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Navigating to 2030: Strategic Agility in the Manufacturing Industry
Strategic Revitalization for Global Market Competitiveness
2024-01-24
Client
Leading Company Within the Climate Control Industry
Services
Strategy Development Vision Development
Industries
Manufacturing Climate Control
The problem
Our client, the largest business line in a leading company within the climate control industry, faced challenges in their strategic planning. They were hindered by a rigid five-year strategy, which limited their responsiveness to market changes. To address this, they aimed to revise their strategy, adopting a dual approach. One part would set a long-term vision for 2030 as the guiding star, while the other would focus on a more immediate three-year tactical plan. This strategic revision was essential to maintain their global competitive edge.
This transition was complicated by their decentralized and global organizational structure. Each country, region, and functional unit within the company operated with its own strategy, creating a mosaic of approaches that often lacked cohesion. To align these disparate elements, a complete overhaul of the entire strategic process was necessary. This realignment was crucial to ensure effective implementation across the entire organization.
Our approach
We firmly believe in the power of collaboration, as it leads to better outcomes and higher organizational ownership. To tackle the client's strategic challenges, we engaged closely with their management team and carefully selected stakeholders. Our primary objective was to develop a visionary 2030 strategy, coupled with a tactical three-year plan, while respecting the existing decentralized operating model.
Our initial step was to establish a unified vision for the business line. This process involved a thorough analysis of future trends and their potential impacts, along with scenario planning. We gathered broad insights through internal surveys, interviews, and workshops, ensuring diverse stakeholder perspectives were considered. We included among other things the competitive landscape and their strategic moves, external and internal predictions about future customer behaviors and market trends, with a special focus on emerging technologies, particularly new materials, and digitalization. The vision was then crystallized into clear brand positioning, market focus areas, differentiation strategies, and stretch targets.
The second phase centered on communicating the vision and aligning the strategies of all countries, regions, and functional units, culminating in an integrated global strategy. During this phase, we employed frameworks like 'Playing to Win' and the 'Value Disciplines Model' to guide our process.
In addition, we developed a robust execution model. This model included strategic themes, key performance indicators (KPIs), epics, and initiatives. It also featured a structured follow-up mechanism, including a cadence for reviews, forums for discussion, and clearly defined responsibilities.
Our impact
Our collaboration led to a strategic and visionary plan that was practical, inspiring, and easily communicated. The organization gained a clear vision of its aspirational future, along with a detailed roadmap of the actionable steps required to achieve it, through a focused three-year plan and a solid execution model.
The strategy was well-received across the company, marking a major milestone in their journey toward adaptability and future readiness. The company now has a clear direction and a process to adapt to market changes. Crucially, the strategy includes a yearly revision and update mechanism, ensuring continuous relevance and responsiveness to market dynamics.
