Strategic Management of Technology

Importance of Strategic Management of Technology

Technology has a potential to create value for an organization. Technological innovation helps to produce a wide range of new products at a rapid rate. This enables one to introduce products faster, and to gain competitive advantage in the market. Hence, strategic management of technology plays a vital role in order to stay competitive in today’s dynamic world

Strategic management of technology is important to enhance the operation and control of products/services/processes of an organization, to achieve a competitive edge in the market, to make innovative products/services, to become a differentiator in the market, to better customer service to name a few. Some of these benefits are discussed in detail in the following paragraphs.

Technology can be used for continuous improvement in a company’s operational processes. An improvement in the operational processes can decrease the total lead time for production and enrich product or service quality. Technology can be implemented to make the operational processes lean by focusing on the flow of process and gradually eliminating variation within the flow to make superior products/services with a reduced production time and cost. Toyota has successfully employed lean manufacturing technology in their operations and has constantly produced exclusive products with minimal rejects.

Strategic management of technology can help an organization to enter markets in new geographical locations. Wal-Mart’s core competence has been selling products at lower prices and making them available in remote areas. Using well integrated information systems for inventory management and distribution that are built on technologies that employ the supply chain management principle, Wal-Mart has improved upon its mass distribution capabilities and entered into new regions. Wal-Mart has emerged as one of the most successful retail stores in the world.

Strategic management of...