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Capabilities
Corporate Strategy
Our Corporate Strategy work revolves around unlocking or building sources of value creation. Below are some examples of issues that we have solved for our clients:
- How can we increase our revenues and profits?
- Where do we truly make money?
- Where should we focus our efforts, in terms of products, services and markets?
- What is the impact of upcoming changes in our markets, and how should we gear for those changes?
Cost Cutting
Most companies in Australia and New Zealand face a constant need to improve their operations. This may be driven by changes in consumer behaviour, the competitive landscape, changes in the value chain, or shareholder expectations.
Over the last 15 years, most companies have experienced strong growth and focused mainly on achieving revenue targets. In today's environment, where it has become more challenging to achieve constant revenue growth, companies need to review their costs base in order to stay competitive and meet profit expectations.
Typical questions that leaders should ask themselves in today's market conditions are:
- Are there opportunities to realise savings in our value chain by doing things differently from today?
- Could we change key processes within the company and become more efficient?
- Are there opportunities to realise cost savings from our suppliers?
- Can we reach the market in a more efficient way?
- Are there opportunities to cut overhead costs?
- Can we procure products and services better?
The principal of Opulen Consulting has been engaged in a number of successful cost cutting engagements over the last year.
Clients typically see a very fast return on their investment (typically a payback on consulting fees of less than 6 months).
We are sensitive to the potential strain that cost cutting exercises put on a company and its employees and teamwork with management to minimise the impact of such projects.
Mergers and Acquisitions
With more careful investors and a higher cost of debt, Mergers and Acquisitions have to be more than ever driven by the rapid and safe creation of sustainable value.
Questions that should be asked:
- Are there companies in the market that we could acquire?
- Does the target we have in mind show sustainable revenues and margins and low levels of forward risk?
- What is the attractiveness of their market?
- How positioned are they in the competitive landscape?
- What is an achievable revenue and profit forecast?
- How can we realise synergies post integration?
- Should we divest of a business?
- Are some of our businesses distracting us from the core?
- Would some of our businesses perform better under different ownership?
- How would the carve-out of a business unit work?
- What is the best divestment process forward?
- How can we maximise the value we get on divestment?
Operational Effectiveness
During the boom times, companies have focused on revenue growth, and Operational Effectiveness has often stayed under the radar. The recent economic slowdown has proven that cutting costs can be easier than growing revenues.
Most importantly, one of our key findings has been that you can cut cost and improve service levels at the same time, by reducing business complexity.
Our recent engagements have helped clients answer some key questions:
- Are there opportunities to reduce costs and risks at the same time, from procuring better to simplifying business processes?
- Can we structure our organisation more efficiently?
- Can we increase both revenues and profits through pricing initiatives?
- Can we reduce costs and improve service by managing our supply chain better?
Organisational Development
Organisations have often developed over a number of years, being the legacy of numerous management teams. However, long-term success requires constantly rethinking and adapting. Organisational structures are often stressed when companies acquire or merge with other companies.
Questions that leaders and managers need to ask themselves include:
- How many reporting layers do we have from our CEO to the people on the ground?
- How many direct reports do our managers have?
- What activities should we conduct at head-office, de-centralise or even outsource?
- What challenges do we experience in our organisation? (e.g. lack of consumer knowledge, lack of production understanding, too little communication, too many meetings and discussions)
- Is our organisation as efficient as it can be?
- How should we manage upcoming management transitions?
Opulen Consulting has been engaged in a number of organisational engagements, from high-level assessments of the organisational structures to detailed discussions with key stakeholders at all layers in the organisation.
The strategic results tend to be medium to long-term but we often see immediate cost reductions by introducing more efficient organisations.
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