Delving Deeper into Value Chain Collaboration

Top Management Survey - The previous edition of C3X found that the European chemical industry can generate additional sales of up to €25 billion if it is able to better exploit the benefits of supplier-customer collaboration across value chains. In the seventh edition of their top management panel survey entitled "Chemical Customer Connectivity Index" (C3X), A.T. Kearney, CHEManager Europe and the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster will now delve deeper into this topic. The survey will look at how collaboration can change a company's approach to innovation and the benefits this can generate. It will also contain a special section on structural relocation within the value chain. The survey is available at www.chemanager-europe.com/C3X.

Starting May 31t, the top management panel survey is entering the next round and will once again look at the issues at the top of the agenda of chemical companies and their customers. This seventh edition of C3X will continue to examine the opportunities that can arise from collaboration and will look into what has changed over the past twelve months with regard to increased collaboration. It will explore how collaboration can change a company's' approach to innovation and what benefits this can generate. Are there benefits from increasing open innovation that outweigh the benefits of original, patent-protected research? How willing are suppliers and customers to share information on requirements to make sure they have better targeted innovation available?

Furthermore, C3X will look at the consequences of structural relocation within the chemical industry. The relevance of this topic is being fueled by the increasing utilization of new energy sources, such as unconventional gas and oil sands. The shale gas development in the US is playing a particularly important role in this context. As Dr. Tobias Lewe, Partner in the Chemicals and Oil Practice at A.T. Kearney, explains, "Many European chemical companies are putting their North America strategy to the test, looking for answers to two strategic questions: first, on how shale gas will affect their positioning and second, how they can benefit from this development." In this special section, the survey will address aspects such as: Is manufacturing coming back to the US? In which geographies and countries do companies plan to invest in manufacturing capacity? What can companies do to remain competitive in light of these trends?
Apart from these two special sections, the survey will continue with the standard set of questions on customer requirements and customer interface priorities. It will also once again deal with the cyclical outlook and cast a light on the consequences of the ongoing financial instability in Europe.

Between now and June 28th, executives of chemical companies as well as executives from customer industries, such as the automotive, pharmaceuticals, construction, paper, and consumer goods industries, can sign up to the top management panel and take part in the survey. By doing so, they can make a significant contribution toward improving both parties' understanding of the issues that are crucial at the interface between the chemical and the customer industries. Answering the questions of this survey will take no longer than 10 to 15 minutes. All information will be treated in strict confidence and only anonymous data will be included in the overall evaluation. As an incentive, participants will receive the results of the survey in an exclusively edited form. The results will also be published in the September issue of CHEManager Europe.

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Join the C3X Panel
Until June 28th, executives of chemical companies as well as executives from customer industries can sign up to the top management panel at:
www.chemanager-europe.com/C3X