Client Engagements

SITUATION:

The $5b Crop Harvesting division of this F100 global manufacturer was combating “too many priorities” and struggled to focus major development efforts to attain revenue and profitability targets. They hired us to develop a global business strategy to align all geographies and development efforts uniformly around a common vision.

SOLUTION:

We worked with key members of the executive team to deliver a comprehensive strategy, including:

• Detailed market segmentation based on a set of business assumptions/scenarios
• In depth segment assessment and prioritization and business model development
• Financial modeling of targeted segment revenue growth and costs
• Manufacturing footprint determination
• Program priorities to target prioritized segments geographically
• Vision, strategy and strategic pillars

RESULT:

An engaged and aligned team, they now wield a strategy that explains where they are focusing their development efforts and why, to obtain increased — and more consistent — funding for their product plan.

SITUATION:

The newly appointed CEO of a $300m spin-out from a F200 global manufacturer faced the daunting task of: 

• Doubling revenue and profit in four years,
• Transforming the company culture and mindset to one of speed and growth, and
• Establishing operational platforms and process independent from their ex-parent 

SOLUTION:

We worked with the CEO and key members of the executive team to rapidly deliver a comprehensive strategy and execution plan, including:

• Vision, goals and key strategic pillars
• Cultural change imperatives
• Detailed market segmentation, assessment and prioritization of markets (fastest to required growth)
• Definition of key product development efforts required to capture key markets
• Financial modeling & assessment for growth/profit trajectory attainment
• Detailed execution plan for strategic initiatives

RESULT:

An engaged and aligned company, all focused on the key strategic priorities in pursuit of the aggressive revenue and profit targets.

SITUATION:

This F50 company manufactures very large and expensive durable goods in numerous factories around the globe.  Having already moved to modular product design,  they wanted to explore ways to make use of that modularity to improve the flexibility, quality, cost effectiveness and efficiency of their sprawling manufacturing network.

SOLUTION:

We worked closely with executives and an operational core team to:

• Establish, define, and measure the key parameters to balance, including: cost, quality, risk and flexibility
• Determine and acquire key inputs such as product data, labor costs, tariffs, exchange rates, shipping rates, production costs, component/raw material supply costs, and many more
• Provide design and operationalization assistance for a comprehensive multi-variant optimization model
• Develop target scenarios and iteratively model both the financial and non-financial impacts of each scenario
• Assess results and recommend “optimal” global manufacturing network – including dramatic changes in product modularity and manufacturing footprint  

RESULT:

The new manufacturing strategy – currently being implemented – is projected to save hundreds of millions of dollars in operational costs, while increasing network flexibility and reducing risk.  The optimization model is now being used in other business lines across the company.

This international technology company, historically known for its innovative offerings, found itself stagnating in its core markets. Endowed with substantial corporate funding each year, their Labs (R&D) organization invented numerous new products, only to have them languish internally without being embraced by their business units (some of which were very similar to those successfully introduced by competitors – years later).

SOLUTION:

We worked with their R&D group to:

• Develop a portfolio structure to focus their innovation efforts on the specific areas that aligned the organization’s capabilities with the company’s strategic goals and specific business unit priorities
• Establish the process by which new R&D efforts are funded, prioritized and initiated — to better reflect the needs and interests of the business units
• Restructure the R&D organization — aligned with the new portfolio approach — and re-formulate the teams with the necessary skill-sets

RESULT:

Reframing the “who pays for what” to ensure that the business units “sponsored” projects in particular portfolios raised the adoption rate from 7% to 75%. This model has been replicated throughout the company’s business units for their BU-specific innovation efforts, and the company has resumed its place as a leader in their market.

SITUATION:

Innovative autonomous vehicle company wanted a clear understanding and prioritization of where and how to deploy limited resources — focusing on key markets and the channels required to reach them.

SOLUTION:

Working with cross-functional leadership, we:

• Developed a global market segmentation that reflected the company’s unique perspective
• Analyzed each segment for opportunity (size, growth potential, competitive forces, etc.)
• Assessed the various routes to market for each segment in each geography, focusing on short, intermediate and longer term potential
• Crafted a clear and concise strategy that specified priority markets/segments and the channels to reach them

RESULT:

The company redirected resources based on the strategy and within 6 months of doing so, the sales pipeline increased by over 200%.

