Get Smart. (WIP)."Knowledge champions" are the companies that will achieve dominance in the marketplace Sanjiv Sidhu Sanjiv Sidhu is the founder and chairman of i2 Technologies, originally named Intellection. The son of a chemical engineer from India left the safety of his lab job at Texas Instruments in 1988 to start i2 Technologies out of his apartment with no venture capital. , Founder and chairman of i2, maintains. What, you may wonder, is a knowledge champion? Sidhu says that it is an organization that converts information--about customers, suppliers, and constraints--into actionable Giving sufficient legal grounds for a lawsuit; giving rise to a Cause of Action. An act, event, or occurrence is said to be actionable when there are legal grounds for basing a lawsuit on it. knowledge. i2 [Dallas, TX) is a supplier of supply chain software. While many people think about "supply chain" in the context of suppliers, Sidhu emphasizes the importance of Forward visibility, with particular emphasis on customers. (He is critical of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) An integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry, ERP implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary software written by or for one customer. systems, which he describes as being "rearview mirror" in nature: "It tells you what happened, but doesn't provide you with control of your Future."] Sidhu thinks that the two key aspects of success today are information and speed. He suggests that what needs to happen is that the processing of information--information that is a result of deep visibility into the supply chain and the market--must be made into a process, thereby increasing the speed of turning the information into actionable knowledge--plans that can be executed. One of the inhibitors that could exist is that of organizational size. He notes that historically, companies, working to achieve cost efficiencies, became large, thinking that the way to go was to benefit from economies of scale. One unanticipated drawback DRAWBACK, com. law. An allowance made by the government to merchants on the reexportation of certain imported goods liable to duties, which, in some cases, consists of the whole; in others, of a part of the duties which had been paid upon the importation. to this approach is that not only did these organizations become large, but also they became complex. Which can inhibit the flow of information. But Sidhu says that the use of information technology tools can provide the advantage that big organizations are seeking (as the information technology will have the effect of breaking down both the silos and the complex mazes that are ordinarily or·di·nar·i·ly adv. 1. As a general rule; usually: ordinarily home by six. 2. In the commonplace or usual manner: ordinarily dressed pedestrians on the street. constructed in organizations]. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Sidhu, companies need three tools in order to work toward becoming knowledge champions: 1. Customer relationship management [CRM (Customer Relationship Management) An integrated information system that is used to plan, schedule and control the presales and postsales activities in an organization. ]--"not sales force automation Automating the sales activities within an organization. A comprehensive SFA package provides such functions as contact management, note and information sharing, quick proposal and presentation generation, product configurators, calendars and to-do lists. ." 2. Supply chain management systems--the "backbone" that controls both fulfillment and pricing. 3. Supplier relationship management. Note that there are linkages involved in all of these cases [between one's own firm [and there are undoubtedly internal linkages] as well as with suppliers and customers]. While this could in itself lead to additional complexity, Sidhu recommends the establishment of a "command and control center" that can help keep things organized. The Shape of Things to Come Traditional firm Knowledge champion Low cost via size Velocity React to past Shape the future Mass market push Individual pull Independence Interdependence Competition Co-opetition |
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