| Client |
Situation |
Project |
Result |
Leave-behind |
| Leisure company |
Facing market downturn and concerned about margins after absorbing 3 years of cost increases |
Skill-sharing and programme management - 6 Stonebeck and 32 client; mix of client-led, Stonebeck-supported and Stonebeck-led; programme management established by Stonebeck, then embedded into client |
£29m (9% of total) savings delivered in 9 months, all verified by finance; exceeds diagnostic commitments; handover 90% complete |
Stronger, Board-level commercial function and cross-business processes, which determine optimal balance between quality and cost across all investments |
| Telecommunications company |
Switching from growth at any cost to marketing effectivenes and 'bang-for-the-buck' |
Review all sales & marketing expenditure, re-balance investments and re-negotiate contracts to increase customer acquisition rates at lower costs - 1 Stonebeck specialist integrated into existing team |
£8m (100 margin points) bottom-line benefit for full-year, achieved with 9 months of the budget period remaining |
Understanding of cost drivers; separation of service specifier from service buyer; continuous monitoring and refinement process |
| Hypermarket retailer |
Recognition that in-store service experience compared unfavourably with competitors |
Two-person Stonebeck team to design consumer research, extract and integrate with existing findings, and propose high-impact/ low-cost action programme |
Increased percentage (TBD) of primary shoppers and visit frequency/ basket size of secondary shoppers |
Revised training and performance measurement processes to drive sustainability and continuous improvement |
| Internet company |
Investing heavily in leading-edge technology to provide video advertisers with a unique platform |
Stonebeck strategist broke down potential sources of revenue over time to re-focus sales & marketing investment on nearer-term revenue opportunities and long-term priorities |
Tripled revenue from previous forecasts, freeing up greater funds for investment in new generation advertising products |
Rebalance between technology and marketing; greater focus on bottom-line profitability as a source of growth investment |
| Department store |
Capital-constrained, but seeking additional growth through international franchising |
Joint (1 Stonebeck lead, 3 internal) strategy team to explore market and partner options, priorities and resource requirements to develop a 5-15 year growth plan |
Recommendations being implemented to double the size of the business and increase ROCE by 40% |
Mechansim for assessing new franchise geographies; operating manual and negotiation structure; economic model |
| Broadcasting equipment supplier |
A market leader re-thinking strategy as customers increasingly switch from hardware to software-based products and services |
Stonebeck focused on segmenting the market and understanding competitive dynamics, interviewing customers, competitors and technology experts as an input to a strategy team reviewing all options for re-positioning |
Identified options and recommended strategy to build a parallel software business focusing on core sports broadcast customers |
Greater awareness of customer needs; 3-5 year strategic routemap, with key milestones and contingencies; technology investment priorities |