SITUATION:

The Cardiac division of a multinational medical device company with a diverse and expansive R&D portfolio wanted to align that portfolio with a recently-revised business strategy (which we worked with them to develop).  

SOLUTION:

Working with leaders in both R&D and Marketing, we:

• We framed and secured alignment of cross functional executive team members for the key portfolio objectives
• Developed project/program funding criteria that included: projected rates of return, market timing, risk, mix of project types, etc.
• Developed a going-forward process for project funding that reduced politics and increased efficacy

RESULT:

The R&D portfolio criteria and governance process was successfully implemented;  while it will take years to determine the extent of the financial impact, executives anticipate it will be significant — and in the meantime, the process itself has already eased decision-making.

This leading technology company determined that its Enterprise Architecture capabilities were one of the keys to its future competitiveness. It was mandatory that their infrastructure be cost-effective, flexible, and able to facilitate rapid responses to market demands.

SOLUTION:

We worked in tandem with both technology and business executives to:

• Define the key strategic goals and requirements of the organization — aligned directly with corporate business goals
• Devise structural options which meet these requirements and assess these structural options for capability, manageability and feasibility
• Draft the primary activities, staffing model, and both leadership and individual roles and job descriptions needed for the organization to be successful
• Execute — implement the new organizational structure, roles, responsibilities and job descriptions; remove staff with skill-set mismatch, interview/hire new skill-sets (including a new CTO)

RESULT:

The new organization is the catalyst for substantial changes being made to enhance the company’s competitive position — including efforts to reduce costs and complexity as well as improve stability.

Under new leadership, this brand name, $1.5b formerly non-profit company was looking to increase revenue, improve operating margins and drive a “profit & loss” orientation deeper within the organization by being more commercially focused and market-responsive globally. They were organized in an ad hoc, organic fashion, without clear accountability throughout the various operational units.

SOLUTION:

We worked with the executive team to determine an effective organizational structure (based on their strategy and goals) that enabled them to successfully grow and transition to a customer-orientation by:

• Diagnosing the dislocations, misalignments, and inefficiencies in the existing organizational structure
• Developing a set of plausible organizational options and defining a set of evaluative criteria
• Conducting a series of workshops with the executive team to assess the various options and specify a better structure
• Performing an analysis of the skillsets required for the new organization and determining where gaps exist, while creating an extensive organizational transition timeline

RESULT:

Early results are very promising. Surveys indicate that personnel are energized by the increased customer focus and revenue is up for the first time in many years.

After completing a JV in China between two leading emissions controls producers (an eos consulting recommendation in a prior engagement), the respective Engineering teams needed assistance in harmonizing their collective product development efforts and leveraging their respective strengths and cost advantages.

SOLUTION:

We worked extensively with the Engineering and Executive teams of both companies to:

• Outline an over-arching vision for how the two organizations should collaborate to co-develop products
• Specify the details of the corresponding governance model for the engineering relationships, including: organizational structure, key operating processes, and decision rights – “who does what, when, and how”
• Determine the costs, ROI and personnel implications of achieving the vision
• Develop a high level transition roadmap/implementation plan, summarizing roadblocks, actions needed, and budgets

RESULT:

Engaged, aligned and collaborative Engineering teams — that led to cost effective, market-leading products – and ultimately to a successful joint venture.

A F100 manufacturer was concerned that competitors were gaining market share through the strength of their targeted new product portfolios.  They wanted a more effective R&D allocation process (and supporting decision tools) — as the existing process, overly reliant on estimated financial returns, resulted in prioritizing/funding “incremental improvements” over more innovative projects, and misalignments with strategic priorities.

SOLUTION:

Working closely with process stakeholders, eos consulting re-focused their R&D funding goals and process from being solely focused on value to the company (ROI, etc.) to a triad of:

• value to the customer
• value to the company
• alignment with market segment strategies

Additionally, we developed rigorous assessment methodology/tools to assess and concisely communicate each of these, including:

• categorization of each investment program (breakthrough innovation, differentiated value, me too, low value)
• dashboard containing specific factors/categories and measurement criteria — weighted to reflect the relative importance to the customer
• global matrix and aligned executive team regarding market segment priorities (lead, compete, participate, abstain)

RESULT:

During a secular downturn, the company was able to trim R&D spending while improving strategic alignment.  Development programs brought to the fore in the new process are coming to market and taking share.

