Winning In Business Lite

Case Study
PROGRAM INTRODUCTION

Congratulations! You have been selected to join a • Industrial feeding machines: 55% of Net
leadership team within a fully integrated industrial Revenue, 10% Operating Margin, 4-5%
machinery manufacturing company. potential.
• Crushing equipment: 45% of Net Revenue,
The company has been in the materials handling 21% Operating Margin, 10% growth
business since 1972. The company prides itself on potential.
providing quality and excellent service to its
customers and has accordingly experienced strong
growth and financial results over the years. Since
the company is considered by business analysts to
be the company with the most potential in the
industry, analysts and employees are looking
forward to see who will lead the company in the
future. Recruitment and interview process for the
CEO position is in progress.

Our Mission is to be the most highly regarded

company in this industry and deliver superior value
to our customers. This is a new role for you, but the
good news is that you are part of a strong team of
people that will help you through the transition
You will face some challenges, but this job should
help you expand your perspective and challenge
your current thinking. We expect you to lead the
company to superior business results with a solid
foundation for the future.
Your Company’s Mission
Your company’s mission is to develop your business
based on growth, profits, and operational efficiency.
Manufacturing is predominantly domestic with
some manufacturing taking place at a recently
acquired plant in Emergia.
The company serves a global market:
• Domestically through its own distributor
network
• Non-domestically through a network of
independent salespeople
Global Trends

Company Background There are many trends impacting the global

We are a fully integrated industrial machinery
manufacturing company that designs, develops,
manufactures, and sells materials handling
equipment
economy and the manufacturing industry. Of these
trends, you as management should be particularly
concerned with the following key challenges
Falling consumer demand:

The company has grown organically and through • Globalization

acquisitions and currently has 12,000 employees. Its • Increased emphasis on sustainability
last year revenues were $3B, which represents a • Increase in regulatory requirements
growth of 10% from the previous year. Its Gross • Rise of emerging markets
Margin was 40% and Operating Margin was 15%
Business Challenges
The company has 2 lines of business:
The company's main Business Challenges are:
• Winning more business
• Being nimble and agile
• Product differentiation
• Building and configuring bids in a quick and
visually compelling way
Driving innovation:
• Enabling people to experiment efficiently
• Providing alternatives to the customer
Performance and cost pressure:
• Streamlined processes
• Faster time to market
• Changing cost requirements from
customers
Supply chain collaboration:
• Fast, secure communication with partners
• Efficient use of global resources
Regulatory compliance:
• Regional differences
• Constantly changing - must be forward-
looking
Competitive Landscape
The materials handling market is highly fragmented
as no company holds more than a 10% market
share. There are many small companies that
compete in the market by specializing in the
production of a particular machinery type.
However, we pay close attention to two main
competitors:
• Save Plus competes on price, and is known
as the lowest cost option
• Best Machines, is known as the highest
quality provider in the market
While tracking our performance we often
benchmark against these two competitors.
Strategic Planning
During the Strategic Planning session, you and your
team will need to develop a strategy for your
company. After reviewing all available information,
we recommend that your team conduct a SWOT
analysis. This analysis will help your team identify
your company’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats, and ultimately your
company’s strategy.
Business Simulation
During your tenure as an executive leadership team,
you will use a computer-based planning tool to
assist you in making business decisions.
You will notice the business simulation depicts many
of the real world decisions encountered by global
organizations today. You will also notice that some
simplified assumptions have been made. You are
asked to work within the constraints of the
simulated world while simultaneously relying on
your real-world experience to make decisions.
Debrief Sessions
You and your team will receive a detailed analysis of
your simulated company’s performance after each
simulated year. These debrief sessions will be
interactive and will compare your performance to
the performance of your peers. A balanced
scorecard will provide metrics that all teams will be
measured against. The goal of the debrief sessions
is to reveal the results of each simulated year,
highlight the type of tradeoff decisions experienced
by leadership teams, and stimulate ideas to be
applied in the real world after the program.