Keywords
Skills
- Strategic Management
- Business Wargaming
- Business Building
- Leadership
- Organization
- Customer Insights
- Market Research
- Sales Operations
- Operational Excellence
- Prozess Optimization
- Program Management
- Project Management Office (PMO)
- Digitization
Project history
Aiding an international top-tier consultancy in rolling out a program geared to professionalize a premium carmaker’s retail network further—with a clear focus on the following objectives:
- Increasing the number of new cars sold
- Improving car dealers’ profitability
- Realizing short-term impact (over 2 to 4 months)
- Entrenching the achieved improvements in a long-lasting manner
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Helping the consulting team of an international top-tier consultancy and the regional/area sales managers on wholesale level on-site in the field:
- (Continuously) identifying areas of improvement and market potentials
- Defining, agreeing on, and adjusting pragmatic measures and optimizing the core processes at car dealerships respectively, e.g.
- Approaching after-sales customers systematically
- Leading the sales force in a structured manner
- Optimizing the acquisition of commercial and business customers
- Optimizing local marketing activities
- Supporting the implementation of the measures steadily and providing best-practice examples
- Quantitatively controlling the implementation and the impact of the measures on an ongoing basis
RESULTS
Program rolled out at ca. 180 dealerships over the course of 2 out of 3 waves
Regular support of regional/area sales managers stronger orientated towards the definition and implementation of concrete measures
Relevant key performance indicators significantly improved along the sales funnel:
- Number of (qualified) customer contacts
- Number of face-to-face conversations with (potential) customers and test drives
- Number of quotations
- Number of new cars sold
Requirement of a sound basis for the decision-making on setting up an Urban Air Mobility business
Uncertainty about the arising market opportunities and possibilities for their profitable realization on the part of the client
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Cooperating with a technology consultancy with in-depth expertise and experience in the areas of lightweight construction as well as carbon composite and glass-fiber reinforced materials
Evaluating the current situation:
- Analyzing the current technology portfolio and evaluating the existing R&D know-how and possibilities for in-house production of fiber composite components
- Running a market analysis and evaluation as well as selecting target applications and customers
- Evaluating target technologies for selected applications and comparing them with the client's competence profile
Listening to the voice of the customer: conducting interviews with (potential) customers
Deriving specific measures
RESULTS
Short-, medium- and long-term market opportunities identified against the background of the client’s specific situation
Maturity-level matrix for relevant technologies created
Possible scenarios regarding product/service offering and production defined for client
Action plan for further action, in particular for building up relevant competencies, developed
Strong need to increase the operational stability in order to avoid negative impacts on the financial position and reputation
Obligation to work on the improvement activities that the airlines committed to at the Aviation Summit in 2018
Resolving operational issues along passenger, crew and aircraft journeys caused by the complexity due to complex network operations with many parties involved
Coordinating local initiatives already started and run by regional units
Realizing short-term effects by:
- Accelerating turnarounds
- Optimizing the flight schedule
- Extending reserves
- Improving the interaction with passengers
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Orchestrating existing and new initiatives in addition to accelerating implementation of measures initiated by local projects
Aiding workstream activities (e.g. generating and testing measures in order to improve the punctuality of the first flights of the day)
Enabling full transparency and tracking progress along key performance indicators with respect to passengers, employees, and other stakeholders
Fitting in with a cross-functional control unit set up by the client
Integrating all stakeholders and enhancing decision-making in relevant councils such as the ‘Operational Excellence Board’ or the executive board
Reinforcing commitment, dedication, and attitude of the client’s senior management and staff
RESULTS
Process weaknesses identified and countermeasures developed
Transparency added based on data analyses and improvement potential computed
Countermeasures put into action jointly with local client staff members for testing purposes
Review board discussions moderated and client decisions facilitated
Transferring two thirds of the existing businesses or subsidiaries into a business unit ‘Entertainment’—organized along the core areas ‘Content’, ‘(Digital) Reach’, and ‘Monetization’
Improving the management and coordination within the business unit ‘Entertainment’ based on a future operating model
Successfully completing the planning and budgeting process for the coming year in the light of the strategic reorganization
Ensuring the successful execution in the near term, especially securing the strict adherence to the financial plan (P&L statement)
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Structuring the planned P&L statement along the various types of business and assisting line managers with the definition and scheduling of measures
Defining and setting up implementation roadmaps incl. milestones and establishing a central system in order to track the degree of completion and actual impact of each and every measure
Informing regularly the ‘CFO Entertainment’ and further relevant stakeholders (e.g. ‘Entertainment Board’, board of directors and supervisory board) regarding progress and results of the program
Analyzing the as-is structure of the corporate group
Conducting comprehensive conversations about managers’ expectations on the type of management control and financial contributions of the entertainment businesses
RESULTS
New structure for the P&L statement developed and backed with concrete actions along the core areas
Measures to secure the budget scheduled:
- Measures prioritized according to their respective financial and strategic impact
- Key measures described in detail
- Implementation roadmap defined
Prerequisites created for a monthly reporting on implementation progress and financial success (e.g. scorecard, well-structured information to the ‘Entertainment Board’)
