From George Bailey’s perspective, there’s a lot of conversation in the marketplace about going global but not enough about going global intelligently. This is what IBM’s General Manager for its $5 billion electronics industry business will be taking about at CES’s Consumer Electronics Supply Chain Academy (CESCA) on January 9 in Las Vegas.

“It’s not just about integrating back-end IT systems, consolidating data centers, moving call centers offshore like everyone reads about in the book The World is Flat. It is really about how to think intelligently so that the parts of your organization throughout the world work seamlessly together as one enterprise,” said Bailey. “That’s the central theme of what we’re calling GIE (Globally Integrated Enterprise).” IBM finds many of the companies leading the way in this space are in fact electronics companies, and consumer electronics in particular.

“Innovative global partnerships don’t focus on just technology,” said Bailey. “New business model innovations create ‘meta-value’ for customers. The concept of meta-value means more than just taking parts, adding them together, and hoping that the whole is bigger than the parts. Meta-value is creating an entirely different value proposition that enhances end users’ lives in ways never before imagined. Innovations that effectively change the consumer landscape are required when faced with the current reality of razor-thin margins in many segments of consumer electronics.”

In consumer electronics, it’s not necessarily the latest technology that defines the winner. Understanding how the customer uses the product and how to create unique value for the user is what propels a brand. Once that is understood, the manufacturer can offer an easy-to-use interface. “It’s having customer relationships and great support services,” said Bailey. “Being able to sell a great customer experience from pre-purchase through support is critical to creating that unique value for end users. That is why consumer electronics manufacturers care about local retail strategies since that is a major customer contact point.”

As a global industry leader, Bailey meets with IBM’s clients around the world. He has observed that consumer electronics manufacturers have embraced the global marketplace and have developed strong unified brands. “IBM is positioned to serve our clients in a global way, whether in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific or even emerging markets. We are committed to helping our clients take advantage of both cost savings and growth opportunities by becoming a truly globally integrated enterprise,” said Bailey.