“公司是大而全好？還是小而精好？
這可能是公司管理者亙古的難題。
公司的策略隨著時代而變化，當今仇味，社會分工愈加細化。但奇怪的是，反而是越大越全的公司活得越好被饿？
這是為何？原因在一個詞“垂直整合”∈逊瑁”
Keeping it under your hat
An old management idea gets a new lease of life
Apple and Tesla are two of the world's most talked-about companies. They are also two of the most vertically integrated. Apple not only writes much of its own software, but designs its own chips and runs its own shops. Tesla makes 80% of its electric cars and sells them directly to its customers. It is also constructing a network of service stations and building the world's biggest battery factory, in the Nevada desert.
Keeping it under your hat：保密，不要聲張
An old management idea gets a new lease of life
lease：租期，a (new) lease of life是一個常用的表達，延年益壽鹤耍；生活質(zhì)量更好。這里指傳統(tǒng)的管理理念正在重獲生機抛猖。
vertically integrated company：垂直整合的公司。Vertical：垂直的，垂直一般是指專注某個行業(yè)。Integrated：整合的愤兵，詞根來源于integrate，成為一體，另外還有一個常見的詞就是integer，整數(shù)荣刑。
chip：芯片评矩，薯條虱颗。
現(xiàn)在人們最常提起的公司莫過于蘋果與特斯拉。為什么？因為他們是最垂直整合的公司宣赔。何謂垂直整合呢对蒲？蘋果不僅會自己寫軟件砰逻，也自己設(shè)計芯片和經(jīng)營商店。（其實也就是盡量內(nèi)部處理公司經(jīng)營業(yè)務(wù)。）特斯拉80%的電動汽車都是自產(chǎn)并直銷給客戶的，同時祝闻，特斯拉也建造了服務(wù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)辙纬，在內(nèi)華達沙漠建立著世界上最大的電池工廠捂蕴。
A century ago this sort of vertical integration was the rule: companies integrated “backwards”, by buying sources for raw materials and suppliers, and “forwards”, by buying distributors. Standard Oil owned delivery wagons and refineries in addition to oil wells. Carnegie owned iron-ore deposits and rail carriages as well as blast furnaces. In his 1926 book “Today and Tomorrow” Henry Ford wrote that vertical integration was the key to his success: “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” He claimed he could extract ore in Minnesota from his own mines, ship it to his River Rouge facility in Detroit and have it sitting as a Model T in a Chicago driveway—in no more than 84 hours.
Backwards：向后,這里表示向后整合，即往自己的上游整合陨瘩；同理卡者，forwards是向前整合，即往下游整合，比如自己做分銷商
Standard Oil：標準石油公司，大名鼎鼎的石油之王洛克菲勒的石油公司外遇，曾經(jīng)獨霸美國，擁有石油行業(yè)90%占有率
Carnegie：卡內(nèi)基妄辩，美國鋼鐵之王
Henry Ford：亨利·福特佩憾，福特公司的創(chuàng)始人
Extract：提取，大家注意這個詞經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在日護用品中，比如某個護膚霜里含有什么提取物就會用extracted。
Ore：礦物
Driveway：汽車道
上個世紀這種垂直整合的經(jīng)營策略曾經(jīng)是經(jīng)營管理圈的王道：要么向后整合，公司購買原材料和供應(yīng)商眷篇，要么向前整合玛歌，購買分銷商支子，其實讀到這里大家應(yīng)該就很清楚垂直整合到底是什么了昨登？（其實就是一家公司稽坤，盡量將其生產(chǎn)線整合在一起，從核心技術(shù)到零件處理以及直銷分銷，都屬于公司的業(yè)務(wù)范圍。）標準石油公司述呐，除了油井之外代虾，還有自己的送貨車以及煉油廠；卡內(nèi)基的產(chǎn)業(yè)不僅包含鐵礦床外還擁有火車運力和高爐。1926年斟赚，福特在他的書“今天和明天”中寫到垂直整合就是他的成功秘訣：如果你想做什么发侵，自己做吧钱骂。（不要依靠其他公司愉烙，自己公司包攬蔓肯。）福特公司因為自己公司垂直整合業(yè)務(wù)管理秉扑，可以在84小時之內(nèi)，從自己在明尼蘇達的礦井中采集出礦石，送到在底特律胭脂河的處理廠米母，組裝成T型車并開上芝加哥的車道铁瞒。
Today this sort of bundling is rare: for the past 30 years firms have been focusing on their core business and contracting out everything else to specialists. Steelmakers sold their mining operations and carmakers spun off their parts suppliers. Controlling it all made sense, the argument went, when markets were rudimentary: when supplies of vital materials were limited or contractors could cheat you. As markets became more sophisticated these justifications fell away. Thanks to globalization, companies could always find new resources and better suppliers.
