McKinseyMore from McKinseyBusiness Strategy AlignmentM&A Activity, While Not as Robust as in Pre-recession Days, Is Clearly on the Way BackAfter years of stagnant activity, mergers and acquisitions surged in 2014, with the announcement of more than 7,500 deals with a combined value exceeding $3.5tr. That's an increase of more than 7 percent by number and more than 25 percent by value compared with 2013. While that volume hasn't yet reached the high of nearly 10,000 deals set in 2007, a new wave of activity is clearly under way.April 20, 2015All TechnologyManufacturers Can No Longer Ignore Focusing on Resource ProductivityA decade or so ago, companies in industrial manufacturing and other process industries did not need to focus on resource productivity. If they gave any attention to the topic, it was to undertake small, incremental measures with the hope of generating marginal improvements. That period is over. Today, there is no debate: resource productivity must be among the top priorities - if not the top priority - of industrial manufacturers around the world.March 23, 2015Business Strategy AlignmentResearch Says Global GDP Growth Rate May Drop Almost 40 Percent Over Next 50 YearsFor the last 50 years, the world economy has benefited from a demographic boom that has contributed 1.8 percent to average annual global GDP increases, helping to generate an unprecedented level of growth. This demographic headwind is coming to an end.January 23, 2015All TechnologyHow to Capture New 'Value' Segment in Medical DevicesThe growing demand for products that are "good enough" and competitively priced has pushed medical-product manufacturers to develop strategies to attract and retain this new segment of customers.January 19, 2015Logistics OutsourcingChina, the World's Largest Internet User, Discovers It's Useful in Running BusinessesUntil recently, China's internet economy was consumer driven. The country leads the world in the number of internet users, and Chinese enterprises deploy sophisticated e-commerce strategies. The same companies, though, have lagged behind the United States and other developed nations in using the internet to run key aspects of their businesses. That's changing.January 14, 2015Global Trade ManagementQuestions for Foreign and Chinese Businesses: In Which Region of the Country to Invest?China will be the focus of many, many boardroom discussions around the world in 2015. Unlike most previous years, the topic won't be whether to double down on China - it will be whether to hold or even reduce exposure to a particular sector or the country overall. With China experiencing lower growth, greater competition, and more volatility, it won’t only be multinational companies having these conversations.January 12, 2015All TechnologyLeading Companies Evolve, Reinvent Their Supply ChainsIn recent decades, companies in sectors from automotive and high-tech to retail and consumer packaged goods have come to realize that their supply chain is much more than the cost of getting products into customers' hands. These companies understand that it is the supply chain that translates corporate strategy into day-to-day interactions both within and beyond the organization. Ultimately, it is the supply chain that satisfies or disappoints their customers.November 20, 2014Business Strategy AlignmentManagers Need to Know When to Step Out of Way of ComputersThe exact moment when computers got better than people at human tasks arrived in 2011, according to data scientist Jeremy Howard, at an otherwise inconsequential machine-learning competition in Germany.September 15, 2014All TechnologyChief Marketing, Information Officers Need to Be on Same Page for Big Data to Equal Big ProfitA global company recently decided to do what many companies are doing: figure out how to turn big data into big profits. It put together a preliminary budget and a request for proposal that in effect asked vendors to take the data the company had and identify opportunities.September 4, 2014All TechnologyAutomating Upstream Supply Chain Leads to Efficiencies, Cost Savings in Oil & Gas IndustryThe rapid progress of technology, such as big data and analytics, sensors, and control systems, offers oil and gas companies the chance to automate high-cost, dangerous or error-prone tasks. Most oil and gas operators are starting to capture these opportunities and would do well to accelerate their efforts. Companies that successfully employ automation can significantly improve their bottom line.August 26, 2014Previous PagePage 3 of 4Next Page
