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Health Club
"Carrying out an in-depth analysis of our business enabled us to plan our growth by developing a business plan for expansion."
This is a small independently owned business. Growth was limited because of restricted space. The Business Benchmarking report demonstrated that this small business significantly outperformed its competitors. The report formed the basis of the company's Expansion Business Plan which was successful in attracting the full support of its Bank.
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Computer Games Software
"Although very profitable already, the Benchmarking Analysis showed us that we could increase our productivity. It's hard to believe but this one action almost doubled our profit".
The Benchmark Analysis showed that this business made 50% less profit than the best in their industry. Further examination and discussion revealed that the cause was a lack of programming productivity. The Directors addressed the problem and saw an immediate dramatic increase in profitability. Importantly the directors previously had been satisfied with their profit until they saw how much the best performers in their industry were making.
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Commercial Photographers
"The Business Symptoms report was a real eye opener. We saw that we had been reacting to pressure rather than finding out what the real problems were and fixing them. We are now getting back on track".
This long established business found that their customer base was in decline. Also they were failing to win new business. The Business Symptoms Analysis report enabled them to stop and take a much closer look at what they were doing day to day. They identified that they had failed to respond quickly enough to the move to digital photography in their industry. Forward thinking competitors were more price competitive and provided far greater flexibility in terms of integration into other media demanded by customers.
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Painters and Decorators
"Benchmarking my business showed me that my reducing profit was because of increased costs. Also when I priced jobs up I was using an obsolete pricing formula"
Sometimes it's hard for very small businesses to see where things go wrong because they are too close to the business. With only three employees (taking on additional sub contractors when required) this small business owner was seeing his drawings reducing each year although he was working harder and longer hours. The pricing formula devised for him by a friendly accountant was nine years old! Increased costs of materials, transportation, replacement equipment; in addition to the increased cost of employing people (Inflation Rises, National Insurance Contributions etc) had had a major impact on drawings. A revised formula was created.
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Engineering - Precision Components
"We were just not very good at collecting payment from our customers. It was putting us all under pressure and prevented us from investing in up to date machinery"
Manufacturing precision components is a fiercely competitive business. Small suppliers are often intimidated by large customers. Pressing for payment of outstanding debts can be seen as a risky business - "we don't want to upset our customers". This business had allowed its cash management to worsen for some years. The resulting cash flow pressures restricted their ability to upgrade machinery to Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) equipment. Implementation of simple credit management systems and procedures quickly began to resolve the problems releasing valuable cash into their business.
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Textile Wholesaler
"Taking part in the CPL process has helped us to see that our sales activity was focused incorrectly. We were not seeing that our primary market place in the UK was reducing because of closures and mergers"
The Textile industry in the UK has seen dramatic change over the last several decades. The market is mainly satisfied via imports from the Middle and Far East. This wholesaler had carved out a niche market over many years and has enjoyed several years of success and growth. The Benchmarking process resulted in a further market research exercise. This research clearly indicated a decline in potential customer numbers although the volume of demand was on the increase. In short they needed to focus on fewer larger customers. They were able to restructure their sales and marketing activity accordingly.
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