Creating Effective Solutions-A Process-Oriented Perspective
创建有效的解决方案：从过程的角度出发

Global competition and declining margins have made enterprises in diverse industries increasingly aware that assuring low cost, product performance and high quality is no longer sufficient for long-term success. Integrating products and services to customized solutions can help firms to differentiate from their competitors. Based on 11 in-depth interviews with managers from solution providers and an exploratory survey with 45 solution providers we derive a four-step process of value creation as well as a set of critical activities and pitfalls within each step. Selling solutions require customer-supplier relational processes comprising analysis/consulting, design/configuration, implementation/delivery, and support/operation. To get a better understanding of the relational process we adopted this perspective on creating solutions in order to identify crucial routines and activities. Two main capabilities within this process can be identified: customer interaction and project management. Both capabilities are required in order to deliver more effective solutions at profitable prices.