Articles

Corporate use of consultants has increased exponentially, and many managers wonder if the time and expense involved in working with them ever pays off. The authors argue that clients and consultants must work together in new ways to increase the productivity of their work. They suggest how clients and consultants can better focus their collaboration on issues that matter, accept more responsibility for facing the tough decisions, increase the speed and effectiveness of their efforts, and ensure that the people charged with implementing change have the commitment and understanding necessary to do so effectively.

Database marketing programs are attracting increasing amounts of companies' marketing resources and talents. But too often, marketers ignore consumer fears about the widespread availability and use of personal information. Innovative marketing tactics provoke a consumer backlash that can lead to restrictive legislation. The authors analyze the conflicting perspectives on database marketing and suggest some guidelines for companies to use for improving both the practice of database marketing and its climate. The best approach is to follow the "sunshine principle," they argue, and allow consumers more access to and control over the information concerning them.

In a time of shortening product life cycles, complex corporate joint ventures, and stiffening requirements for customer service, it is necessary to consider the complete scope of supply chain management, from supplier of raw materials, through factories and warehouses, to demand in a store for a finished product. Hewlett-Packard has developed a framework for addressing the uncertainty that plagues the performance of suppliers, the reliability of manufacturing and transportation processes, and the changing desires of customers. The author describes several cases in which entire product families have been reevaluated in a supply chain context. The methodology he presents should help others to manage their own supply chains more successfully.

Imagine the factory of the future. Will computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems be essential parts of that factory? Perhaps not, argue the authors, because the assumptions underlying computer-integrated manufacturing are seriously flawed. Flexible technology will not address the causes of manufacturing problems; it may simply institutionalize bad practice. Better to address organizational issues first, then apply flexible technologies as a last resort.

Managers who wish to improve customers' image of their companies can run communication campaigns, improve products, add personnel, and so forth. But how can managers decide which improvements in perceptions would be most beneficial and cost-effective? The authors present a method to (1) determine the company attributes that are relevant to customers; (2) rank the importance of those attributes; (3) estimate the costs of making improvements (or correcting customer perceptions); and (4) prioritize image goals so that the improvements in perceptions obtain the maximum benefit, in terms of customer value, for the resources spent.

Wading through all the advice on strategic planning for information technology (IT) can be difficult. The authors have assembled a general framework from a number of methodologies and have used it successfully in their work with companies. They argue that an organization's primary concern should be to integrate the IT strategic planning process with the general strategic management process. The process should result in a coherent program that works across the corporate, business, and functional levels.

Private labels or store brands are an important source of profits for retailers and a formidable source of competition for national brand manufacturers. Market share of private labels, however, varies dramatically across categories. The authors propose and test a framework to explain this variation in order to understand the determinants of private label success in the U.S. supermarket industry. They find that private labels perform better in large categories offering high margins. Private labels also do better when competing against fewer national manufacturers who spend less on national advertising. Surprisingly, high quality is much more important than lower cost.

The Toyota-GM joint venture, NUMMI, and Volvo's Uddevalla plant represent two different ways of organizing the labor-intensive production of standardized products, in this case, auto assembly. NUMMI is based on the Japanese "lean production" model, whereas Uddevalla has been called a "human-centered" model. Which model can best simulate continuous improvement while maintaining worker morale? The authors argue that the answer is, emphatically, NUMMI.

Managers don't need any more vague advice about paying better attention to customers. They need the practical, step-by-step methods described in this article. In 1990, a medical equipment manufacturer needed to redesign one of its products to beat an aggressive competitor. It used a method called the "House of Quality," which related market research information directly to product design, thereby helping the company focus effectively on the most important product benefits. The new design revolutionized the product and was a phenomenal success. Here's how the company did it.

To decide whether to pursue a global strategy, you need to examine industry dynamics