically while emerging market rivals expand abroad, write Susan Lund and Jonathan Woetzel in Financial Times.
Banking landscape shifts as Chinese groups globalise

How a large established company built a digital culture

How one large Malaysian business put customer focus, agile work methods, and design thinking at the core of its digital transformation.
How a large established company built a digital culture

McKinsey Quarterly 2017 Number 3: Overview and full issue

This issue of the Quarterly, available here as a PDF download, explores how digitization will shape global industries, discusses how to make better decisions, provides an action plan for workplace automation, and suggests ways for companies to improve HR.
McKinsey Quarterly 2017 Number 3: Overview and full issue

How to improve student educational outcomes: New insights from data analytics

By applying advanced analytics and machine learning, we have identified factors that play a critical role in student achievement.
How to improve student educational outcomes: New insights from data analytics