A perspective on the future transformation of the business unit ‘Entertainment’ developed
A high number of contracts currently awarded to external companies, predominantly engineering-service providers, by the R&D department—resulting in …
- High proportions of project-like tasks in the form of contracts to produce specific works as well as labor leasing
- Strong pressure to terminate these kind of employment relationships due to changed legal requirements and human resource policies—either by transferring them into a set-up fully in accordance with the current legislation or by hiring the respective people
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Consolidating and validating an overview on the current and planned awarding of contracts
Developing a plan to massively reduce the bound lent employees
Working out concepts and conducting follow ups on the taken measures incl. handing over the activities to the client organization
Supporting the various R&D departments of the client in reorganizing their work and designing concepts for lending employees that are fully in line with the current German labor law—in close collaboration with the experts of a prestigious law firm
RESULTS
Reduction plan developed and with all relevant departments in the R&D resort aligned and backed up with transferable and legally approved concepts incl. specific premises and guidelines
Deadlines and responsibilities defined for the staggered roadmap to reduce the number of lent employees
Meanwhile the reduction of the number of lent workers executed and almost completed
Canvassing the adaptability of the connectivity and telematics strategy for passenger cars to light commercial vehicles
Need to clarify further connectivity requirements (B2B) for light commercial vehicles
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Continuous matching with the connectivity and telematics strategy for passenger cars
Defining the offerings:
- Segmenting the private and fleet customer groups
- Conducting a comprehensive competitive analysis and market research
- Defining the service portfolio and prioritizing the individual services
Deducing the revenue and sales concept:
- Determining the pricing logic (e.g. individual purchases versus subscriptions)
- Detailing of the sales concepts along the customer journey/touchpoints
Setting the technological realization:
- Analyzing current and future-oriented technological and regulatory trends
- Recording the various technological requirements in accordance with the offerings (to be)
- Describing and assessing alternative scenarios for the realization
Determining the real net output ratio:
- Synchronizing the requirements with the existing capabilities
- Assessing the cost of potentially bought-in products and services
- Preparing the make-or-buy decisions
Computing the business case
RESULTS
External influence factors with relevance to the business model identified and well understood
Business model for the connectivity services defined
Connectivity offerings successfully established at the market
How can the client be relieved from the increasing price pressure caused by the competition and notwithstanding the client’s strong expertise and close relationships the automotive OEMs?
How can the product and service portfolio be advanced to prevail a maintainable price premium—en route to a portfolio build upon innovative ideas and new approaches to It architecture from the typical tender business with predefined specifications and a high price pressure?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Identifying a relevant range of topics and pressing issues relevant for the departments of selected automotive OEMs and suppliers and developing a comprehensive understanding for the respective relevance to IT based on secondary and primary research (40+ interviews with target and actual customers of the client) along 4 main fields of interest:
- Research & Development
- Procurement, Production, Logistics
- Marketing, Sales, After Sales
- Connected Car
Analyzing current trends and classifying them in a framework according of their maturity
Discussing the specific operational challenges and their implications on the interaction between IT solutions and the needs of the relevant customers’ departments
Deriving possible approaches for resolution
Comprehensively documenting the results and preparing follow-up meetings of the client with their (target) customers
Tentative appraisal of …
- The general attractiveness of various interest areas per customer
- The commercialization potential incl. identifying internal and external obstacles to the realization
RESULTS
Internal capability profile sharpened
Modular document for customer- and department-specific discussions with the client’s customers prepared and a first draft of account profiles for the (target) customers developed
Roadmap to the adaptation and future advancement of the product and service portfolio worked out
How can a workable strategy (staggered in several waves) be built on the ambitions with respect to connectivity/telematics for the passenger-car ranges that were generically formulated in the target picture 2020?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Defining the offerings:
- Segmenting the private and fleet customer groups
- Conducting a comprehensive competitive analysis and market research
- Defining the service portfolio and prioritizing the individual services
Deducing the revenue and sales concept:
- Determining the pricing logic (e.g. individual purchases versus subscriptions)
- Detailing of the sales concepts along the customer journey/touchpoints
Setting the technological realization:
- Analyzing current and future-oriented technological and regulatory trends
- Recording the various technological requirements in accordance with the offerings (to be)
- Describing and assessing alternative scenarios for the realization
Determining the real net output ratio:
- Synchronizing the requirements with the existing capabilities
- Assessing the cost of potentially bought-in products and services
- Preparing the make-or-buy decisions
Computing the business case
RESULTS
External influence factors with relevance to the business model identified and well understood
Business model for the connectivity services defined
Connectivity offerings successfully established at the market
How can the present internal initiatives regarding connectivity services and electro-mobility with a limited focus on a few core markets be internationally integrated and leveraged?
According to what criteria shall the markets be prioritized for being considered for the rollout?
What actions should be taken in markets that are not included in the rollout planning?
