There is nothing new with the desire for “agile”, “flexible” and “responsive”.
Small dynamic operations will align product or service to the desires of individual consumers as a differentiator, while bigger operations, have in the past thrived on the Henry Ford mantra or “lights out” operations, minimising cost and focusing management time on “eliminating waste” and “variation”.
But this long-accepted paradigm is changing or have indeed changed, demanding: low cost but configured products requiring mass customisation, ownership models which require unique commercial bundles and social transparency requiring an affordable, reliable and durable solution.
Organisations able to perform in the new economy will adapt and align to consumer expectations. Combining new capabilities within business process, organisation and technology to deal with compromises traditionally driven by balancing quality, cost and service to achieve sustainable profitable growth.
This discussion explores these factors and in particular, how developments in digital technology now create an enterprise intelligent enough to adapt.
