While almost every business is familiar with the drive towards greater efficiency and lower costs, the underlying drivers of inefficiency and increasing costs are less frequently discussed.  It is no wonder, that one-off initiatives to ‘pull’ cost out of an organisation are rarely sustainable (and often harm short-term business performance).

In our experience, the most persistent inefficiencies are those driven by the increasing complexity of businesses as they grow.  Symptoms include exploding product ranges & customer portfolios, and proliferation of channels, systems and processes.  We work with our clients (and their data) to understand the breadth of this underlying complexity and extract the ‘core’ elements that are crucial to business performance.  The new business models that result tend to maximise efficiency without sacrificing growth.

Addressing operating model complexity

Detailed data analysis showed that a major Australian Agribusiness was selling ‘almost anything to almost anyone at almost any price’. 

We created a clear mandate to overhaul the operating model from the ground-up, driving a significant simplification of product range and distribution network, and creating a strong platform for growth.

Refocusing to prevent commoditisation & inefficiency

Analysis of a newly acquired subsidiary of a large industrial business showed that a lack of management attention was destroying value.  In particular, lack of focus on customers & pricing was driving commoditisation of the offer and back-end inefficiency. 

These insights led to a divestment of the under-performing business to a new, and more focused, owner.