Services that I am offering
Development of Emerging Markets
Emerging markets are characterized with a far above average growth rate and with a significant market size at least in the near future. Hence,
for a company the need arises to be present in these markets. This creates a challenge especially for those companies that have addressed these markets so far not at all or only to a
minor degree. And it might even be a question of medium-term survival for a company to participate at the economical importance of these markets.
A company that has accepted this strategic challenge is confronted with a number of challenges. First of all, due to the lack of being present in these
markets the knowledge regarding product requirements, adequate marketing activities, success critical distribution channels, competitors, etc is rather limited. On top of this there are
uncertainties regarding legal requirements (taxes, customs). Furthermore it also lacks experience in terms of bureaucracy, e.g. how long administrative proceedings by local authorities
might take.
In order to manage these challenges successfully it is advisable to start a separate project. Critical for a smooth project course is a strong support and mentoring via the top management, access to information regarding market characteristics as well as a professional project management. Possible phases of such a project are lined out in the detail page.
Establishment of Sales Subsidiaries
In the context of building up new business in emerging markets the issue of the most adequate distribution is very important. In principal all distribution
related tasks could be out sourced, e.g. to an appointed distributor, and this form is quite common for a start into a new market. However, if the objective is clearly to gain a
significant market position the establishment of own sales structures becomes inevitable.
The establishment of a sales subsidiary is an important milestone for the handling of the market. Not only significant financial and personnel
resources are required; also management resources are needed with the risk that the focus on the ongoing business in the core markets might be diverted. The signal send to the dealers
with such an activity is clearly that a serious interest in this new market exists. And this inevitably creates expectations. Therefore, the phase from the announcement till the official
start of the new sales company should be short and without conflicts with existing distribution partners. As for the business processes, these should be running at least without major
set-ups in order not to disappoint the customers.
It is strongly advisable to set up a professionally designed and stirred project with the aim to manage the before mentioned challenges to the best possible extend. Details of the possible project phases are described on the individual page.
My service portfolio consists of consultancy and/or operative support throughout all phases of the project course.
Improvement of Operational Excellence
In today's era of digitalization and globalization the intensity of competition in all business fields is clearly on the rise. Hence
companies are forced constantly to improve their own competitiveness. This statement is valid for all markets but especially for emerging markets as well since importing companies will
encounter well established competitors that enjoy the advantages of economies of scale. More over, local and/or locally producing competitors have the advantage to benefit from local
product designs as well as from advantageous local production costs.
A well-established instrument to improve the operational excellence consists of comparing the own performance with that of other business units,
either from within the company or with external business units. This bench-mark is performed via a set of viable key performance indicators.
In either case the objective is always to identify areas for improvement within the own organization and increase the own performance at least to the same level as the best in class. Please find details of how such a project could be designed on the following page.
Distribution Strategies
Any distribution strategy should be integrated into the overall strategy of a company and should be well thought out for a number of reasons.
Contrary to corporate strategies in other areas a distribution strategy is immediately visible in the market; it is almost of public nature. Any changes of direction almost always lead to
concerns on behalf of trade partners. They assume automatically that the supplier changes his strategy in order to take advantage and to cover a larger share of the whole value chain. Of
course, this is by far not always the case and it stresses the sensibility of this issue. If later on the need arises for a strategy change trade partners will be irritated and the
credibility of the supplier and possibly even his brands is at stake. Therefore a company should be pretty sure about the direction prior to initiating a project that aims at a strategic
realignment.
The Digital Transformation is currently probably the most prevailing sales issue. It causes without any doubt an urgency of highest priority for any company
to analyze the chances and risks out of this technological revolution. The discussion should always aim at an improvement of efficiency and customer value for trade partners and
consumers. Surely, we will notice changes in the order of importance of trade partners for a specific company. It is an important task for any company to acquire new dealers at the most
appropriate time and at the same time manage the relationship with all established partners in a smooth way. All these considerations should not
only take place in view of the traditional markets because quite often the front-runners and the pioneers of the digitalization can be found in the emerging markets. Also here even
smaller companies will encounter opportunities to generate an USP for their customers.
I have been dealing first hand with these issues during my term as Managing Director of sales companies but also as Divisional Director at the Corporate
Headquarter. It would be my great pleasure to enter a discussion about all the important and exciting topics around the Digital Transformation.
PROFILES CONTACT SHARE
aspa | Michael Toedter | consulting
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D - 85630 Grasbrunn
E-Mail info@aspa-consulting.com
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