Bundle：捆綁慧耍，商業(yè)中表示捆綁銷售芍碧，這里應(yīng)當作“捆綁業(yè)務(wù)”泌豆。
Contract：簽約踪危，contract out簽約把工程包出，即“外包”
Steelmakers：鋼鐵制造商
spin off：是一個很專業(yè)的商業(yè)用語敛滋，意為母公司收回子公司全部股本使之脫離的做法；做名詞可表示“有用的副產(chǎn)品”杂曲。比如：This ice-cream is just a spin-off of KFC.這種冰淇淋是KFC的副產(chǎn)品。
Justification：理由
fall away：消失咱揍，遠去
thanks to：多虧，既表達原因，又表現(xiàn)出偏向是褒義的。這個句型好用而簡潔血公，請大家多多練習薛夜，如：Thanks to the her fearless, we finally survive the game. 或者晚伙，thanks to the high speed railway, we can visit each other in a far less time.
但是現(xiàn)在這種捆綁業(yè)務(wù)的商業(yè)運營方式已經(jīng)很少了：在過去的30年中尝抖，公司都只關(guān)注最最核心的技術(shù)登颓，其余的都外包給專業(yè)公司了喇嘱。比如构蹬，鋼鐵制造商出售采礦業(yè)部門，汽車制造業(yè)獨立出零部件生產(chǎn)部門怖亭。按照這種說法讨勤，當市場還處于早期時割捅，掌控一切是十分必要的：要么因為關(guān)鍵材料的供給有限喂江，要么因為承包商會騙你。但是隨著市場越來越細分，這些理由都不存在了。全球化的出現(xiàn)，使得公司總是能夠找到新的原料和更好的供應(yīng)商。
Yet a growing number of companies are having second thoughts. This is most visible in information technology. The industry's leaders were at the heart of the contracting-out revolution. Vertically integrated companies such as IBM outsourced as much as possible in order to lower costs. Upstarts such as Microsoft prospered by focusing on a narrow—but exceptionally valuable—slice of the pie: the operating system of personal computers. Now many startups in Silicon Valley pride themselves for being “full stack”. But re-bundling can be found everywhere, from fashion to manufacturing.
Visible：可見的
Outsource=contract out贰盗，outsource將資源放出去锨能，就是外包钾军。
Upstart：創(chuàng)業(yè)公司
full slack：slack閑置部分，full slack全棧式漾抬，意即打造一套從完整的捏雌、端到端的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)體系汁雷，類似我們的一條龍服務(wù)粱胜。
但是最近绰沥，越來越多的公司都在重新考慮這種新的管理業(yè)務(wù)方式章贞。特別是信息科技產(chǎn)業(yè)朴皆。這一產(chǎn)業(yè)曾是外包業(yè)務(wù)的中堅力量愚臀。垂直整合公司比如IBM溃睹，為了降低成本晚碾，能外包出去的都外包出去了响禽。很多新興企業(yè)是通過專注于某一塊相對窄小但價值巨大的蛋糕而發(fā)跡惰拱，如微軟便是通過專注于個人電腦操作系統(tǒng)而發(fā)展壯大的。而現(xiàn)在硅谷的很多創(chuàng)業(yè)公司以自己是全棧式為豪误堡。從這里我們就能夠看出來，舊管理方式已經(jīng)開始重獲新生了。從時尚業(yè)拱礁，到制造業(yè)，業(yè)務(wù)重組比比皆是隐砸。
Reasons for the reversal abound, but five stand out. The most important is simplicity. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for well-integrated products that do not force them to deal with different suppliers or land them with components that do not talk to each other. They want to be able simply to press a button and let the machine do the rest. This is largely why Apple opted for integration, as did Nest, a maker of wireless thermostats.