How can markets with a low priority be supported in accelerating the self-reliant implementation of the connectivity strategy (e.g. through providing a standardized approach)?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Setting the strategic premises:
- Defining the key requirements from the headquarters’ perspective
- Eliciting the country-specific circumstances and the current status of the relevant local initiatives
Developing a rollout concept for a selected pilot country:
- Establishing a criteria catalog for prioritizing the markets
- Selecting the pilot country
- Deducing the rollout concept
- Implementing the concept in the pilot market
Defining a standardized rollout process:
- Assimilating and analyzing the lessons learnt from the pilot in a structured way
- Developing an overall strategy across all markets regarding every connectivity and electro-mobility initiatives incl. configuring the respective value chains
- Establishing regional hubs in order to pool the activities if required
RESULTS
Strategic premises set
Criteria for the selection of a pilot country determined
Initiative integrated in the ‘regular’ rollout plan at the heart of the corporate program due to the supreme importance of a strategic unification with the current focus markets
How can the preliminary work on strategy development—carried out by the client on their own by each and every of their business units separately in a bottom-up approach and in different formats—be consolidated to a consistent growth strategy on corporate level?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Conceptually aligning and amending the preliminary work regarding the different business-unit strategies by setting a standardized structure of analyses
Supporting the executing analyses that allow for comparisons between the business units:
- Providing additional data
- Assessing the market attractiveness
- Conducting a competitor analysis
- Quantifying the financial impact on revenue and EBIT margin and estimating the resource requirements for implementation
Supporting the board members by consolidating the business-unit strategies to a consistent overall growth strategy on corporate level
RESULTS
Business-unit strategies revised and overall strategy developed and approved by the top-management team
Overall strategy presented by the CEO to the supervisory board and approved by them with a slight reduction in the ambitious but realistic objectives
Revenue increased by 35% during the five years after the completion of the project
Need to develop and align a vision 2020 for the business activities in China and to come up with a respective strategy based on overarching trends and specific scenarios regarding the potential market development for all business units (passenger cars, trucks/buses, vans, financial services, new business opportunities)
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Picking a mixed Chinese-German team at the client’s headquarters in Germany and their branch office in China
Identifying current trends
Defining the product and service portfolios (‘Where to play?’)
Determining the future setup along the value chain based on consistent business-unit strategies for …
- Research & Development
- Procurement
- Production
- Marketing & Sales
- After Sales
- Support functions like Organization and Human Resources
Considering existing strategic alliances and deriving the demands for new cooperation partnerships seen from the angle of make-or-buy decisions (‘How to win?’)
Assessing the strategy:
- Developing a business case
- Carrying out a risk analysis and deriving a fallback solution ‘Plan B’
Preparing the implementation by developing a roadmap
RESULTS
Strategy to capture additional profitable growth paths in the Chinese market defined on corporate level and broken down into consistent business-unit and functional strategies
Implementation plan developed
Group revenue in China increased by 44% within 5 years after the completion of the project
How to continue the efforts on improving the effectiveness and efficiency that were carried out in several cost-reduction programs with the aid of external consultants?
Conceptualization, introduction and fixing a performance-management-system incl. continuous improvement process (CIP) at a shared-services center of a specialty-chemicals group with ca. 1,800 employees in 14 service departments and approximately 400 mn EUR of total revenue (ca. 35% externally earned)
Introducing a performance-management concept highly proven in the automotive industry incl. organizing an experience exchange with other companies from the automotive and industrial-goods sectors
Performance cockpit:
- Providing transparency
- Developing a KPI system and preparing its realization in an IT system
Continuous improvement process:
- Further developing the existing relevant expertise
- Defining all relevant processes and organizational elements
- Developing a ‘tool box’
Performance and innovation culture:
- Running an accompanying communication
- Diagnosing the current situation and taking actions to strengthen the performance ‘DNA’
RESULTS
Performance-management concept adapted to the client-specific needs and comprehensively documented
Client employees informed, mobilized, and introduced to the concept
Performance management extensively introduced and organizationally fixed after the successful pilot in 4 service departments within the scope of the project in 2011
On average an efficiency increase of 5.4% per year achieved and a broad range of measures successfully implemented to enhance the effectiveness and the satisfaction of internal and external customers
How to prepare the future assessment of value levers by creating a homogenous basis of comparison with respect to the process landscapes and performance prior to the merger of two commercial-vehicle manufacturers?
