In this post we return to a little bit of theory.
- Choosing your target customers and identifying the product or service you will provide to them
- Selecting and sourcing inputs
- Transforming the inputs into outputs
- Delivering the outputs to customers
What are the activities that generate value for a company that makes and sells physical things?
Let's go one level down. We can see immediately that different flavours start to emerge. Below is a high-level list of activities associated with a manufacturing company.
- Choosing your target customers and identifying the product or service you will provide to them
- Conducting market research
- Analyzing the competition
- Developing the product or service
- Selecting and sourcing inputs
- Researching suppliers
- Negotiating supply contracts
- Creating and monitoring supply chains
- Transforming the inputs into outputs
- Building and maintaining production facilities
- Running a production process
- Storing finished products
- Delivering the outputs to customers
- Running a distribution network
- Billing customers and collecting payment
- Providing after-sales service
What are the activities that generate value for a company that provides a service?
- Choosing your target customers and identifying the product or service you will provide to them
- Conducting market research
- Analyzing the competition
- Developing the product or service
- Selecting and sourcing inputs
Researching suppliersHiring lawyersNegotiating supply contractsDeveloping a compensation structureCreating and monitoring supply chainsRunning a campus recruitment programme
- Transforming the inputs (available time) into outputs (billed hours)
Building and maintaining production facilitiesRenting office spaceRunning a production processStaffing lawyers on projectsStoring finished products
- Delivering the outputs to customers
Running a distribution networkRunning administration services for client servicing- Billing customers and collecting payment
Providing after-sales serviceInvesting in client relationship management