flevyblog

Flevy Blog is an online business magazine covering Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP STRATEGY, MARKETING, SALES OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN ORGANIZATION & CHANGE IT/MIS Other

Economies of Unscale

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Pricing Strategy (38-slide PowerPoint presentation). Pricing Strategy is a core pillar of Marketing and Product Strategy. It is 1 of the 4 Ps of Marketing (also known as the Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion). As such, knowing how to properly price your product is extremely important to the commercial success and viability of [read more]

Also, if you are interested in becoming an expert on Strategy Development, take a look at Flevy's Strategy Development Frameworks offering here. This is a curated collection of best practice frameworks based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. By learning and applying these concepts, you can you stay ahead of the curve. Full details here.

* * * *

Futuristic, technology-driven business models are weakening the conventional advantages of Economies of Scale.  Large corporations, founded on Scale, nevertheless have areas that they can exploit if they reposition rapidly.

For the best part of over a century, Economies of Scale—Cost Advantages that businesses achieve owing to their scale of operation—fashioned the corporation into a perfect engine of business.  The economic concept of Economies of Scale was first floated in the Adam Smith era where the idea of obtaining larger production returns through the use of division of labor was introduced.

A technological rush, distinct in history, was observed near the beginning of the 20th century.  These new technologies were accompanied by scale i.e., bulk production and access to huge markets.  The Economies of Scale guided business success—the strong inverse relationship connecting fixed costs and output grew into a basis of Competitive Advantage.

Back then, investments in scale was the most sensible proposition.  Not only did it lower fixed costs but also created a formidable barrier for competitors, denying them entry in the market.  Every type of business spent the 20th century in the quest for scale.

The advent of game-changing new technologies such as mobile devices, social media, and cloud computing, augmented by Artificial Intelligence (AI), is whirling Economies of Scale into Economies of Unscale.

Specifically, rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) and emergence of Product to Platform Transformations—coupled with AI’s ability to customize—overthrows bulk production and mass marketing as a basis of Competitive Advantage.  These progressions have battered the powerful inverse correlation between fixed costs and output that delineated Economies of Scale.

Today, minor, unscaled businesses, leveraging Platform Scaling Strategies while renting SaaS, can hunt in niche markets, effectively contesting big companies that are strained by decades of investment in scale, i.e., in large-scale production, distribution, and marketing.

The triumphant companies in the current tech rush—enabled by Platforms and SaaS—are the ones led by Customer-centric Design, providing each customer precisely what they want, that too while making a profit, and not companies offering everyone uniform products.

Large corporations can remain relevant in this era of niche marketing by taking leverage of their existing infrastructure through astute modifications in their use.  They can deploy 3 key tactics to accomplish this:

  1. Product to Platform Transformation
  2. Absolute Product Focus
  3. Dynamic Rebundling

Let us delve a little deeper into the details of the 3 tactics for leveraging Economies of Unscale.

Product to Platform Transformation

Dynamic corporations have expended decades building scale which is extremely specialized for their industry.  Efficient factories, distribution channels, retail outlets, supply chains, marketing expertise, and global partnerships have been painstakingly developed.  It is time for these corporations to take a decision on whether it is more viable to rent out this capability to other companies or not.

An example of such an approach is that of P&G’s Connect + Develop program that has been running for more than a decade.  

Absolute Product Focus

As corporations become bigger, emphasis on control becomes more pronounced—processes, regulations, stock prices, and a variety of non-core issues take precedence over great product offering.  Niche market focus blurs and attempts are made to make a product that may appeal to the masses in an effort to create Economies of Scale.

In this age of Unscale, the product/customer-focused competitor preys on such weakness.  Large corporations can mitigate the repercussion of such weakness by organizing as a network of small businesses focusing on core function while outsourcing non-core functions.  Each business, completely dedicated to creating a product perfect for its part of the market.

Apple Inc. contracts out manufacturing to Chinese companies while keeping the R&D and innovation—its core function—in the U.S. 

Dynamic Rebundling

Successful companies in this day and age of Unscale are the ones that make every customer feel like a market of one.  A corporation—a compendium of products—can match this by initially understanding its customer, then bundling its products as per each customer’s needs.

A great example is The Honest Co., which in 2012, began selling specialized line of diapers and wipes by subscription.  First year, the company raked in $10 million in revenue by supplying a niche customer, a niche product, dissimilar to mass-market brands.  By 2016 it was making sales exceeding $300 million.

Interested in learning more about the 3 tactics for leveraging Economies of Unscale and how corporations have, in their own way, taken advantage?  You can download an editable PowerPoint on Economies of Unscale here on the Flevy documents marketplace.

Do You Find Value in This Framework?

You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library.  FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.  Here’s what some have to say:

“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market.  They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions.  I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”

– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects

“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power.  For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”

– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting

“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over!  The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”

– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd

34-slide PowerPoint presentation
Product Lifecycle Analysis is an invaluable tool for developing a robust product marketing strategy. Marketers and strategists can use this analysis to predict sales growth, associated customer and competitor behaviors, and, in turn, devise the appropriate product marketing strategy. The Product [read more]

Want to Achieve Excellence in Strategy Development?

Gain the knowledge and develop the expertise to become an expert in Strategy Development. Our frameworks are based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. Click here for full details.

"Strategy without Tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu

For effective Strategy Development and Strategic Planning, we must master both Strategy and Tactics. Our frameworks cover all phases of Strategy, from Strategy Design and Formulation to Strategy Deployment and Execution; as well as all levels of Strategy, from Corporate Strategy to Business Strategy to "Tactical" Strategy. Many of these methodologies are authored by global strategy consulting firms and have been successfully implemented at their Fortune 100 client organizations.

