Having an innovative and unique product or service, that meets a need that competitors are not, is a great start to business success. However, it is a complete misconception to think that this is enough or will see you through. Managing people, sales and marketing, profit and operational performance are just as important as a breakthrough idea or product. The systems that support the delivery of your product or service to its market are critical. This understanding can often be missing, and leaves businesses unsure which direction to take when financial performance is not as hoped.

Gibsons is regularly approached by businesses who know something isn’t working but aren’t entirely sure what that something is. Financial performance is below expected, and the organisational structure and systems just don’t seem to be right. Businesses know something needs to change but need support to determine what’s required and how to implement these changes.

Designed as a deep dive into your business, the Gibsons strategic review brings real insight and clarity into what’s happening in your business and more importantly, the reasons why. 

A highly regarded medium-sized manufacturing business with a very loyal customer base approached us with their struggles to meet sufficient profit levels and to provide a pathway to retirement for the owner. We were engaged to undertake a full strategic review and to develop a business plan. The focus of this work was to understand the root cause(s) of the average profit performance, with a view to turn a good business into a great one and to provide a succession route for the owner.

The strategic review highlighted several issues that were driving the bottom line. There was an absence of a business performance review process. While the company was not meeting its profit goals, there was no formal process in place to identity gaps in performance or to track key performance indicators to bring clarity as to the reasons why. There was also a need to revise the organisational structure as well as to refine what key people’s responsibilities were. Recruitment and the appointment of management personnel to include a General Manager were required, along with the development of members of the team. Shop floor processes to improve quality, safety, and productivity were crucial along with operating procedures, 5S, quality and safety practices. Base shop floor training and sales processes were both necessary.

A thorough strategic review of the business brought clarity to the need for these changes, and we worked with the business to support implementation. The results saw a 40% sales growth over 3 years with profits trebling during the same period.

Strategy is an unending process of review, understanding, strategy development and implementation to constantly improve and optimise results for a business and its stakeholders. This is critical to ongoing success.

Gibsons provide the business acumen to understand and develop the right strategies for your business and situation. We have the expertise to build and implement the plans, and the tactics to execute the strategy to get the desired results.

Find out more about the Gibsons strategic review process and how it can benefit your business.

[Photo credit: Scott Graham]