How to evaluate the current performance capability and to identify stand-alone improvements?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Defining the methodology:
- Developing a joint methodology leveraging proven approaches and tools
- Coordinating the approach with the merger partner—only regarding methodological issues
Finding relevant facts/information:
- Harmonizing the process model and identify the proportion of value added
- Mapping capacity (in FTE) onto processes, functions, and products
- Analyzing process KPIs
- Conducting function-specific analyses (e.g. material cost, investments in R&D and production)
Planning of the following phases incl. determining the milestones and activities for …
- Identifying the key value drivers (synergies, stand-alone improvements):
- Objectively benchmarking of core processes, capacity, and KPIs
- Comparing the cost and revenue structures
- Developing a mutual vision, joint initiatives and an implementation plan
RESULTS
Approach and methodology to prepare the benchmarking defined and aligned on both sides
Process landscapes, bound capacity, and process KPIs independently of one another ascertained and documented
Activities of the following phases—after the competition authorities’ approval—contrived
Merger successfully accomplished in the meantime
Preparing for the additional sales volume according to the medium- and long-term planning—especially coming from new compact-car models and the market growth in this segment
What best practices regarding sales approaches/concepts and efficiency can car dealers learn from their—not directly competing—peers and from successful players in other industries?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Analyzing and editing best practices shown by top-notch car dealers
Identifying, running detailed analyses, and editing best-practice examples from other industry sectors (e.g. with respect to ways of increasing the showroom traffic)
Identifying key success factors resulting in outstanding sales figures
Assessing detailing the transferability to automotive wholesale and retail operations—with main focus on …
- New sales approaches
- Sales efficiency in order to pave the way for the planned increase in sales volume
RESULTS
Successful sales approaches and concepts—developed by leading national sales companies, importers, and dealerships as well as by sales professionals in other industries—identified and edited
Key success factors derived from best practices and assessed on their importance
Transferability of the reviewed approaches and concepts evaluated and specified with respect to their applicability to automotive sales
Action plan developed
Need to ensure the systematical and structured execution of the program—from the identification of measures to the repeatedly continued, i.e. sustainable, application of the quality processes and their results in all relevant product lines
Advancement and strengthening of the network model in order to ensure the success of the program—even after its completion
Assurance of the accepted and planned long-term reduction in warranty costs for all quality-related projects and processes
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Ensuring and increasing the previously agreed warranty benefit for the quality-related projects that were already cleared and transferred into the line organization:
- Reviewing the practices brought forward by all cleared projects
- Comparing current practices in the various product lines and departments based on the review results with documented project results and process definitions
- Analyzing and documenting deviations and their root-causes as well as their impact on the benefit
Generating suggestions on improvements and benefit proliferations:
Running workshops in order to detail and further develop recommendations regarding improvements of practices and benefit increases
Documenting and handing over:
- Describing and getting alignment on required changes in the ‘generic’ processes
- Submitting documented changes at the respective process owners and offices for approval
- Initiating eligible change-management measures if useful or necessary
Project management office (PMO)
RESULTS
Reviewed as-is practices and variances depicted
Propositions on improvements of practices and benefit increases pointed out
Required changes in the ‘generic’ processes documented in writing (electronically) and handed over to the relevant process owners and offices
Results filed in the ‘sustainability cockpit’ and ‘benefit monitor’
Strongly growing used-car market in China
Dealerships not prepared for the trade-in of used cars—not even for the own brands—in stark contrast to the professional used-car markets
High growth rates and professionalization of the flees business in the Chinese market—beyond the traditional sales to administrational bodies
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Preparing the project:
- Preparing and running a kick-off meeting with all involved people
- Identifying pre-conditions and a framework for the used-car business; reviewing all existing pre-work
Diagnosing the starting situation:
- Consolidating and—if necessary—updating all existing findings on market, target customers, competitors and legal requirements
- Reviewing the overall performance of the current used-car business, assessing the internal capabilities, and identifying weaknesses
Developing the to-be concept:
- Defining the new operating model
- Determining the investment needs
- Working out a feasibility study
- Preparing a detailed implementation plan
Piloting:
- Defining the pilot model
- Selecting the pilot cities
- Analyzing the pilot phase and editing the lessons learnt
RESULTS
Client team mobilized
Pre-conditions defined and a comprehensive understanding of the external and internal starting situation achieved
Used-car and fleet-sales concept for the Chinese market defined (incl. business case) and adapted based on the learnings from the pilot phase
Implementation roadmap incl. a catalog of measures developed
Rollout initiated
Uncertainty on the side of the corporate parent of the bus manufacturer about their potential to succeed
PROBLEM-SOLVEING APPROACH
Analyzing the competitive position regarding product-related aspects:
- Analyzing the development of the market and its segments
- Appraising the market attractiveness
- Deriving the customer preferences and buying-factor profiles
- Ascertaining the customers’ perception of the client’s and their competitors’ brands and products
Analyzing the competitive position with respect to costs:
- Detailing of the cost structure
- Analyzing product profitability
- Comparing KPIs
- Conducting a conceptual benchmarking and a value analysis
- Deducing cost-reduction measures
Determining the future strategic directions:
- Defining a regional strategy:
- Prioritizing focus markets and determining the market-penetration path
- Assessing the entry into new markets, especially with respect to R&D cost versus the additional sales and revenue potential
- Defining strategic levers:
- Selecting and improving products in order to meet the market requirements
- Optimizing the existing sales organization
- Sketching a roadmap to the consequent positioning of the client’s brand on ‘value for money’ while increasing the profitability
RESULTS
Short-term measures defined to refocus on core markets
Mid-term approaches to a careful geographic expansion developed
Long-term directions identified in order to selectively enter new markets
Measures packages consequently and successfully implemented after having completed the project at the end of 2010:
Net revenue more than doubled until 2016
How can the Border Guard of a Middle-East country be developed into an effective 21st century security force?
Requirement for close cooperation with other contractors (e.g. with an international technology corporation as the prime contractor and police units of another country as instructors)
Design and planning of the entire program management in order to cope with the above-mentioned challenges
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Communication campaign:
- Managing the interfaces to the module Change Management
- Planning and executing the initial communication
Vision 2020/strategic setting:
- Analyzing the as-is status and best practices
- Defining the vision, mission, etc.