reasons abound：原因很多，例：reasons for I love you abound, but one stand out. the most important is simplicity已骇。
Reversal：倒轉(zhuǎn)
Premium：額外費用屁奏，詞根pre前面的
opt：選擇，動詞，加上ion就是大家更為熟知的名詞option。
thermostat：恒溫器
為什么會出現(xiàn)業(yè)務(wù)重組，原因有很多浙宜，但有五點最為突出。最重要的就是簡便蕴侣。如果一個良好集成的產(chǎn)品使他們不用跟不同的供應(yīng)商打交道并且免去面對一堆互相不合適的組件的煩惱，用戶是愿意付高價的智亮。他們想要簡單的按一下按鈕，然后就讓機器做剩下的毕莱。這是蘋果選擇整合的主要原因稚字，無線恒溫器制造商內(nèi)斯特也是如此。
A second reason is that firms operating on the technological frontier often find it more efficient to do things in-house. Companies that are inventing the future frequently have no choice but to pour money into new ventures rather than buy components off the shelf. This explains Tesla’s “gigafactory” for batteries: their availability is the biggest constraint on the firm’s growth. Boeing tried to cut its production costs by outsourcing 70% of the production of its 787 Dreamliner to hundreds of different suppliers— more than any airliner before. The result was a disaster: parts came in late; bits didn’t fit together; deadlines were missed. The firm reversed course, bringing manufacturing back in house and buying a factory.
Frontier：前沿的，由front變體而來丈咐，等同于cutting-edge掩浙。
Ventures：合資企業(yè)拭抬，風險投資
Gigafactory：合成詞犁功，把gigantic和factory合成到一起萤皂，意為超大電池廠
Constraint：束縛，約束缅刽。
Reserved course：逆轉(zhuǎn)卦睹，推翻，顛倒
第二個原因，就是業(yè)務(wù)處于科技前沿的公司發(fā)現(xiàn)事情在內(nèi)部解決比較高效预厌。這些公司的發(fā)明太過超前识樱，常常別無選擇杈曲，不能在外面買到零件涌献，只能自己投入資金去研究。這也解釋了特斯拉作為汽車公司有一家超大電池廠：對于該公司的發(fā)展秦驯，電池的持久是瓶頸悼凑。波音公司試圖通過將其787客機70%的生產(chǎn)外包給上百家不同的供應(yīng)商（遠遠大于以往任何班機）奥额，來削減生產(chǎn)成本触菜。結(jié)果很糟糕：部件延遲交付，零件無法咬合切威，錯過截止日期锋谐。為了挽救損失并避免下次出現(xiàn)該類錯誤鼓择，波音公司又將生產(chǎn)制造撤回內(nèi)部自己解決，并買下了一家工廠菊碟。
A third reason is choice: the more the market has to offer, the more important it is to build a relationship with customers. Netflix and Amazon now create their own television shows in order to keep their viewers from buying more generic content elsewhere. Harry’s, an American company that sends its subscribers a regular supply of razors and shaving cream, spent $100m to buy a German razor-blade factory.Choice is reinforced by speed: fashion brands such as Spain’s Zara have resisted contracting out everything. Instead, they operate their own clothes factories, employ their own designers and run their own shops. This gives them a big advantage: they can turn the latest trend into new product, often in small batches, and have it in stores in a couple of weeks. Less vertically integrated brands such as Gap and American Apparel find they are stuck with yesterday’s creations because they cannot get supply chains to produce new wares quickly.
generic content：通用內(nèi)容节芥，未加商標的，或者未被定性的逆害。
Subscriber：訂購者头镊，用戶。詞根魄幕，scrib=write相艇，表示“寫”。Subscription纯陨，捐獻坛芽，訂金，訂閱
razor-blade：剃須刀片
choice is reinfored by speed：唯快不破翼抠。
第三個原因咙轩，就是選擇。市場想要提供越多阴颖，和顧客建立好關(guān)系就越重要活喊。亞馬遜和Netflix（一家賣DVD的公司）現(xiàn)在推出了自己的電視欄目，使他們的顧客不再是在其他地方隨便買些什么量愧。哈利钾菊，一個美國公司給他的訂閱者定期供應(yīng)剃須刀和剃須膏帅矗，花了1億美元買了一個德國剃須刀工廠。公司的響應(yīng)速度可以鞏固用戶的選擇：像西班牙時尚品牌Zara煞烫，一切都親力親為浑此。他們自己有服裝工廠，雇傭?qū)僭O(shè)計師滞详，運營自己的店面凛俱。他們給自己創(chuàng)造了巨大的優(yōu)勢：可以將潮流投入新產(chǎn)品，通常是小批量茵宪，幾周內(nèi)就上市最冰。不太采用垂直整合的公司，像是Gap和美國服裝稀火，常常陷入昨天的東西還在賣的窘境暖哨，因為無法獲取供應(yīng)鏈，不能及時生產(chǎn)新產(chǎn)品凰狞。
And then there is a combination of old worries about geopolitical uncertainty and new worries about the environment. In 2014 Ferrero, an Italian confectionary-maker, bought OltanGida, which produces one-third of Turkey’s hazelnuts, the vital ingredient in Nutella. In 2015 IKEA, a Swedish furniture company, bought nearly 100,000 acres of forests in Romania and the Baltic region. Earlier this year ChemChina, a state-owned company, purchased Syngenta, a Swiss seeds and pesticides group, for $43 billion, driven by the government’s quest for food security. Cruise companies such as Costa Cruises and Disney have bought islands in the Caribbean and the Bahamas so that they can guarantee that their passengers will have somewhere empty and unspoiled to visit when they sail past.
