A rapid tool for strategic internal analysis of manufacturing firms

This paper examines strengths and weaknesses of companies in the context of the value chain as a way to assess a manufacturing firm. For doing this, the executives of 20 companies were interviewed and asked about the strengths and weaknesses they thought their companies had. The responses were classified according to the elements of the value chain and new sub-classifications were created. In this way, it was possible to discover the main concerns the executives had about their company and to see if there were some comonality in their responses. It was found that the main concerns were in the areas of Production and Sales, as opposed to Finances, Human Resources, Technology and Procurement. As a result, a proposition is made about the use of this value chain and its dimensions as a way for rapid internal assessment of a manufacturing firm. A case study is presented in which the developed tool was implemented. An internal analysis of a company was undertaken in few hours.