Value Chain

Definition

Value Chain. Value chain is the full range of activities, resources and relationships related to the undertaking’s business model(s) and the external environment in which it operates. A value chain encompasses the activities, resources and relationships the undertaking uses and relies on to create its products or services from conception to delivery, consumption and end-of- life. Relevant activities, resources and relationships include: a) those in the undertaking’s operations, such as human resource; b) those along its supply, marketing and distribution channels, such as materials and service sourcing and product and service sale and delivery; and c) the financing, geographical, geopolitical and regulatory environments in which the undertaking operates. Value chain includes entities (or actors) upstream and downstream from the undertaking. Entities upstream from the undertaking (e.g., suppliers) provide products or services that are used in the development of the undertaking’s products or services. Entities downstream from the undertaking (e.g., distributors, customers) receive products or services from the undertaking.