Consumer and Retail Products

There is, perhaps, no more competitive business environment than retail. Regardless of format or channel of distribution, successful retailers–whether they are department, specialty, discount, catalog, or Internet–are constantly evaluating their business models and consumer trends in order to attract and retain customers and differentiate themselves from the competition.

There are many challenges facing consumer and retail businesses today as a convergence of market forces have created an increasingly difficult climate. With 44% of retail industry value based on investor expectations of future growth, retailers have to provide a convincing growth agenda for investors despite a more demanding, competitive environment. To add revenue, the sector is focusing more toward the emerging economies and expanding consumer markets of Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, China and India in particular.

In addition, the industry is also experiencing heightened regulatory pressures due to Sarbanes-Oxley and other stakeholder demands. These pressures require stronger risk management practices across the enterprise and overall retail operational improvement.

Case Summary

We worked with the senior management team of a large (43,000 employee) global enterprise to implement a Process Value Management (PVM) program. Our results speak for themselves:

  • Improved worldwide sales, plus operational processes in 24 factories in six countries. Results: order fulfillment cycle time reduced by 40%, on-time delivery improved 98%, customer satisfaction improved 25%, inventory reduced by 39%. Profitability doubled.
  • Elected to client’s board of directors.
  • Reduced proposal cycle time by 50%. Improved sales forecasting by 100%. Implemented cycle time reduction program, enabling a 60% reduction in inventory, freeing up $12M in cash, while improving on time delivery.
  • Reduced the concept-to-design cycle time by more than 30%.
  • Reduced sales expenses by more than 20%, while improving account coverage.
  • Increased operating income by 409%, warehouse productivity improved 319%, inventory was reduced by 50%...cash flow improved.

How Thomas Group Can Help You

Thomas Group offers a strong and reliable network of dedicated industry experts. Our mission is to help our clients extract value from their multinational operations, to develop a competitive advantage across the value chain, and to ensure that all corporate stakeholder expectations are recognized and met. Building brand trust, brand growth, and brand effectiveness is the purpose of our practice. We use tools such as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Lean that fit your unique situation.

Our Process Value Management methodology helps clients generate:

  • Economic advantage (cost, value, sustained price premiums)
  • Innovation (new products, new channels, new businesses)
  • Organizations that are more adaptive, responsive, and outward-seeking
  • Bottom-line growth acceleration

Thomas Group retail consultants work with retailers and consumer products companies to help them achieve high performance in these challenging times.