Organizational Redesign:
- Analyzing the as-is status and best practices
- Defining and operationalizing the target operating model
- Planning the workforce transition
- Providing the process house
- Defining the organizational structure (to be)
- Developing the implementation guide
- Transforming the results into the relevant IT systems
Change Management:
- Analyzing the as-is status and best practices
- Planning the communication
- Planning and executing marketing measures
- Periodically assessing the change readiness
- Deriving the HRMS warehouse information
- Designing and coordinating change efforts
- Aligning change trainings with other training efforts
- Planning and conducting change trainings
Project management office (PMO)
RESULTS
Kick-off event for the program prepared and brought off
Planned organizational-development program meanwhile realized
Traditional business models of an OEM pressurized by changing customer requirements and significantly increasing costs evoked by alternative powertrains
How should the ideal design of a new sales and service model for a new ‘megacity vehicle’ look like?
How can new target groups be unlocked in order to exploit additional sales potential along the product life cycle?
Need to reduce the sales and service costs far below the current level
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Analyzing existing—sometimes weakly developed—social trends to understand future customer demands
Systematically identifying and assessing best practices within and beyond the industry boundaries in addition to further incitements
Segmenting the target customers
Developing alternative concepts for the new sales and service model, especially with respect to processes and retail formats along each target group’s customer journey
Describing all relevant processes in detail and deriving the required resources
Evaluating the customer benefit for the various possible customer touchpoints along all sales and service processes
Selecting the elements of the to-be concept based on a comprehensive business case incl. sales, cost, and revenue levers as well as based on the customer-value assessment
RESULTS
Joint venture between the client and a business partner initiated in order to jointly establish a car-sharing offering (already realized now)
New processes, roles, and retail-formats (e.g. tailor-made showroom concepts) piloted in selected test markets and meanwhile fully implemented
Sales and services costs significantly reduced
New approaches successfully transferred to the client’s core brand by a huge worldwide corporate program
Many Chinese dealers of a German passenger-car manufacturer’s sales network facing financial difficulties up to bankruptcy due to the financial crisis and economic downturn in 2008
Need to understand the financial situation of the dealer network in China and to assess the potential impact on the business
Necessity to develop and apply a systematic approach that allows for swiftly collecting and analyzing all required data/information due to the sheer number of dealerships (ca. 1,000)
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Collecting the data and conducting a static risk analysis:
- Systematically gathering financial data (balance sheet, P&L statement, cash-flow statement) regarding the recent years by sending out a standardized questionnaire to various organizations (dealerships, OEM/wholesale level, and third parties)
- Validating the data regarding consistency and correctness with the aid of a CPA team
- Assessing the financial strength based on selected key performance indicators and evaluating the strategic importance of the dealers
- Displaying all dealerships in their respective positions in the static risk matrix
Running a dynamic risk analysis:
- Developing alternate scenarios (base/best/worst case) based on different assumptions regarding the future macro- and microeconomic conditions
- Simulating the liquidity needs for each dealership under all 3 scenarios over the next 18 months
Developing a contingency plan:
- Categorizing all dealerships in order to prioritize them
- Defining first countermeasures for the prioritized dealer categories
RESULTS
Concept for assessing the financial risk developed and operationalized
Distribution of risks in the entire Chinese retail network ascertained—broken down into a portfolio analysis and the likely implications on the dealerships’ sales and revenue performance
Liquidity gaps and the financial resources determined that are required to safeguard the threatened dealers
First approaches and measures developed in order to mitigate the risk
Requisite to take CO₂ emissions more into consideration as a key impetus for the product/engine strategy due to considerable changes in customer behavior and legal requirements
Endorsement of the so far dominant technology orientation with a stronger market focus
Need for an interdisciplinary integration of the marketing & sales and the research & development departments to allow for achieving sustainable and company-wide accepted results
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Conducting a driver and trend analysis with respect to legislation, customer behavior, competition, and total cost of ownership (TCO) for the main markets
Formulating various scenarios based on the driver and trend analysis to determine the potential future development of the markets and the concomitant sales volume
Identifying strategic courses of action, especially to secure the planned sales and revenues
Prioritizing the courses of action with respect to their relevance for reaching the pre-set objectives
Describing the cross-departmental CO₂ strategy in an operating model that allows the realization based on new responsibilities and roles along the relevant processes
Developing an implementation plan
RESULTS
Clear understanding of the legal and market requirements in addition to the globally relevant trends with relevance to CO₂ emissions
Viable basis for decisions related to the product strategy laid
CO₂ issues firmly incorporated in the product-strategy development process by establishing a CO₂ steering committee
Increase in sales effectiveness:
- Meeting the ambitious sales, price and revenue targets
- Raising the repurchase rate
- Optimizing the price structure between new and used company cars and improving the residual-value stability
Increase in sales efficiency:
- Laying the basis for new growth through new vehicle projects
- Allocating the resources within the sales organization on OEM and wholesale level according to functional requirements—taking a rationalizing target of 10% as a basis
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Developing a process model across all sales levels
Preparing the project and compiling the project definition
Analyzing the as-is situation:
- Conducting rough analyses to identify and prioritize weaknesses along the as-is processes
- Analyzing the prioritized weaknesses in detail
- Recording the bounded capacity (as is) in full-time equivalents (FTE) in order to determine the base line for the computation of the rationalization target in absolute numbers
Shaping the to-be organization:
- Working out concepts and approaches in order to overcome the prioritized weaknesses and pooling them into action fields/bundles of measures
- Defining the to-be processes
- Deriving the organizational structure (to be)
- Allocating capacity to the to-be organization
Preparing the implementation and developing an action plan incl. dates, responsibilities, budgets, etc.
