1. Installed Base
Vectia Case: Skanska Kodit
Can work practices be designed?
Starting point
In the technically oriented world of construction, Skanska wanted to shift the focus to a more customer oriented view. However, there was a gaping hole in the discussions between the customers and the customer guides, whose backgrounds were firmly in engineering. The new roles emphasizing customer understanding also created fear amongst the customer guides. Previously the customer guides’ primary cause of pride had been perfected technical issues, but due to the new role the guides had fears concerning their authority and professionalism.
Objective of cooperation
In order to break down the resistance to change Skanska needed Vectia Learning Systems as a neutral external party to overcome the fear of unknown. In order to do this, Vectia Learning Systems brought in the concept of work practice design and a three-step method with the aim of implementing new work practices and changing attitudes. Furthermore, the threats and fears of the guides were dealt individually providing them with a sense of really being heard.
Results and business impact
Through the process the customer guides quickly realised that they actually already were acting the new role. They had also achieved more refined customer processes and a more proactive attitude. Skanska, however, still needs to apply appropriate tools and develop a supportive corporate culture to take the change even further.
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Autumn 2010.
Skanska is one of the world’s leading construction and project development companies. Skanska Kodit (Homes) is a residential developer.
Vectia Case: Wärtsilä
Grow with strategic account management
Starting point
Based on the strategic principles previously developed with Vectia, Wärtsilä wanted to further develop its customer focus by identifying strategic customers and defining principles for strategic account management. To stay ahead of competition requires that Wärtsilä’s development is in phase with the development of the industry, which is one reason for Wärtsilä’s ambition to always work with industry shapers and pioneers.
Objective of cooperation
By implementing strategic account management (SAM) Wärtsilä aims to offer extensive service to specific customers and to create synergies between the company’s three different divisions. Working with industry forerunners continuously challenges Wärtsilä to develop its technology, which creates a constant need for innovations. However, implementing strategic account management requires extensive alignment both internally and externally.
Results and business impacts
One of the results of the project is a top management forum for where Wärtsilä top managers and their customers meet to create shared innovations. The SAM process has also improved internal alignment and has become a solid part of Wärtsilä’s business.
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Spring 2010.
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets.
Vectia Case: Microsoft
Broader offerings, bigger business
Starting point
Microsoft’s business has traditionally – and successfully – been based on technology and products. However, new approaches and new capabilities are required to be able to create credible value propositions for business-critical solutions. As advanced, integrated business solutions have a strong business impact, the investments are often made at the executive level. In order to enable access to executives and to create capabilities for preparing relevant arguments to support solution sales an outside support and partner was needed.
Objective of cooperation
The consideration of the significance and potential in solution sales together with Microsoft’s business executives indicated a lot to be gained. Vectia facilitated sessions for account managers and team leaders on how to prepare a sales process, and how to build relevant sales cases and create relevant offerings. In the process actual sales cases instead of just theory were utilized, which turned out to be crucial to the implementation.
Results and business impacts
The project led to organizational changes, which resulted in enhanced co-operation of account teams, improved communication and increased understanding of the benefits of organizational resources and enhanced usage of resources. Sales and Marketing Director Juha Koivisto praises the results: “Salespeople are more prepared and have more courage to meet business decision makers, as they have learned to build strong and relevant stories to support their sales pitches.”
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Autumn 2009
Microsoft a worldwide leader in software services and solutions.
Vectia Case: Stork Food Systems
Services mean business
Starting point
The challenge for an equipment provider is to convince the producer to invest in after-sales services to keep the equipment in top shape, up to date and productive. Stork Food Systems decided to productise their services by customer value. Customers do not necessarily understand the value of service. Marco Vos, Service Support Manager at Stork Food Systems says that most of the customers don’t see that good service could contribute to their business.
