- The Advantages of Intelligence
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As companies move forward, whilst it will undoubtedly remain an advantage to be rich and powerful, size in itself may not be such an important plus point. Most certainly size brings coverage and reach, but it also breeds cost and inflexibility. Instead, we will begin to see the proliferation of many smaller companies who have replaced the advantages of size with the advantages of intelligence.
What will intelligence bring to a company that might give it sustainable market value?
Well, it might enable it to:
- Sell more diverse products to its customer base, thereby increasing margin and perhaps even loyalty
- Acquire only those customers who will likely be low risk and high value
- Only execute marketing campaigns in geographies where the ability to provide service and product actually exists
- Remove the need for inventory completely by direct collaboration with suppliers
- Reduce the cash to cash cycle by getting customers to pay for goods prior to manufacturing them
- Eliminate the need for a direct sales force altogether
- Make fraud so unprofitable for the fraudster that they give up
So what is the major business driver that is set to change our ways of doing business? It can be summed up in one phrase – natural selection.
Note: Now I fancy myself as somewhat of a biologist and there are several points in Darwin’s theories of evolution that concern me, but maybe we can save that discussion till later?
Excellent comments about the "evolution" of businesses. Intelligence in its many forms will certainly continue to drive smarter decisions, and companies have it in their interest to be as intelligent as possible.
- Joe Levy, December 8, 2011 at 3:40 am