This is the suggested answer to the Value Chain Analysis exercise on Colorado Ricardo Mountain Bikes.
Primary Activity: Operations
Colorado Ricardo’s hand-building process is the primary activity most worth protecting and investing in, since it is the direct source of the durability that differentiates the brand. Any move into e-mountain bikes should keep this process intact rather than switching to a faster, lower-cost assembly method that would undercut the brand’s core promise.
Support Activity: Procurement
Battery and motor components for an e-mountain bike come from a small pool of specialist suppliers, which was already flagged as a source of supplier power in the Five Forces exercise. Investing in procurement – securing better terms, or qualifying more than one supplier – directly reduces that risk before it becomes a cost or availability problem.
This links directly to the supplier risk identified in the Five Forces exercise – value chain analysis shows exactly where inside the business that external risk needs to be managed.
