value in a product is created at the initial stage, as R&D and design go into conceptualizing the product. Then the product is manufactured, with each part produced in the region where it is most cost-competitive to do so. Sub-assemblies go back and forth across borders. The final product is then sold in the target market, with a whole range of high-value services, like advertising, marketing, financing and content provision, accompanying it. The idea of the smile curve is that most of the value addition in a product is at the beginning and the end of the supply chain, where services are
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