The Power Systems division of this company was stagnating and required a more effective “go to market” growth plan/strategy. In particular, the strategy needed to help determine the optimal mix of products and services to be sold to which segments (and which customers therein) within which regions to drive profitable growth. It was particularly important for the strategy to be actionable by marketing and the sales force.

SOLUTION:

Working with their executive team, we:

• Analyzed the company’s customer base and segmented their markets based on internal background materials/perspectives and existing external market data
• Determined the attractiveness of each segment and the fit to company capabilities/strengths
• Developed growth models from financial forecasting data
• Established a manufacturing footprint plan
• Determined which products and services should be offered to each segment in order to maximize revenue, market share, potential growth and profitability

RESULT:

Key markets were identified and targeted for increased sales. Products were matched to their ideal markets, and as a result, overall revenue and profitability rose substantially.

This $1b division of a global manufacturer had developed a new technology which had the potential to provide future competitive advantage. However, it could also undermine margins in its existing businesses. The team was struggling to bring the technology to market, and — as costs mounted — patience from the executive suite was running short.

SOLUTION:

We worked closely with both the senior executives and the business team responsible for commercializing the new technology, to:

• Analyze the market and its competitive dynamics, and then identify new business model opportunities — specifically, to sell individual components of the new technology instead of a complete power generation system
• Help them realize that the technology was better suited to be a part of a different product, in an application for customer segments that they didn’t usually serve
• Redirect their sales and marketing efforts as well as manufacturing outputs on these newly targeted customers and applications

RESULT:

The emerging business unit won renewed commitment and confidence from the executive team — and due to this business model reframing they soon won an $8MM contract to supply a vendor of specialized military products to the government.

This company’s sophisticated enterprise software requires significant professional services time and expertise to integrate with its customers’ product development processes. Yet, these complex projects had no documented governance mechanisms to help guide them to successful completion. We were engaged to develop these mechanisms in order to better set/manage customer expectations, reduce re-work and improve profitability.

SOLUTION:

Working with key executives and Professional Services personnel globally, we:

• Identified the organization’s key governance choices and determined that a customer-tailored client diagnostic and governance model was required
• Developed the specific elements, including a client diagnostic (to determine appropriate governance “level”) and governance templates (decision rights, processes, metrics, etc.)
• Specified a test and communications plan, developed training materials and conducted training classes for globally distributed Professional Services leadership

RESULT:

An implemented framework that enabled the company’s Professional Services organization to custom-tailor a governance blueprint for each client, based on that client’s needs and capabilities; and to update and improve the blueprint framework as experience accumulates. This program resulted in a measurable reduction in re-work, improved customer satisfaction and increased profitability.

This company was facing explosive growth and needed to expand capacity in order to meet market demand. They needed to determine in what locations to manufacture which products/components, incorporating numerous factors, including: current and future customer demand by region, location of current facilities, geographic labor conditions/costs, governmental stability, infrastructure costs, supply chain, etc.

SOLUTION:

We worked closely with executives and an operational core team to:

• Determine a workable approach and objectives given an aggressive business strategy
• Develop the numerous factors critical to the decision-making process and determine a set of viable candidate scenarios
• Model the financial and assess the non-financial factors for each scenario
• Decide on the optimal scenario/variants and formulate a strategy, including elements cost, risks and associated critical success factors

RESULT:

The strategy was implemented throughout Europe and Asia, generating significant profitable growth — the company returned record results within two years.

The IT function of this multi-billion dollar travel services company was challenged by stability and cost issues, largely driven by uncontrolled complexity, exacerbated by widely distributed IT decision-making.

SOLUTION:

We worked closely with the client’s executive and technology teams to define and implement a cohesive IT Governance Framework by:

• Establishing comprehensive governance processes, encompassing setting and governing technology standards, as well as business unit-driven projects and IT/infrastructure projects
• Restructuring the IT organization, with defined roles, responsibilities and decision rights
• Implementing a “dashboard” of financial and operational/performance metrics for tracking success
• Constructing a feedback loop – such that the organization can continually refine and improve upon their ability to meet their business commitments

RESULT:

The new CIO, assisted by an energized management team (that had been involved in developing the new framework) was able to rapidly realize significant cost savings and operational improvements – while adding new services and reducing complexity.