TRANSLATE YOUR CUSTOMER FOCUS INTO BOTTOM-LINE RESULTS

Achieving profitable and sustainable competitive advantage through bus iness reengineering requires the organization to be truly customer foc used. It is essential that the organization have an in-depth understan ding of the customer's VDP and value structure. There must be insight into the organization's performance relative to competition, to satisf y the customer. This knowledge must be structured in a manner that fac ilitates communication within the organization and with the customer. This effort requires quantifying, from the perspective of the customer , the variables of value, price, and cost for both the organization an d competitors. The value delivery process of the customer must be unde rstood and quantified. The organization must understand where in that VDP it has, or can create the capabilities to help the customer win. T he VDP of the organization and that of its competitors must be documen ted, quantified, and evaluated to identify where there are opportuniti es for improvement in the value-to-price and the value-to-cost ratios. In addition to this analytical work, the organization must develop a culture that emphasizes customer orientation. A continuous, on-going e ffort to view the world from the ''eyes of the customer'' is essential to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. The approach descri bed is designed to enable the organization to: Move up the customer's value delivery process in order to be a more valuable partner in the c ustomer's business; More clearly tie the organization's success to the customer's success and vice versa; Minimize sub-optimization by both the organization and the customer; and Create a linked competitive adv antage through working together. but most importantly, achieving a hig h level of customer of focus through customer value analysis will favo rably impact the bottom line of the organization.