The Business Model Canvas was originally introduced by Alexander Osterwalder in his book Business Model Generation, and was based on his earlier work on Business Model Ontology. The Business Model Canvas is a design template that lays out nine building blocks for any business, whether a for-profit company or nonprofit organization. The different dimensions of business model design include:

1. Customer segments: The different types of customers that a company targets to build a successful business model
2. Customer relationships: The kind of relationships the company wants to have with its customer in order to be successful
3. Value propositions: The things that distinguish a company from its competitors in order to better meet the needs of its customers
4. Key activities: The most important activities directly related to reinforcing a company’s value proposition
5. Key partners: The buyer-supplier relationships to create competitive advantage and reduce risk
6. Key resources: The most important resources needed to create customer value
7. Channels: Effective channels are important to distribute a company’s value proposition in ways that are fast, efficient and cost effective. This can be done through its own channels (store front), partner channels (distributors), or a combination
8. Cost structure: The most important monetary consequences while operating under different business models
9. Revenue streams: The way a company makes money from each customer segment.

The Business Model Canvas has become a global standard for business design and can be used to describe, design, challenge and pivot to a new business model. Derivatives of the Business Model Canvas have been created by various organization like Adobe, for example, which uses a modified version in their innovation toolkit called Kickbox.

The Business Model Canvas is a template containing a diagram laid out with 9 boxes, each one labeled with a heading from the list of business model building blocks. The canvas can be used as a PowerPoint template or printed out as a large format poster. Many teams use the canvas as a working tool to surface ideas using post-it notes, find relationships between business model elements, and then rework the post-its until they result in a compelling business model design. Praxie’s online Business Model Canvas tool allows any team or organization to instantly begin collaborating with our complete templates and input forms. Get started with our Business Model Canvas template. 

How to use it:

1. Complete the business model canvas using existing data and insight available to you. 
2. Keep this canvas as a living document as you learn more over time. 
3. Create your action plan focused on implementing your business model canvas.  
4. Consider the people, processes, and technologies you will use to build and implement your business, products, or services. 

Unlike most traditional Business Model Canvas templates in MS Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, Our digital platform goes far beyond other software tools by including progress dashboards, data integration from existing documents or other software, elegant intuitive designs, and full access on any desktop or mobile device.