These frameworks include Porter's Five Forces, BCG Growth-Share Matrix, Greiner's Growth Model, Capabilities-driven Strategy (CDS), Business Model Innovation (BMI), Value Chain Analysis (VCA), Endgame Niche Strategies, Value Patterns, Integrated Strategy Model for Value Creation, Scenario Planning, to name a few.

Learn about our Strategy Development Best Practice Frameworks here.

Readers of This Article Are Interested in These Resources


46-slide PowerPoint presentation
Some innovations are truly spectacular, but consumers are slow or just refuse to adopt. In fact, over 70% of all new products fail in the marketplace--and innovative, new products fail at an even higher rate. Why is this the case? And, how do companies overcome this? This document discusses [read more]


 
29-slide PowerPoint presentation
 
 
136-slide PowerPoint presentation

About Mark Bridges

Mark Bridges is a Senior Director of Strategy at Flevy. Flevy is your go-to resource for best practices in business management, covering management topics from Strategic Planning to Operational Excellence to Digital Transformation (view full list here). Learn how the Fortune 100 and global consulting firms do it. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by leveraging Flevy's library of best practice methodologies and templates. Prior to Flevy, Mark worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Co. and holds an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn here.

, , , , , , , , , ,



Complimentary Business Training Guides


Many companies develop robust strategies, but struggle with operationalizing their strategies into implementable steps. This presentation from flevy introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. [Learn more]

  This 48-page whitepaper, authored by consultancy Envisioning, provides the frameworks, tools, and insights needed to manage serious Change—under the backdrop of the business lifecycle. These lifecycle stages are each marked by distinct attributes, challenges, and behaviors. [Learn more]

We've developed a very comprehensive collection of Strategy & Transformation PowerPoint templates for you to use in your own business presentations, spanning topics from Growth Strategy to Brand Development to Innovation to Customer Experience to Strategic Management. [Learn more]

  We have compiled a collection of 10 Lean Six Sigma templates (Excel) and Operational Excellence guides (PowerPoint) by a multitude of LSS experts. These tools cover topics including 8 Disciplines (8D), 5 Why's, 7 Wastes, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), and DMAIC. [Learn more]
Recent Articles by Corporate Function

  

  

  

  

  

The Flevy Business Blog (https://flevy.com/blog) is a leading source of information on business strategies, business theories, and business stories. Most of our articles are authored by management consultants and industry executives with over 20 years of experience.

Flevy (https://flevy.com) is the marketplace for business best practices, such as management frameworks, presentation templates, and financial models. Our best practice documents are of the same caliber as those produced by top-tier consulting firms (like McKinsey, Bain, Accenture, BCG, and Deloitte) and used by Fortune 100 organizations. Learn more about Flevy here.
  


OUR CORE OFFERINGS
Flevy Marketplace: Top 100
· Strategy & Transformation
· Digital Transformation
· Operational Excellence
· Organization & Change
· Financial Models
· Consulting Frameworks
· PowerPoint Templates
FlevyPro (Subscription Service)
KPI Library
Streams (Functional Bundles)
Flevy Executive Learning (FEL)
PowerPoint Services

FREE Resources

About Flevy
Management Topics
Marcus (AI-Powered Consultant)
Partner Program
LinkedIn Influencer Marketing
FAQ / Terms / Privacy / Blog
Contact Us: support@flevy.com



CONNECT WITH US!
       
TOP 100 TRENDING TOPICS
Acquisition Strategy
Agile
Analytics
Artificial Intelligence
Balanced Scorecard
Best Practices
Big Data
Breakout Strategy
Business Continuity Planning
Business Plan Financial Model
Business Transformation
CMMI
COBIT
Change Management
Cloud
Communications Strategy
Company Financial Model
Competitive Advantage
Competitive Analysis
Consulting Frameworks
Continuous Improvement
Core Competencies
Corporate Culture
Cost Reduction Assessment
Customer Experience

BROWSE BY FUNCTION
Strategy, Transformation, & Innovation
Digital Transformation
Operational Excellence and LSS
Organization, Change, & HR
Management Consulting

Customer Journey
Customer Service
Cyber Security
Data Privacy
Decision Making
Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation Strategy
Due Diligence
ESG
Employee Engagement
Employee Training
Enterprise Architecture
Growth Strategy
HR Strategy
Hiring
Hoshin Kanri
ISO 27001
ITIL
Information Technology
Innovation Management
Integrated Financial Model
Kaizen
Kanban
Key Performance Indicators

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Business Strategy Frameworks
Case Studies
Consulting Training Guides
COVID-19 Trend Data
Digital Transformation
Financial Advising Services (FAS)

Knowledge Management
Leadership
Lean
Lean Manufacturing
Logistics
M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions)
Manufacturing
Market Research
Marketing Plan Development
Maturity Model
McKinsey PowerPoint
McKinsey Templates
Operational Excellence
Organizational Change
Organizational Design
Performance Management
Post-merger Integration
Pricing Strategy
Process Improvement
Process Maps
Procurement Strategy
Product Launch Strategy
Product Strategy
Project Management
Quality Management


Free Resources
KPI Library
Lean Management
Lean Six Sigma Training Guides
Marcus Insights
Operational Excellence

Real Estate
Remote Work
Restructuring
Risk Management
Robotic Process Automation
SWOT
SaaS
Sales
Scrum
Service Design
Six Sigma Project
Social Media Strategy
Strategic Planning
Strategic Thinking
Strategy Development
Supply Chain Analysis
Sustainability
Target Operating Model
Team Management
Total Productive Maintenance
Value Chain Analysis
Value Creation
Value Stream Mapping
Visual Workplace
Workplace Safety


Product Strategy
Small Business Owner
Startup Resources
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning Process
Value Innovation Strategy


© 2012-2024 Copyright. Flevy LLC. All Rights Reserved.