Supporting the implementation:
- Communicating on a regular basis
- Controlling taken actions
- Controlling effects
RESULTS
8 out of 18 action fields prioritized
Sales-network development organizationally separated from the sales operations (new department established)
Processes and the remaining organizational structure adapted to the to-be concepts
Significant increase in effectiveness in the form of additional contribution margins considered in re-worked target agreements of the relevant directors and additional capacity created by efficiency improvements
Increase in efficiency and effectiveness of the processes regarding the planning, development and management of the information systems (IS) within the group
Definition of a clear and lean organizational structure (incl. committees)
Optimization of the management and the quality-assurance in IS projects
Identification of the rationalization potential of 10% (defined top-down by the board members) based on the internally bound capacity
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Allocating the processes to the elements of the generic IT value chain ‘plan—build—run’ and categorizing the support functions (e.g. IS controlling, IS procurement)
Preparing the project and compiling the project definition
Analyzing the as-is situation:
- Conducting rough analyses to identify and prioritize weaknesses along the as-is processes
- Analyzing the prioritized weaknesses in detail
- Recording the bounded capacity (as is) in full-time equivalents (FTE) in order to determine the base line for the computation of the rationalization target in absolute numbers
Shaping the to-be organization:
- Working out concepts and approaches in order to overcome the prioritized weaknesses and pooling them into action fields/bundles of measures
- Defining the to-be processes
- Deriving the organizational structure (to be)
- Allocating capacity to the to-be organization
Preparing the implementation and developing an action plan incl. dates, responsibilities, budgets, etc.
Supporting the implementation:
- Communicating on a regular basis
- Controlling taken actions
- Controlling effects
RESULTS
42 top weaknesses identified; 6 action fields prioritized; 5 design concepts across processes defined
Processes, functions and roles brought in line with the Standard IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
To-be processes and organizational structure adjusted
Targeted rationalization potential identified and realized through 8 work packages over a longer time period
Do in the market segment ‘light commercial vehicles/vans’ exist growth opportunities for the client organization?
Should the client enter this market segment, and if so, how?
To what extent would an entry into this market segment increase the utilization of the workshops/service network?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Creating a deep understanding of the market with respect to the relevant segment:
- Compiling data regarding the worldwide market size and the forecasted market development over the next years
- Ascertaining the size of the various target customer segments
- Incorporating the market trends with relevance to the customer segments
Identifying the factors that determine market success:
- Analyzing purchase criteria
- Deriving the vehicle characteristics (to be)
- Assessing the fit between the client brand and developing the requirement specifications
Analyzing the cost structure and the operational competencies:
- Generating an understanding of the main cost drivers and deriving a reference cost structure
- Working out the most important levers to increase profitability (sensitivity analysis)
- Developing a profitable target-cost structure based on a ‘best-of logic’
Defining the market-entry strategy:
- Determining prioritized regions
- Assessing potential cooperation partners and acquisition targets respectively
- Preparing a detailed business plan
RESULTS
Disproportionate high costs/risks compared to the potential earnings/chances
Effort to enter the market segment ‘light commercial vehicles/vans’ abandoned
Project stopped ahead of schedule
No market entry in the relevant segment by the client organization according to the recommendations—even not 12 years after the project
What processes and organizational structure are ideal for being successful in the key-account and direct-trade business and—as measured by the potential profit contribution?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Analyzing and making the established organizational concept plausible:
- Roughly segmenting the key accounts and direct customers
- Describing the core processes by customer segments
- Contrasting the processes and organizational structure with best practices
- Anticipating future requirements
- Enhancing the concept by interviewing typical customers
- Identifying weaknesses and deriving/prioritizing actions based on the need for action
Designing the to-be organization:
- Documenting the to-be processes
- Developing different options for the organizational structure
- Evaluating the options and selecting the favorite options
- Planning the required capacity and resources
- Specifying the internal and external interfaces
- Identifying further levers for effectiveness and efficiency improvements
RESULTS
To-be processes defined by customer segments
Organizational structure (to be) derived and backed with capacity/resources
How can a centralized planning and cost estimations for new car developments effectively conducted on component, cost-center, and activity level?
