Business Collaboration for Improved Value Net Performance

This thesis defines business collaboration and places it in a context of four stages of value net integration: I) Traditional Company Structure, II) Functional Integration, III) Internal Integration, IV) External Integration. The causes of value net inefficiencies are examined and then categorized into three classes: 1) Design changes to eliminate points of amplification, 2) Changes in management policies to minimize oscillation, 3) Improved execution to reduce time. This thesis then relates the three classes of value net inefficiencies to the four stages of integration. Using this combined framework, collaboration is shown to have the most impact on reducing value net inefficiency as a strategy to achieve STAGE IV external integration by redesigning the value net to eliminate points of amplification. With this framework, two initiatives, CPFR and DAMA, are evaluated to asses their use of business collaboration. Thesis Advisor: Yossi Sheffi Title: Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Director, Center for Transportation Studies