A medium-sized Swiss manufacturer of high-quality abrasives for high-tech products had considerable problems getting back on the road to success over the years. As Vice President of Marketing and Development, the current interim manager was tasked with restoring profitability by developing and implementing a market-oriented go-to-market strategy and making corresponding adjustments to the organizational culture.
Analysis: Organization in silo thinking without a clear go-to-market strategy
During his analysis, it quickly became clear to the interim manager that the management had not yet succeeded in managing the organization in a market-oriented manner and setting it up with a clear go-to-market strategy. It was also obvious that a new strategy would only be successful if organizational changes were implemented. This was because the teams had previously operated in silos: instead of cross-divisional cooperation, internal competition prevailed.
Creating the basis for cross-divisional cooperation with new business teams
As a first step, the interim manager therefore restructured the organization. After numerous interviews with the managers, he created market-oriented business teams with experts from product marketing, development, application technology and project management. Traditional product management and the separate development departments were dissolved. The company now had business teams for the aerospace, automotive, building interior, general fabrication and large-area panel grinding sectors in the industry.
Portfolios examined for performance and realigned
In the next phase, the interim manager worked with the teams on the content and strategy of the product portfolios. The first step was to analyze the performance of the portfolios. Which products generated which turnover? What was the profitability? Who belonged to the target groups? This revealed that many products were being produced at great expense without questioning their profitability.
Target product portfolios and product roadmaps developed with clear priorities
The interim manager then worked with the business teams to develop strategies for the target markets. Following a detailed analysis of the competition and potential, target product portfolios and product roadmaps were created with clear priorities in development and production. Unprofitable products were removed from the portfolio after a transition period. Customers were closely supported by the application engineers and sales department during the transition to alternative products.
The transition to alternative products gave the company time to realize the innovations targeted in the product roadmaps. To speed up this process, the interim manager initiated efficient processes for the newly introduced innovation management: before a development process is approved, for example, the product managers must submit a detailed assessment of the potential for innovations based on user insights. This ensures that product innovations and new products are approached on the basis of economic criteria and market opportunities - and not, as in the past, just out of love for a technical detail or at the request of a strong stakeholder.
Successful transformation: sales and profitability increase significantly
After six months, this phase of the transformation process was complete. The clear market focus played a key role in significantly increasing sales and profitability within a short space of time. At the same time, the employees are embracing a new spirit: All areas are motivated to work together on new products and new opportunities.
Design Thinking and Scrum introduced as agile methods
Shortly after introducing the business teams, the interim manager also modernized the project work by introducing Design Thinking and Scrum as agile methods together with the project management team.