Objective of cooperation
In order to make their services more enticing, and to productise them for a better price, Stork Food Systems and Vectia decided to benchmark companies with similar after-sales challenges. The goal was to try to focus on the customers’ problems and questions and to make the customers understand where Stork can support and add value. The benchmark exercise produced ideas and information, which in turn led to three different, modular service packages and quantification tools for value-based selling. Also, detailed presentation material to sell the packages was prepared.
Results and business impacts
Service Director, Gerrit den Bok says that “with our new service packages, we try to get part of the financial benefit of the customer for ourselves. Our target is to obtain 30% of the benefits. We trust that in a few years’ time this approach will give us a substantial increase in turnover.” One of Vectia’s strong points was to focus on the customers’ perspective. “We trust that with training, these service packages will result in a strategic direction for our company”, Gerrit den Bok says.
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Spring 2009.
Stork Food Systems is a leading global provider of poultry processing systems.
Vectia Case: GS-Hydro
Growth in the pipeline
Starting point
GS-Hydro wanted to renew its strategy business and to do its utmost to implement it to everyone in the global sites.
Objective of cooperation
GS-Hydro engaged Vectia to bring a neutral, professional view, and to create discipline to the whole strategy process. According to the President and CEO Thomas Rönnholm, the heart of the whole strategy process is Vectia’s must-win battles framework. Vectia’s knowledge and insight of GS-Hydro’s business core was vital for the process.
Results and business impacts
GS-Hydro’s business has grown phenomenally by approximately 40% per annum, with a double-digit EBIT level. From the strategy process GS-Hydro learned to dedicate even more time for implementation, to do things even simpler and to communicate even better. CEO Thomas Rönnholm has already set his heart on implementing GS-Hydro’s next strategy – the one that will take them to the 2010s.
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Spring 2009.
GS-Hydro is a global provider of high pressure piping solutions.
Vectia Case: YIT
Go east, construction business
Starting point
Although construction business in YIT’s home market was slow, the international construction especially in Russia was booming with a growth rate of 40 – 50 % in recent years. The challenge for YIT was to control the growth in culturally different markets, because the logic of business might not apply to that of Finland.
Objective of cooperation
Vectia and YIT jointly designed VIP, a customer-oriented proactive sales process, that supplies YIT with real-time sales data and includes an analysis of the customer’s buying process, a proactive sales process, a sales funnel management methodology, and a CRM tool. In order to better manage the international operations and especially to better manage the scope of the Russian housing markets, YIT introduced VIP in the Russian market.
Results and business impacts
VIP sales process and customer database proved to be a necessity for YIT dealing with thousands of customers and thousands of apartments nationwide. VIP has a significant role in the future as the appraisal of good service spreads and the number of customers and the volume of customer data rapidly increases. Consequently, YIT is currently running VIP process workshops with Vectia in Moscow and St. Petersburg. YIT has become one of the best-known and highly regarded construction companies in Russia.
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Autumn 2008.
YIT is one of the major Northern European construction companies.
Vectia Case: Fujitsu
Strategic framework for focused innovation
Starting point
In many companies, big IT budgets have lead to a broad array of partly incompatible IT solutions. “Half is enough” was the motto for Fujitsu, who wanted to be able to produce better results for its customers with innovative and focused solutions. To be able to grow with this vision in a market characterised by rapid change, Fujitsu recognised the need to classify and prioritise initiatives and focus on key strategic issues.
Objective of the co-operation
Fujitsu decided to exploit Vectia’s Must-Win Battles process in its strategy work. Vectia facilitated the annual management meeting and provided Fujitsu with the needed framework, tools and analysis. Four Must-Win Battle initiatives were identified, and sufficient human resources were allocated to the initiatives. A project manager and owner was appointed from the management team for each initiative.
Results and business impacts
With help of the Must-Win Battle process, Fujitsu was able to recognise the initiatives that are aligned with the corporate strategy and worth pursuing. The Must-Win Battles process helped Fujitsu to question and to simplify, and made allocation of resources more efficient. The Must-Win Battles process has given Fujitsu the prerequisites for developing novel and unique products and solution for its customers. By concentrating on initiatives with a strategic fit, Fujitsu can enhance its competitive ability using the same resources.
