Carlos Bremer, Rodrigo Cambiaghi Azevedo, Alexandra Pereira-Klen

This paper presents parts of the work carried out in several global organizations through the development of strategic projects with high tactical and operational complexity. By investing in long-term relationships, strongly operating in the transformation of the competitive model and focusing on the value chain management, the main aim of these projects was the alignment of multiple value chains. The projects were led by the Axia Transformation Methodology as well as by its Management Model and following the principles of Project Management.

Transformation Methodology: it arose from the award-winning academic research of the SAP University Alliance Grant Awards. Its proven effectiveness allows fundamental dimensions to be wholly and simultaneously developed ensuring long-lasting transformation and excellence in competitiveness and value generation. This methodology considers that there are 7 dimensions that drive any complex value chain transformation:

• Vision: in charge of aligning the value expected with proposed transformation among multiple stakeholders across the value chain;
• Strategy: sets and aligns across the organization the steps (e.g. projects, stages, sub-projects) required for the transformation;
• Organization: probably one of the most complex aspects during any value chain transformation, this dimension is responsible to design a new organizational structure better aligned with the future arrangement of the value chain;
• Key Performance Indicators: it is in charge of setting the most appropriate indicators which will drive the new configuration of the value chain;
• People: deals with the organizational and individual knowledge and skills required for the future scenario;
• Technology: is the dimension that searches for the best IT solutions in order to support the new business challenges;
• Processes: the set of activities required for carrying out the new work system. This dimension is responsible for linking all previous ones.

Management Model: the developed model addresses the important decisions a company faces; from the strategy formulation down to its deployment, execution and follow up and is composed of 7 core processes: strategic planning, integrated planning (S&OP), fulfillment management, order management, execution flow management, supply management and demand management. While the 5 former processes (strategic planning, S&OP, fulfillment management, order management, and execution flow management) are in charge of deploying and managing strategic drivers through tactical and operational flows, the supply and demand management processes are in charge of pursuing forward and reverse alignments with, respectively, customers and suppliers of a value chain enabling the alignment of the value chain.

Project management: the alignment projects are executed in 6 phases: initiation, visibility, proposition/prototyping, design, implementation and value capture. In all phases the 7 dimensions of the Transformation Methodology are taken into account allowing the use of a holistic approach to critical factors of success throughout the course of the projects.

As a concrete result of the efforts made in the last years in the Brazilian market this work also introduces the Alignment Model and its main concepts which support the long-lasting business transformation process that the companies undergo.

[1] Axia in Greek means “Value”.