Value chain analysis
OfficialOfficial · updated Nov 4, 2026 · v1.0.1
Maps a business's primary and support activities with cost share, cost drivers, and value to buyers, checks how they fit the strategy, and picks the 2 to 3 changes that matter.
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When to use it
- Margins are thin and you don't know which activities eat them
- Deciding what to outsource, automate, or invest in
- Checking that daily activities support a chosen strategy
What you give it
- What you sell, to whom, and your strategy
- Costs by activity or department
- What customers value and complain about
- What rivals do differently, if known
What you get
An activity map with cost shares, cost drivers, value to buyers, and fit, plus the 2 to 3 changes with their effect, what they give up, and owners.
Changelog
- v1.0.1 · Nov 4, 2026 · Example: the rival's cheaper shipping is marked [check], since the input gives only its pallet shipping, and the green-bean change gets a next step with an owner.
- v1.0.0 · Nov 4, 2026 · First release.
Sources
- Porter's Value Chain - Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge (2026-11-04)
- The Value Chain - Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School (2026-11-04)
- What Is Strategy? - Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996 (2026-11-04)
- Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (Free Press, 1985) - Harvard Business School (2026-11-04)
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