The elements that make up a business model are briefly described in the table below. See Business Model to for a description of how these elements come together to form the business model(s) within the Enterprise Business Motivation Model.
| Element | Description |
| Required Competency | An area or group of business capabilities where the business must excel in order for this business model to be successful.
This is a general concept, not a specific grouping of business capabilities. This part of the business model drives the need for specific business unit capabilities to perform at higher-than-average levels of effectiveness and efficiency. |
| Value Configuration | The central notion of a business model, the value configuration describes how the business, through its activities, adds value to the consumer or marketplace. The Value configuration binds together the notions of customer demands, required competencies, revenue models and business partnerships. Assessments of a business model often focus on this element. Many businesses make the mistake of “chasing money” by offering products and services that they are ill-suited to develop, support, or make money from. By focusing on the value configuration, many businesses can clarify their objectives and focus their energies on those opportunities that are most likely to deliver value to their customers and themselves. |
| Finance and Revenue Models | It is not enough to know that a business can create value. A functioning business has to be cognizant of where, and when, money will flow into and out of the business’ accounts. The finance and revenue models represent a description of the ways in which the business will collect funds, extend credit, pay creditors, and manage financial assets. |
| Customer Demands and Relationships | The customer demands and relationships element of the business model describes in precise terms, the motivations that lead customers to buy products and services from the business, and how the business nurtures those motivations through marketing and support activities.
The most important relationship any business can have is the one with their customers, and a failure to precisely describe the motivations that lead a customer to connect with the business can lead to errors in judgment that can ultimately cause the business to fail. The customer demands and relationships element can be further broken down into market segments, with a detailed analysis of the buying habits or expectations of various types of customer within a particular segment. That detail is supported by the EBMM but is beyond its scope. |
| Products and Services | This element of the business model describes the specific products and/or services offered by the business. It is important to recognize that the specific products or services developed must derive from customer demands in order to effectively provide revenue. This relationship, between customers demands and the products offered, is the central focus of marketing in many organizations. |
| Distribution Channels | Distribution channels are the mechanisms by which the customer’s product or service reaches the customer. For products, the distribution channels element will describe the flow of goods from manufacturing to market, including inventory and retailing. For manufacturing organizations, this element also describes the sourcing of parts and construction of the product or products themselves. For services, this element describes the location, management, and provisioning of service resources to the customers on an as-needed basis. |
| Business Alliances / Partnership | The business alliances and partnerships element describes the connection that the business has with other business entities, including suppliers, vendors, sales partners, agents, service providers, distributors, retailers, and value-added resellers. These connections can define success for a business by allowing for specific efficiencies of capital, resources, and shared risk. They can also constrain the activities of a business by providing a motivation against competing with key partners. |
| Geographies and Locales | The geographies and locales element describes the specific physical locations and contexts in which the products and services will be offered. This is a critical and necessary part of the business model as it is both enabled by, and directly impacted by, the abilities of various business partners as well as the demands of the customers. Many evaluations of a business model will focus on opportunities to extend the business through the consideration of additional geographies. |