PROBLEM-SPLVING APPROACH
Defining a standardized vehicle structure:
- Defining a standardized structure for the vehicle and the components
- Matching the standardized structure with existing structures/modules
Identifying the cost levers and defining the premises:
- Ascertaining crucial cost drivers
- Detailing the components with respect to functional and technological specifications
- Aligning the standard specifications within and between the relevant departments
Detailed analysis of past vehicle projects:
- Selecting reference projects
- Evaluating as-is values
- Recording the process steps
- Detailed appraisal of the cost drivers for selected components
Determining to-be values for the development costs based on the functional specifications of a standard vehicle
Applying the new planning method:
- Defining new processes for cost planning and management
- Conducting pilot applications on selected vehicle projects
Conceptualizing and developing a new IT tool for planning
RESULTS
Effort and time required for estimating the development costs for new vehicle projects significantly reduced
Reliable and ambitious basis for the planning of development cost established that is well accepted by the various departments
Key cost drivers determined that can be used to assess the costs of different technological concepts
Transparency on costs improved to allow the definition and prioritization of project/vehicle specifications
Basis for systematically identifying improvement potentials and following up the initiated measures in a transparent way
Developing distinctive knowledge on the successful commercialization of innovations, particularly new product or service offerings—from just after the idea generation until peak sales
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Reviewing established approaches and conducting interviews with clients and consultants in order to develop a consistent framework along the following aspects that run parallel to and are highly complementary to the technical product-development process:
- Design-to-market issues:
- Market and customer segmentation
- Customer-value analysis
- Value-proposition development/testing
- Pricing of new offerings and value-capture strategies
- Launch management:
- Brand positioning and promotion
- Sales-/communication-channel management
- Sales operations and sales-force execution
- Strategic partnerships/alliances
RESULTS
Learning codified and new knowledge materials developed along the various elements of the framework for successful commercialization of innovations:
- Document that can be used with senior-level clients
- Comprehensive documentation incl. best-practice examples
In what way do an age structure with a disproportionate number of elderly classical-music listeners and a potential future decrease in size of the classical-music audience threaten the existence of orchestras?
What are the leverage points for safeguarding the classical-music orchestras in the long run?
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Exploring the current situation with respect to …
- the development of the number of orchestras and the number of their established posts
- the importance of attendances and utilization for the existence of classical-music orchestras
- the age structure and development in size of the classical-music/opera listeners and people attending such live performances
- potential implications
Presenting the underlying causes for the age structure of the classical-music audience:
- Reviewing and integrating the relevant literature
- Developing a qualitative model
Developing a simulation model:
- Extending the qualitative model by mathematical formalization
- Validating the model sectors and the model as a whole
Running simulations:
- Extrapolating the status quo
- Simulating various policies
Communicating and implementing results:
- Defining evaluation criteria for the policy design
- Deriving recommendations regarding policies/actions
RESULTS
Significant decrease of the classical-music audience over the next 30 years projected
Three main directions of impact identified:
- Encouraging children’s and adolescents’ instrumental activity
- Inciting children and adolescents to listen to classical music and opera
- Fostering musical education
Need for action clearly communicated (e.g. via associations and councils, by contributing articles to journals/magazines and radio broadcasts)
Attendances growth not appropriate to the artistic successes
Financial restrictions: Too small budget measured against the artistic successes and in comparison to other orchestras
Need for a broader financial scope—in consideration of all relevant economic and artistic-strategic levers
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Examining the as-is situation regarding earnings, costs, concert management and business processes
Analyzing best-practice examples
Optimizing existing sources of income:
- Increasing the number of attendees/subscribers by optimizing the concert bill as well as by improving marketing and public-relations efforts
- Improving the subscription and pricing concept
- Raising the advertising revenues
- Optimizing merchandising/CD sales
- Safeguarding existing subsidies
Exploiting new sources of income:
- Setting up an advisory board
- Fostering special projects
- Developing a fundraising/sponsoring concept
Reducing the costs:
- Exploiting new ideas for cost reduction (e.g. outsourcing of the concert management and sale of tickets)
- Reducing the running operating costs (e.g. by optimizing the processes)
RESULTS
Financial scope quickly broadened and sustainably ensured by medium- and long-term measures
Systematically reducing the cost of applicable materials in order to meet the currently unmet top-down objective prior to the development of the product-requirements document
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Deriving target costs in a bottom-up approach and assessing the customer benefit for single applicable-material items:
- Defining the premises (e.g. planned CIP-rate) and formats
- Deriving the target costs based on the agreed specifications of the bought-in applicable materials
- Evaluating the contributions to the overall customer benefit and estimating the required budgets for meeting the desired product characteristics
- Presenting and approving target costs in review meetings and documenting the target costs for the single applicable-material items
Comparing the bottom-up with the top-down target costs for all applicable-material items of the entire vehicle (‘matching’):
- Aggregating the target cost for the single items to an overall sum
- Matching the bottom-up with the top-down target cost
- Agreeing on a target-cost structure
Defining specific paths for meeting the target costs for all single bought-in applicable-material items:
- Allocating the deviations between the expected and targeted costs to levers
- Identifying chances and risks regarding meeting the target costs
- Developing an action plan
RESULTS
Ambitious target costs for all single bought-in applicable-material items calculated and documented in a standardized way
Contribution of the various applicable-material items to the overall customer benefit with respect to the target positioning of the vehicle assessed and considered
Gap between expected and targeted costs completely closed and alignment of the target-cost structure for all applicable-material items achieved
Work plan with specific measures for achieving the target costs for prioritized applicable-material items developed
Enhancing the technologically innovative strength of the Austrian economy by promoting start-up companies
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Joining the forces of private companies and organizations under public law as sponsors of the initiative
Organizing a business-plan competition to support technology-based business ideas:
- Defining the concept/setup of the competition
- Mobilizing a strong network by winning partners/sponsors/promoters
- Preparing materials for documentation and advertising purposes incl. TV spot, planning and conducting events (e.g. kickoff/road-show events, coaching evenings, ‘coaching the coaches’, price award ceremonies)
- Providing expert assessments for submitted business plans
RESULTS
In the first year: 134 business ideas received and 58 business plans completed
2016: Almost 18,000 website visits on average per month (www.i2b.at); 395 specific business ideas recorded, 230 business plans qualified for the competition
i2b Austria-wide well established as an initiative that enhances the preparation of business concepts and plannings in written form
Actually, a considerable number of start-ups successfully founded
How can innovative product offerings and a better market coverage help to achieve profitable growth?
