A large, highly respected global technology manufacturer changed its strategy to remain competitive in its market segment and financially viable as an ongoing entity. The new strategy fundamentally repositioned the company from commoditized offerings to value-added services and high margin products.
Challenge
After two years, major functional groups in the company had yet to adopt the new philosophy or implement enabling strategies. People were also highly skeptical about the new strategy succeeding. Finally, implementation would require substantial effort throughout the company with significant change in the following functions:
- Product development needed to completely revamp their R&D focus
- Manufacturing had to retool much of their production operations
- Sales needed to redefine the sales process and target audience
The company embarked on a comprehensive, structured process working with intact teams to create implementation plans and actions. The process, supported by training and consulting, was cascaded down through the organization with the following objectives:
- Align all organizational efforts and design around the achievement of the new strategy
- Engage each group and individual in a process to create ownership around goals and objectives need to successfully implement the strategy
- Develop capacity for change within the workforce to facilitate the transition from old to new ways of doing business
As a result of this process the company achieved significantly improved and sustained business results as well as higher levels of employee engagement. Specific results include:
- A 22.6% increase in Q4 revenue over the prior year
- Gross margin improved to 61.4 %, up from 54.7 % in the prior year
- Developed and launched over 150 new products supporting the new model
- Significant measurable increases in commitment/action to the new strategy
- Measurable increases in virtually every dimension of engagement
