Value Chain
Stage 1 · Market understanding
Value Chain
A Value Chain map shows every step from raw material to end user: who buys, who specifies, who decides and who captures value at each step. It shows where value is created, and who your value proposition really needs to convince.
Questions it answers
1Who are the customers of our customers?
2Where in the chain is value created, and who captures it?
3Who influences the decision even if they don't buy from us?
How it works
The steps teams follow in our programs and projects.
Step 1
Map the steps
From supplier to end user, including distributors and specifiers.
Step 2
Add economics
Volumes, margins and value captured at each step.
Step 3
Find the decision makers
Who buys, who specifies and who influences.
Step 4
Choose where to engage
Where your value story must land.
What you get
The output
A diagram of the chain with value, margin and decision power at each step.
Where AI helps
Where judgment decides
Assembles industry structure and trade data into a first draft.
Confirms who really decides, often through customer conversations.
From our client work
How clients apply it
Paraphrased and anonymized from recent programs and engagements.
Application 1
Crop nutrition clients use it to shift from treating the distributor as the customer to selling through the channel to the grower.
Application 2
A device business mapped the value chain to price a new product on its value to each stakeholder.
Application 3
A recycled-materials startup used it to build value propositions for each level, from tire makers to vehicle manufacturers.
Linked tools
The output of one tool becomes the input to the next.
Where it's used
Academy program
Strategic Marketing
See dates →Academy program
Pricing
See dates →Expertise
Strategic Marketing & Growth
Explore →Expertise
Pricing & Value
Explore →Problem it solves
New products launch underpriced
Read more →Situation
Moving from commodity to specialty
How we help →Situation
Pricing a new product launch
How we help →Questions about Value Chain
Why map beyond our direct customer?
Because value is often created, and decisions often made, further down the chain.
How detailed should it be?
Detailed enough to see where value and decisions sit; usually four to seven steps.
Other tools in stage 1: Market Map · TAM / SAM / SOM · PEST analysis · Five Forces · Value Chain · Risk Analysis and VUCA
Want to use Value Chain on a live plan?
Book a 20–30 minute sounding board conversation with a senior consultant who has sat in your seat. No cost, no commitment.