Value Chain Innovation Initiative

The Value Chain Innovation (VCI) Initiative brings together faculty, staff, students, and practitioners to advance the theory and practice of global value chain innovation through research and knowledge dissemination.

We seek to understand the economic and social impacts of the global dynamics and digital communications that are reshaping business, industries, and ecosystems. Our research focuses on solving problems that are highly relevant to the greater global business community. Projects may be structured as theoretical or model-based research, empirical research, or detailed field-based studies in any the following themes:

Electronic commerce
Global trade dynamics
Retail supply chains
Agricultural value chains
Data-driven decision-making
Electronic marketplaces
Omnichannel fulfillment and logistics
Service value chains
Product digitization
Shared value chain strategies
Social media in the value chain

Benefits of Value Chain Innovation

The VCI Initiative's co-director, Hau Lee, explains how value chain innovations can help entrepreneurs in developing economies grow their businesses.

Meet Professor Mendelson

Haim Mendelson, co-director of the Value Chain Innovation Initiative, gives an overview of how electronic communication has influenced business.

Riders for Health

Their Story

Written
Written
A Team of Researchers Explores Health Care Delivery in Africa
In one of the least densely populated nations in Africa, Riders for Health maintains motorcycles to help health workers reach isolated populations.
Research Brief

Written
Delivering Health to the Last Mile
A two-and-a-half-year, randomized study found that systematic management of motorcycles used by health care workers to reach far-flung rural villages improved health ministry system performance in Zambia. Download the research briefing.
Interactive Map

Written
Increase in Health Reach
GPS trackers in Zambia monitored the frequency and distance of motorcycle trips from health clinics to communities, and were used to develop detailed maps of dirt paths.

ExploreOur Reseach

Contactthe Value Chain Innovation Initiative

Executive Education

Strategies and Leadership in Supply Chains

Taught by supply chain pioneers and thought leaders, this program focuses on the innovative ways in which organizations can leverage the supply chain to create and capture value.