Core business

Core activities are the actions and processes that directly contribute to the value your company delivers to customers. They form the heart of your business model and determine how you realise your value propositions, reach customers and generate revenue. For a web design agency, for example, core activities include designing websites, developing code and supporting clients. For an online shop, these include product procurement, stock management and order fulfilment. Core activities differ from supporting activities in that they are directly visible to the customer and essential to your competitive position.

How core activities shape your business model

Core activities determine what your organisation must excel at in order to survive. They form the basis for your core competencies and require specific resources and skills. A manufacturing company’s core activities centre on production and quality control. A consultancy firm revolves around knowledge sharing, analysis and reporting. A SaaS company focuses on software development, hosting and customer support. The choice of specific core activities has direct consequences for your cost structure, staffing requirements and investments. In practice, we often see small and medium-sized companies treating too many activities as core, which leads to a loss of focus and reduced efficiency.

Why core activities are central to strategic decisions

Identifying core activities helps you make informed choices about what you do yourself and what you outsource. Activities that do not form part of your core business can often be carried out more efficiently by specialists. Think of bookkeeping, IT management or WordPress support and maintenance. By focusing on core activities, you build up expertise, work more quickly and create a competitive edge. This concept stems from strategic management and was popularised by frameworks such as Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas, in which core activities form one of the nine building blocks.

What core activities deliver for your company

Clearly defined core activities make your organisation more agile and effective. You know where to invest, which staff you need and where your budgets should be allocated. For an SME company, this often means you can adapt more quickly to changes in the market. An online shop that regards product photography as a core activity invests in good equipment and training. One that regards it as a supporting activity outsources it and invests those resources in marketing. At Monkey Vision , we help companies translate their core activities into a digital strategy that really works for them. Whether that involves a website that optimises conversion or automation that speeds up core processes, the focus always remains on what makes your company unique.

Core activities are not merely a theoretical concept. They guide concrete decisions regarding staff, technology, partnerships and investments. In practice, you use them to set priorities, increase efficiency and strengthen your competitive position. Below are four situations in which core activities help you make better choices.

Determining outsourcing and collaboration

The question of what you do yourself and what you outsource is directly linked to your core activities. Anything that isn’t part of your core business can often be done more cheaply or more effectively by specialists. A manufacturing company that organises its own logistics, even though this isn’t a core activity, ties up resources that would be better spent on product development. A marketing agency that manages its own servers instead of opting for managed WordPress hosting wastes time that could be spent on client projects. By clearly defining your core activities, you’ll know which partnerships are strategically valuable and where you need to continue investing internally. In practice, we find that small and medium-sized companies often cling for too long to activities that were once important but now dilute their focus.

Shaping staff planning and team structure

Your core activities determine which roles and skills you need in-house. A web design agency with UX design as its core activity needs senior designers, not just graphic designers carrying out the work. An online shop with customer service at its core invests in well-trained support staff and CRM tools. A manufacturing company with innovation as its core activity sets aside capacity for R&D, even during quiet periods. By using core activities as a guiding principle, you avoid spending your budget on roles that deliver little added value. You can also recruit, develop and retain staff in a more targeted way. This makes you a more attractive employer because staff are working on what really matters.

Implementing process optimisation and automation

Core activities deserve the most attention when improving processes. Automation, tooling and training have the greatest impact in this area. An online shop that regards order processing as its core activity invests in integrations between the online shop, the stock management system and the delivery partner. A consultancy firm with reporting as its core activity develops templates and dashboards that save time. At Monkey Vision , we often see that companies deploy automation across the board, but they derive the greatest benefits from automating core processes. A good example is a B2B service provider that processes quotation requests automatically via API integrations, giving sales staff more time for customer contact – the real core activity.

When core activities are the right choice and when they are not

Core activities are particularly useful when you’re growing, scaling up or need to make decisions about investments. They help you maintain focus and deploy resources effectively. But not every company benefits from strict demarcation. A sole trader or small team often does everything themselves, and that’s fine as long as turnover justifies it. Even in the start-up phase, you’re still experimenting with what works, and it’s too early to definitively label activities as core or supporting. Core activities only become truly valuable when you have a deliberate strategy, are coordinating several people, or want to outsource without compromising on quality. So don’t use the concept as a straitjacket, but as a compass.