confectionary：糖果的篇裁，是confection（甜食、精工制作的物品）的變體
hazelnuts：榛子
ingredient：成分赡若，因素
pesticide：殺蟲劑达布，農(nóng)藥
quest：追求，探索
Unspoiled：未受到破壞的
接下里逾冬，第四個原因黍聂，地理這個老問題和環(huán)境這個新麻煩。2014年費列羅身腻，一個意大利糖果商产还，買下了OltanGida，后者貢獻了土耳其三分之一的榛子產(chǎn)量嘀趟，而榛子正是Nutella巧克力醬的主要原料脐区。2015年IKEA，一家瑞典的家具公司她按，在羅馬尼亞與波羅的海地區(qū)買了將近10萬英畝森林牛隅。16年年初，中國化工出于政府為食品安全的考慮酌泰，以430億美金的價格買了瑞士種子與農(nóng)藥公司媒佣。歌詩達等郵輪公司買下加勒比海和巴哈馬的島嶼，以便他們航行時陵刹，其游客有一處空曠未被破壞的桃花源可以游覽丈攒。
Core complexities
The renewed fashion for vertical integration will not sweep all before it. For the most mundane products the logic of contracting out still reigns supreme. And today’s bundling is less ambitious than Henry Ford’s: Apple, for instance, contracts out a lot of production to contract manufacturers such as Foxconn (though it keeps them on a tight leash). Integration is also hard to pull off: Tesla lost some of its shine on April 11th when it recalled 2,700 of its sport-utility vehicles because of a glitch. That said, striking the right balance between doing things in-house and contracting things out is clearly much more complicated than it was in the days when Tom Peters and his fellow gurus told companies to focus on what they do best and outsource the rest.
Sweep：打掃，掃除授霸，清理巡验；sweep all before it，掃除一切（問題）碘耳。
Mundane：世俗的显设，平凡的，平常的
reign：支配辛辨，統(tǒng)治權(quán)捕捂。The monkey reigns in the mountains when the tiger is not there：山中無老虎，猴子稱大王斗搞。
Leash：皮帶
Guru：大師指攒，專家，權(quán)威
然而逐漸復(fù)蘇的垂直整合大潮并不能解決一切問題僻焚。對于很多技術(shù)含量要求不高的或者比較平常的產(chǎn)品來說允悦，外包依然江山穩(wěn)固。現(xiàn)在的捆綁業(yè)務(wù)多沒有亨利·福特那么野心勃勃：像是蘋果虑啤，會將許多生產(chǎn)外包給富士康這樣的協(xié)議生產(chǎn)商（盡管這會讓他們被嚴格束縛）隙弛。整合也不易完成，特斯拉就因為一個很小的問題狞山，不得不召回2700輛SUV導(dǎo)致其品牌形象受損全闷。也就是說，現(xiàn)在想要在自制與外包之間實現(xiàn)恰當?shù)钠胶庖纫酝鶑?fù)雜得多萍启。湯姆皮特和他那些同僚大師們告誡人們“專注于最擅長的事总珠，其余的全部外包”的時代已經(jīng)過去了。
結(jié)語：垂直整合作為重獲新生的經(jīng)營策略勘纯，有其優(yōu)勢局服，可以更快的趕上潮流并解決地理環(huán)境等問題。
但也不是一味地采用垂直整合就一定好屡律，不是所有的企業(yè)都能夠承受垂直整合背后的風險與成本腌逢。
其前景如何，還要繼續(xù)觀察超埋。
英文原文：
http://www.economist.com/news
講解：霞姐 / Tiassa / Angel
編排 / 校對：魔力胁龋花
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往期文章：
《Brexit——Doing it the hard way》
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《Reality television：China’s transgender Oprah》
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