PROBLEM-SOVING APPROACH
Market/customer segmentation and analysis of the product positioning:
- Carrying out a factor and cluster analysis by drawing on NCBS-/NVES data (New Car Buyer Survey/New Vehicle Experience Study) for the most important triad markets in order to identify buying factors and customer segments
- Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the client’s and their competitors’ product portfolios
- Identifying and assessing market niches
Rough economic feasibility study:
- Defining scenarios with respect to sales (incl. substitution effects)
- Preparing the business case
Development of a detailed concepts for a new model range:
- Defining the target positioning, evaluating the fit between the client’s brands and the target positioning
- Evaluating and selecting alternative brands
- Deriving the key characteristics of the new model range
- Refining the business case
Developing the product strategy and product profiles for the new vehicles:
- Determining the platform strategy for the new model range
- Designing the business model
- Ascertaining the product requirements/functional specifications
RESULTS
New vehicle segment established that attracted in the meanwhile other competitors for entry
More than 170,000 vehicles of the first generation worldwide sold by the client
Model range extended by additional models due to the big success
Strongly negative net present value (NPV) of the power-generation portfolio (own power plants and industrial investments/contracts) over the next ten years—even when taking already defined but not realized cost-cutting measures into consideration
Urgent need for action to improve the NPV of the existing portfolio by operational and structural measures
Limited opportunities for growth:
- Highly competitive environment for gas-fired and steam power plants that cogenerate heat and power; attractivity of other technologies very restricted
- Opportunist asset acquisitions possible, but require superior skills due to the high price level
Additional risks due to the uncertain future development of coal prices and CO₂ emission taxes
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Building a quantitative model in order to simulate the future development of the power-generation market by drawing on the System Dynamics methodology
Examining the current cost and revenue structure and defining additional cost-improvement/value-enhancement measures
Conducting a market and competitor analysis and a high-level benchmarking
Computing a business case in order to determine the target costs for the existing power plant portfolio and for the contracted capacities
Identifying sources of competitive advantages and deriving strategic options by applying game theory
Supporting the communication of the results (e.g. with power plant managers)
RESULTS
Power-generation portfolio optimized along the following key levers:
- Operating & maintenance (O&M) costs of the (partially) owned power plants reduced to best-practice level
- Unprofitable block-unit power stations/sites sold or shut down
- Contracted capacities further consolidated and successfully renegotiated
- Own market power moderately exerted in bidding situations
- Purchase price for lignite reduced as a result of renegotiations
Selective international expansion by new gas-fired and steam power plants with power-heat coupling initiated
Forward-looking vision and concept for the role as an asset-backed world-class electricity trader in a market maker position
Pressure on European companies to expand and fulfill their growth expectations due to an increasing relevance of the capital market perspective resulting in a soaring number of growth projects
Special opportunities for growth due to an advanced European integration
Clear gap between the aspirations and the actually pursued strategies and entrepreneurial culture at many large corporations
New emerging international growth initiatives launched by various consultancies and increasing releases of respective books and other publications
Need to systematically expand and promote one’s own competence and reputation in the area of growth
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
Improving the understanding of the need to grow and identifying the value-creating potential of growth:
- Assessing the growth imperative in general
- Analyzing company-specific growth aspirations
Developing a better understanding of the (industry-specific) growth drivers and identifying generic growth strategies:
- Examining growth cases and learning from ‘best-practice growers’ in various industries
- Defining typical growth arenas
- Systematically distilling characteristics of and commonalities between successful growth cases
Determining viable growth strategies
Developing a comprehensive and specific growth consulting framework by categorizing frameworks, tools, etc. according to industrial specifics and companies’ situation
RESULTS
Real-world case studies identified, edited, and filed in case library
Lessons learnt derived and documented
Concepts along the following topics developed:
- Need for growth
- Growth strategy
- Building new businesses
- Structuring and organizing for growth
Materials for knowledge transfer compiled
Internal knowledge network established