Value Chain, Benchmark, Outsourcing, Procurement
IW's 2005 Value-Chain Survey sets benchmarks for global manufacturers
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Disruptive forces such as soaring raw materials and logistics costs are challenging U.S.-based global manufacturers, but research shows that they are keeping focused on what matters most: profits, revenues and market share.
How does that translate into value-chain management? Manufacturers are continuing to work closely with their suppliers and customers to keep costs down while trying to maintain and grow their markets. They are tapping strategies such as spend analysis and component standardization. They are sourcing from overseas and investing in IT at home.
These findings come from the 2005 IndustryWeek Value-Chain Survey, which we conducted in conjunction with IBM Business Consulting Services with assistance from APQC, an open-standards benchmarking collaborative based in Houston.
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Survey results tell the story of how manufacturers are responding to the unrelenting forces of globalization and offer a map of sorts for all manufacturers. The route to cheaper supplies from overseas sources may look like a clear path, for instance, but IW's value-chain research documents that supplier lead times are elongating, a step back from the improvements wrought from years of lean implementations. Some companies may find the payoff worth it. Others may find themselves with cheaper raw materials and components, but fewer customers.
In this article, IndustryWeek presents a top-level sampling of value-chain benchmarking data in procurement, logistics, product development and supply-chain planning. We will present other results of the survey with more in-depth reporting throughout 2006, but this initial report likely will give you, Mr. or Mrs. Manufacturing Leader, reason to both pat yourself on the back and take pause. The globe is not getting any bigger. But the world of manufacturing is. It would be easy to blindly follow the lead of compatriots and competitors, but it's best to chart your own course, based on your company's goals, products and customers.
To download the full survey, click here: 
IW Value-Chain Survey
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