The VCA concept is defined and applied to The Kerry Group and Waterford Wedgewood USA to illustrate its strategic benefits in a paper consisting of five pages. Two sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_MTvaadch.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
offering a product or service. As a result, all kinds of strategic ideas and theories have become available to businesses. One such theory is that of the value-add
-- in other words, businesses need to bring their customers more than a specific product, they need to bring more value to that product either through pricing methods, convenience or
other ways. In response, companies have examined not only the product or service a customer might need or desire, but also be
added value that such a product or service can create. Such an examination takes into account activities that add value to the product (as well as cost drivers), how
a competitive advantage is sustained, and opportunities for reduced cost. Such a concept is known as Value Chain Analysis, or VCA. The strategic use of VCA is enormous
-- by examining activities and costs throughout the supply and manufacturing chain, and by determining where value can be added to products and services at various points along these chains,
the company can provide extras to the consumer that will have them coming back again as repeat customers. In this paper, we
will conduct a simulated VCA for two companies; Waterford Wedgwood USA, and The Kerry Group. In each of these companies, we will propose various value-added activities and cost drivers,
and identify opportunities for adding value and reducing costs. Waterford Wedgwood USA is an extremely well-known manufacturer and marketer of crystal (Waterford
Wedgewood USA, 2003). The crystal comes in a variety of forms, ranging from objects dart, to stemware and gifts (Waterford Wedgewood USA, 2003). The company also has in its product