Our client invested in a transportation company in Central Asia and soon found stronger competition than originally forecasted. Our client’s analysis of its key competitor markedly undervalued its capabilities and assumed the company would likely fold in the near future. Not only did the competitor survive some of the challenges the industry faced, but it continued to gain market share at a rapid pace. We were brought in to study the competitor and determine how it was achieving its competitive advantage.
We investigated the matter thoroughly and explained that the competitor was offering a complete solution to its customers through a joint venture with a foreign logistics company who maintained a solid infrastructure in Europe. More importantly, the competitor showed a high level of skill in the area of corporate affairs, whereas our client did not have a corporate affairs department. The competitor had a foundation of strong public relations: awards, press coverage, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and charity sponsorship. It then used this foundation to drive its agenda with politicians and regulators, which helped streamline some of the bureaucracy involved in obtaining port permissions, a key strategic advantage point. We gave our client examples of well-run projects in which the competition achieved its political objectives.
We recommended that the client build a Corporate Affairs function within the business, responsible for both lobbying and PR, with a Director of Corporate Affairs reporting to the CEO. Our team prepared the responsibilities of the job position and highlighted some of the key contacts the new Director should become acquainted with. As a result of its new corporate affairs capability, the client has seen greater success in the area of public relations.
We helped a global market leader in building supplies determine how a competitor was gaining market share and experiencing rapid growth.
Our client’s growth strategy weighed heavily on acquiring competitors geographically, expanding city-by-city, and we helped to evaluate a key acquisition.
When a Fortune 100 global consumer goods company’s competitor was acquired, we predicted how their new market strategy might affect our client.
Our client, an industry innovator, asked us to investigate a competitor that began using a similar delivery system and product packaging to their own.
An acquired dairy company suffered an EBITDA decline of $30 million. We analyzed the client’s due diligence process and built a complete picture of the company.
A private equity firm invested in a company in Central Asia and was preparing it for sale. We provided guidance to improve the company’s competitive profitability prior to sale.
Our client felt its understanding was limited in growth markets and needed a strategy, and we knew they could only do this with insights into its competition.
Even when Africa’s GNP was growing, our client was experiencing stagnant sales in its largest African market. We investigated market dynamics to uncover potential causes.