Based on case article in Vectia Explore magazine Spring 2008.
Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communication solutions.
Vectia Case: Teleca
Creating a platform for growth
Starting point
With a history of growth through acquisitions, Teleca’s units around the world were run as independent entities with little coordination. Teleca was not able to fully capitalise on its strengths and presence at global customers. Independent units with different business substances caused Teleca to operate with a broad offering scope, leading to ineffectiveness and difficulty in serving global customers.
Objective of the co-operation
With the challenges identified, Teleca set clear targets for financial performance and internal alignment. The goal was to serve the global customers with a service-based offering in a cohesive way. Vectia acted as a process consultant and engaged 25 Teleca key people in a fact-finding process to identify the profitable core. Teleca decided to have services and solutions to the mobile industry as its core business. All non-core operations were divested within a year. As acquisitions had brought on board different cultures and values, the values were tuned and aligned to ensure successful implementation of company-wide processes. A unified model for proactive account management and sales process with clearly defined roles and responsibilities was created.
Results and business impacts
A structured process for serving customers is now in use. Global account teams and implemented engagement models enable Teleca to serve its global customers in a unified way. Teleca had its first profitable quarter in two years in 2007, and expects to see improving results also in the future. Teleca is now able to concentrate on profitable growth, and is a global, manageable and profitable enterprise with a strong future outlook.
Published in Vectia Explore magazine in Spring 2008.
Teleca is a solution provider of services to the mobile industry.
Vectia Case: Halton
Finding new business out of thin air
Starting point
The importance of indoor air is understood better, and as a result the demand for innovative indoor environment solutions is growing. With signals from the market and the first tentative steps into service business, Halton wanted to see if it could turn its experience and knowledge from product sales into a new prosperous service business.
Objective of the co-operation
To be efficient and credible in service business, Halton needed to create a common language and common principles to build the service business on. Also, the scope and earnings logic of the service business and the structure of selling and delivering the services had to be defined. Halton’s outside unit Indoorium was recognised as a good platform upon which to build the service business. Indoorium now provides indoor environment services under the name of Halton Solutions, and operates under the Halton umbrella.
Results and business impacts
One of the quick wins of the project was the common understanding and language on service business, which enabled communicating the goals and actions beyond the project group. Since its establishment the indoor environment management business has grown by 100% and Halton has received more assignments than anticipated. Also, the company has acquired new customers from outside its product-oriented customer base. The service concept is going to be further refined in Finland, and after that it will be implemented in other markets. By the year 2015, Halton expects the service business to be its biggest business area.
Based on case article published in Vectia Explore magazine Spring 2008
Halton is a specialist in indoor climate solutions.
Vectia Case: Océ
Driving business by transformation
Starting point
Océ saw its product-based business becoming commoditised, while the company’s input into the outsourcing business was showing promising returns. Making and selling machines was still bringing more revenues to the company, but because of the heavy price competition, Océ decided to explore the potential of offering outsourcing services.
Objective of the co-operation
To be able to capitalize on the new focus, and to serve the top-500 customers better the forces of the digital document services department and the outsourcing business services department were combined. Challenges in combining two different earning logics were assessed, and team-spirit emerged during the project as the teams worked together. A strategic account management programme was needed to manage Océ’s strategic accounts in a more structured and aligned way. The programme included target-setting, account selection and team nomination as well as definition of sales and account management processes with roles and responsibilities. The programme was first implemented with the finance segment customers.
Results and business impacts
With the aligned strategic account management programme Océ managed to alter its course from competing with price to sustaining business and growing revenues. Océ expects revenue growth in excess of 10-20 percent annually also contributing to a bigger market share in outsourcing services. Océ’s customers now seem more satisfied, as Océ retains knowledge of the past and manages the sales process better, with only one account manager per customer.
Based on case article published in Vectia Explore magazine in Spring 2008.
Océ is a provider of professional document systems.