Can BNT help a Challenging Global and Regional Economy???

[RichBlumberg]

To the University Alliances "BNT" Community,

Hi! Clearly the economy is very challenging in 2009! Both globally and regionally (North America, Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America)

it is not business as usual.

Leaders are faced with very difficult decisions on where to invest. Faculty (e.g., lecutures, professors) play an important role in their research

and what they teach to their classes! So from what you can see... is BNT an important investment for organizations in 2009? Can it help

them with a competitive advantage? Should students learn about this business and IT trend...and opportunity?

So here's my question...

Is it better for a manufacture (...for example) to compete against another manufacture (1:1) or a supplier against a supplier (1:1) ...OR...

is it better for an ecosystem (of mulitiple businesses like manufactures, suppliers, distributers, retailers, etc.) to join forces and create better

products, services, solutions, and support by working together in a collaborative way...???

So what I mean...

If a manufacture (...for example)...joins forces with a wholesaler...and suppliers... to work with a retailer (or distributer)... to align with the

customer... is this the way to go??? Think of all the # of suppliers in building a plane or an electric car... imagine if they could collaborate

around simple things like orders... or logistics as well as around Web 2.0 to collaborate and help the "customer"... Is this the way to go???

While they maybe on different IT and business platforms (& separate processes) at the start...is there a "economic value" that they

collaborate on a shared (or common) IT and business platform (perhaps in a secure, private way)???

Thanks for an insights or thought leadership ideas on this topic!!!

From a faculty point of view... are you teaching this type of thing to your classes using case studies???

Best regards,

Richard

P.S. Here's an interesting video from Geoffrey Moore...(he wrote the famous book, "Crossing the Chasm") and I once had a nice dinner

with him and a few others back in the day....

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/media/uuid/80871894-61b9-2b10-1e98-a0c87858b4...

I've seen some interesting white papers from him as well....

http://download.sap.com/download.epd?context=38A7D1B5C42107887CF7711530D71DEC2EA74F6DB9A8F52B874E310...

How Business Networks Are Evolving Today

by Philip Lay and Geoffrey Moore

Geoffrey Moore is recognized as a leading business consultant to large companies facing formidable strategic challenges

and has seen how business networks can transform today's businesses. Discover the basic principle of business network

transformation, tying together collaborative networks and coordinated networks of global companies.

Edited by: Richard Blumberg on Jan 31, 2009 2:36 PM

Edited by: Richard Blumberg on Jan 31, 2009 2:37 PM

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Another way to frame the topic woudl be to ask:

"How are business networks reshaping a company's business relationships?"

You can look at that question from many disciplines, e.g. customer relationships, supplier relationships, logistics providor relationships, design partner relationships and even employee relationships.

Here's a link to a recent report from the Economist Intelligence Unit which surveyed 500 global C-level executives about the changing nature of these types of relationships. Good read.

The Collaboration Advantage: Customer-Focused Partnerships in a Global Market (EIU Report)

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/605419c0-3cb9-2b10-8c86-c1fa674a...