Manufacturers trying to develop a successful growth strategy must thoroughly understand their profitability, competitors, and customers. However, many small to medium-sized "lean" businesses lack the infrastructure to develop this understanding. Rare are finance departments strong enough in cost accounting to develop an accurate profit-and-loss statement at the product-line level. Equally rare are sales/marketing departments that understand their customers' product roadmap, the competitive threats of substitutive technologies, or alternate markets and the optimal channels through which to sell products.
As a result--to the extent that these companies do any strategic ...