Problem:
In competitive industries, most of the time, companies must look within, and find ways to reduce the cost of bringing a product from the raw material to finished finished stage, in order to remain competitive in the long run.
The computer microchip Industry, in particular, is very competitive. Whenever a new microchip comes into the marketplace, the makers of "clone" microchips release a clone microchip that is almost as good as the original, but priced considerably lower.
The ABC Microchip Company specializes in developing first-of-its-kind microchips; yet its market share has been hurt by "clone" microchips. The Robbins text outlines 6 requirements for value chain Management. Discuss how you would put these requirements to work at the ABC Microchip company, in order to help it remain competitive in the long run.