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Make-or-buy is argued as a question of degree, and degree does not sort the good outcomes from the bad ones: the companies in this pack own wildly different amounts, one of the most successful deliberately owns almost nothing, and one that owned everything could not leave the layer it owned. What separates them is whether they can specify what they do not own. This pack supplies the test that settles that, locates the layer worth owning rather than the one on the delay report, prices owning now against buying back later at a premium somebody else sets, and stops on two conditions: the specification would not let anybody else build it, and the layer was chosen because it is visible.
The test that runs through every file
Whether a supplier who has never seen it could build to what you hold today. It is the argument in the deck, it becomes the wizard’s axes, it drives the model’s inputs, and it reappears as lines on the checklist. That is what makes 16 files a product rather than 16 documents.
The model resolves to one number you can negotiate with: The break-even probability — the chance of a forced buy-back at which owning and buying cost the same. It ships blank and worked, and every input is a named cell rather than a figure buried inside a formula, so the number arrives with its assumptions attached rather than on its own authority.
What is in the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack
- Foundations. The framework: the specification test, which layer to own, the cost nobody prices, and the two halts.
- Concept deck. Twenty-one slides for the board or leadership session, with the sourced decisions and what each does not establish.
- Decision wizard. Eight scored questions returning the position, the band, and either of the two halt conditions.
- Buy-back model. Ten years of both paths, and the break-even probability at which they cost the same.
- Strategies and tactics. The moves when you can and cannot specify it, four ways of holding a supplier, and the six that hide the problem.
- Case studies. Nine sourced decisions read through what was owned and what was specified — from Boeing to Kodak.
- Fit worksheet. The single page of record: the test, the layer, the break-even probability, and the review date.
- Roadmap template. Five phases with gates and owners, the assumptions register, and an annual reporting line.
- Practitioner manual. Running the specification test, locating the layer, the board paper, six failure modes and their indicators.
- Field checklist. The one-pager that survives outside the binder.
- About the package. What each file does and the order in which to run them.
An honest note on fit
This is a kit for running a decision, not a research report and not a course. It is worth buying if a real decision is in front of you and you would otherwise start from a blank page. It is not worth buying to read.
Worked examples use an explicitly fictional business, labeled on every file that contains one, with numbers tuned to teach rather than to flatter — each worked case is built so that the decision does not simply come out well, and so that what settles it is the test the pack exists to run. A worked example where everything works is a brochure. The price excludes customization, implementation and support, and where the pack reasons beyond its evidence it says so on the page.
Questions
- What is the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack?
- The Vertical Integration Strategy Pack is a decision-support kit for one question: What must you own, and what can you safely buy? It contains 16 files — foundations, concept deck, decision wizard, buy-back model, strategies and tactics, case studies, fit worksheet, roadmap template, practitioner manual, field checklist, about the package — built around a single organizing test: whether a supplier who has never seen it could build to what you hold today. It is what a leadership team uses to run the decision and leave a record of what they assumed, rather than a report about the topic.
- Who is the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack for?
- Anyone who has to make this call and answer for it: an operator or owner facing the decision, the executive team running it, the board or investor testing the reasoning, or an adviser who would otherwise build the framework from a blank page. It is worth buying when a real decision is in front of you. It is not worth buying to read.
- What is in the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack?
- 16 files in Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel: Foundations (Word + PDF) — The framework: the specification test, which layer to own, the cost nobody prices, and the two halts. Concept deck (PowerPoint + PDF) — Twenty-one slides for the board or leadership session, with the sourced decisions and what each does not establish. Decision wizard (Excel) — Eight scored questions returning the position, the band, and either of the two halt conditions. Buy-back model (Excel, blank and worked) — Ten years of both paths, and the break-even probability at which they cost the same. Strategies and tactics (Word) — The moves when you can and cannot specify it, four ways of holding a supplier, and the six that hide the problem. Case studies (Word) — Nine sourced decisions read through what was owned and what was specified — from Boeing to Kodak. Fit worksheet (Word, blank and worked) — The single page of record: the test, the layer, the break-even probability, and the review date. Roadmap template (Word) — Five phases with gates and owners, the assumptions register, and an annual reporting line. Practitioner manual (Word + PDF) — Running the specification test, locating the layer, the board paper, six failure modes and their indicators. Field checklist (PDF) — The one-pager that survives outside the binder. About the package (PDF) — What each file does and the order in which to run them.
- What number does the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack produce?
- The break-even probability — the chance of a forced buy-back at which owning and buying cost the same. The model ships blank and worked, and every input is a named cell rather than a figure buried inside a formula, so the number you take into a room arrives with its assumptions attached and can be argued with rather than merely believed.
- How is the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack delivered?
- As a single download of all 16 files, immediately after payment, with the same link sent by email. It can be downloaded 3 times and the link is valid for 30 days. There is nothing to install and no account to keep.
- How much does the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack cost, and is it a subscription?
- $499, one-time. It is not a subscription and there is nothing to cancel. Where the pack is revised within 180 days of your purchase, the new release is yours. The price does not include customization, implementation help or support.
- Are the worked examples in the Vertical Integration Strategy Pack real companies?
- The case studies are real, sourced and dated, and each one states what its evidence does not establish. The worked model, wizard and worksheet use an explicitly fictional business, labeled as such on every file that contains one. A worked model needs roughly fifteen populated inputs; for a real company you would have public figures for perhaps four, and the rest would be estimates wearing the authority of a spreadsheet.