services as low cost, having a unique set of features, or targeting a focused or niche
segment in the market.
2. Total Customer Solutions: This view puts the customer, not the competitor, front and
center. It argues that deep understanding of customers and the subsequent development
of close relationships with those customers to support them in creating their own economic value is the best way to succeed. Firms competing with this focus organize their
supply chains to be responsive in providing a family of products and/or services that
closely match customer requirements.
3. System Lock-In: This view includes the extended enterprise—the firm, the customers,
the suppliers, and most importantly those firms whose products and services enhance
the strategy-making firm’s own product and service portfolio. The key to success in this
view is to identify, attract and nurture those firms whose products and services are complementary, engaging them in a collective effort to please the customer.