Project Initiator:
Managing Director
Assignment Period:
Nov 2004 – Ongoing
Kea Sportswear business need:
We are the premier player in our market niche and have enjoyed consistent sales growth over a number of years. But like all market leaders we are coming under pressure from increased competition. We could see the possibilities for quantum sales growth by raising the bar on the performance of our sales team, but equally we knew that internal structures and processes where inhibiting them from being as effective as we wanted. We knew what we wanted to do, but we also knew that we needed help.
The Next Level Business Solution:
The Next Level invested some of their own time on the road with some of our customers and salespeople and in meetings with Management and sales staff to really get to know us before applying a solution. They identified that before we could look externally at the sales processes and the value equation between our sales staff and their customers, we had to look internally and streamline the sales staff involvement in order taking/processing and customer order delivery queries and problem resolution. Using The Next Level tools and methodologies they have co-ordinated key functional leaders as well as the sales force to streamline our order-to-delivery process and to be able to use the time freed up for the sales people to refocus their energies to increasing sales for Kea and value for our clients.
The Results So Far:
End of 2006/7 financial year represents the first year of implementation of all the various elements (new business rules, revised processes, changed accountabilities, different ways of operating with our customers, measuring more specific things than we had been and more). Amongst other initiatives we have taken to improve our sales process and order-to-delivery efficiency we can see an overall payback of over 15% increase in sales, whilst simultaneously redeploying at least 10% of staff resource that was previously tied up in day to day order-to-delivery activity to helping us develop a new area of our business.
Looking Ahead:
The Next Level will play an on-going role in helping guide us through the critical implementation through 2006. They have helped teach our functional managers different ways of thinking about our business and the program is causing a very positive cultural change for us.