The Black Widow is a business model whose value proposition is imposed by the customer. Its resources are thus similarly influenced.
In 2003, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) told its vendors that it expected them to adopt radio frequency identification tags (RFID) as a means of helping the retailer manage its supply chain. The idea was to track Wal-Mart's purchased items as soon as they left the suppliers' shipping docks. By more closely coupling Wal-Mart and its customers, RFID would in theory identify supply chain bottlenecks that could be eliminated.
The technology was at the time immature and untested. It was also expensive. For small firms, implementation costs were between $100k to $300k. For larger firms, the costs could run as high as $20 million.
In some cases, the resource imposition is not as one way as it is with Wal-Mart and its vendors.
Wheel manufacturer Superior Industries (NYSE: SUP) has historically counted upon General Motors and Ford (NYSE: F) for the bulk of its business. (The two typically totaled about 85% of SUP revenues before the auto industry collapse in 2008-2009.)
Superior's 10K for 2008 reports that its auto industry customers reimburse the firm for "...development of wheels and related initial tooling." (p. 26)
If you're driving a Ford or GM vehicle, you're almost certainly driving on wheels made by Superior Industries. The company has struggled to deal with the problems suffered by their main customers but a review of SUP's 10K filings reveals a firm that shows how, metaphorically speaking, to sleep with 800 pound gorillas.
To improve your mastery of the business model template: Chickens and Pigs - The Book
