The Situation

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Our client was a reputable market leading wholesale distribution group of companies that had been operating for approximately 25 years, comprising seven different brands that were structured as individual businesses. They were managed separately but under the one umbrella brand internationally. 

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Sales were on the decline, mainly due to new entrants coming into the market, while operating costs were starting to blow out.  In several segments their brands were actually competing against each other. The business was 80% business to business and 20% business to end customer in a retail setting.

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We were engaged by the international owners to scope out and deliver a business improvement project that would turn the flailing Group around.

 

Our Approach

 

Given the scale of the engagement, we identified the need to canvas and involve all staff from the outset, to utilise expertise in the business and backfill their roles to free up capacity. 

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We also realised the retail element of the business was not core, nor was it run well, due to a lack of expertise within the Group. We therefore worked alongside a business broker to sell this component off to a competitor. We supported the business in responding to information requests as part of the due diligence process, and in contributing to the Information Memorandum that supported the acquisition.

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This was a significant change management engagement impacting all parts of the business. Much of our focus concentrated on the wholesale distribution aspect of the business. We provided a Project Manager to document and manage the overall business plan and associated project plan, and introduced Subject Matter Experts in Pricing, Property, Supply Chain, Legal, Customer Services, Human Resources, Business Systems and Risk, that were responsible for delivering their technical aspects to the project.  

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The New Zealand CEO was engaged as Executive Sponsor, as a sounding board for the Project Governance function to work alongside, while also being responsible for briefing the International Owners on progress.

We formed the Project Governance function which included one of our Partners, the Chief Financial Officer and the GM of Human Resources. The Project Manager engaged with the Project Governance team on day-to-day issues.

 

Client Outcomes

 

In conjunction with the Client a significant business improvement project was delivered in full, on time, and within budget, without significantly impacting the day to day core business.

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Significantly:

• A revised Group Strategy was delivered that narrowed the focus on the wholesale and distribution business.

• A prioritised Business Plan was agreed and sanctioned, that operationalised the Group’s business improvement strategy over a period of 2 years. The aim being to enable business growth, simplify processes, control costs and improve efficiencies.

• A new organisation chart was formulated that merged key roles and removed duplication under the Group structure.

• Emphasis was placed on simplifying supply chain management and included an element of product research aimed at rationalising product sourcing and supply strategies.

• Financing of the project was through both Debt and Equity sources.

• There was a focus on developing a new Group brand and overall customer strategy.

• Properties in the Group portfolio were rationalised with some subleased or sold off.

• Business systems were reviewed and rationalised, with data migrated and processes digitised, and reporting simplified.

• A new risk management framework was also constructed and deployed

 

The Project outcomes were integrated into the core business, successfully changing the fortunes of the business.

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