Value chains today have a huge impact on multinational corporations right to exist and the way they compete. The future challenges associated with value chains are also huge and include new demands from society, emerging-market strategies, resource scarcity, risk proliferation and other issues. Anticipating and addressing these future challenges are crucial if companies are to compete effectively. IMD and several multinational companies created the IMD Global Value Chain Center (VC2020) in June 2011 to develop research about the future of value chains. This book summarizes some of the key findings from this two-year project."

Recent developments are challenging the traditional separation between advanced and emerging economies as host of knowledge and production-intensive activities, respectively. Authors assess whether the co-location of R&D and manufacturing is critical for development and innovation.

In his 1985 book, Competitive Advantage, Michael Porter introduced the concept of the value chain and described it as “a systematic way of examining all activities a firm performs and how they interact, (necessary) for analyzing the sources of competitive advantage,” and introduced the idea of “linkages,” which was the real breakthrough in management thinking. Thinking of a firm as a series of horizontal and vertical linkages put the spotlight on the silo mentality within which firms operated and how business schools structured curriculum. The silo mentality caused business students unable to see the firm as a holistic entity, an understanding of how all of its parts fit together to develop competitive advantage. Students graduating with a silo mentality perpetuated the silo mentality in business firms. This book draws together existing knowledge to help facilitate the shift of mind necessary to effectively manage the value chain, and introduces a new conception of the value chain, one that has been copyrighted (2006) and provides a new perspective of the value chain commensurate with the demands of the 21st-century global economy.

A collection of papers by some of the world's leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multi-disciplinary, with contributions from economists, political scientists, supply chain management specialists, practitioners and policy-makers. Co-published with the Fung Global Institute and the Temasek

This book focuses on the changing gender patterns of work in a global retail environment associated with the rise of contemporary retail and global sourcing. This has affected the working lives of hundreds of millions of workers in high-, middle- and low-income countries. The growth of contemporary retail has been driven by the commercialised production of many goods previously produced unpaid by women within the home. Sourcing is now largely undertaken through global value chains in low- or middle-income economies, using a 'cheap' feminised labour force to produce low-price goods. As women have been drawn into the labour force, households are increasingly dependent on the purchase of food and consumer goods, blurring the boundaries between paid and unpaid work. This book examines how gendered patterns of work have changed and explores the extent to which global retail opens up new channels to leverage more gender-equitable gains in sourcing countries.

Get proven guidance to build a market-driven supply chain management system Supply chain management processes have gradually shifted from a supply-driven focus to a demand-driven one in order to better synchronize demand and supply signals. Bricks Matter shows you how you can identify market risks and opportunities and translate these into winning tactics. Business cases highlight how business leaders are winning through market-driven approaches. Helps you understand how to apply the emerging world of predictive analytics for the better management of value networks Includes business cases illustrating the market-driven approach Reveals how businesses can identify market risks and translate these into supply-side tactics As companies transition from demand-driven to market-driven approach, the focus in organizations shifts from one of vertical excellence to building strong market-to-market horizontal processes. Improve revenue by increasing market share, improve profit margins, and maintain high levels of customer service with the indispensable guidance found in Bricks Matter.