WOODCOTE
MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES
Business Consultants with a Future-Ready, Growth Mindset
Set the Course
Strategy is a series of choices about what to do or not do in the AI/Digital Age.
We help set the course, designing the products & services you need to compete, defining where and how to play, and what type of supply chain you will need to be resilient in a changing world
Optimize Your Business
Operations drives results by executing in a focused way on that strategy.
We will help you execute on your go-to-market approach, selecting suppliers, setting up online and offline channels, building your high performing team, setting company culture, and running operations to get you to optimize your business leveraging AI as your companion.
About Woodcote
How we create lasting impact for our clients
Our expertise and approach is driven by our experience and longevity over multiple business cycles, industries and sizes of business. All of our Managing Partners, Associates and Business Partners have "been in your shoes", are continuous learners in applying new thinking and new technology to solve your largest, most complex business challenges; and are focused on execution excellence to ensure adherence to timelines and budget.
Our Services
From "Setting the Course" through Strategy Development to our "Optimize Your Business" execution modules in Product Development, Marketing and Supply Chain to our "Operate Your Business" with interim management, Woodcote has a full portfolio of solutions to help you at every step
Strategy Development
Strategy in the Digital AI age is a conversation pervaded by technology.
Many products and services which in the past might be very manual are now very technical. Products have been turned into services by the addition of the time component.
Traditional product companies have been able to reach target customer and geographic markets not possible without Digital.
Supply chains have become global and more risky. Often we hear the words "we must build in resilience" to external shocks that would historically have been reserved for global multi-nationals, but is now the norm.
And of course, without a Digital AI Strategy, companies are simply unable to attract and retain the right kind of talent for execution.
Digital AI Experience
Supporting clients from strategy to execution, the Woodcote team helps our clients build their digital marketing plan from developing vision and brand image to creating a holistic social media and brand development roadmap.
To drive both external market acceptance and internal employee engagement, the Woodcote team helps our clients integrate their digital marketing strategy into the core fabric of their business and align the execution plan with the financial and growth metrics of the business.
Product Development
One major challenge for existing Service Providers, or for Product companies looking to move to Product-as-a-Service is how to develop and differentiate new services in a Digital Age in which switching costs are low, competitive advantage ever more transitory, and innovation weak.
Woodcote have deep expertise in these types of service provider issues and can help answer both questions about product development itself AND about individual products to explore.
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How can I create an innovation sensing mechanism?
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How can I leverage innovation across an ecosystem of suppliers, customers, partners and internal groups?
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How can I reduce time to market for new products?
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How do I introduce a "no fear" culture and mentality in which we can test ideas without overburdening costs?
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How can I maximize return on investment for new products and services by managing costs throughout the product ideation, design, development and launch processes without damaging innovation?
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How can I manage a portfolio of products which can easily be understood by my clients, ordered, delivered, serviced and decommissioned?
Supply Chain
The old mantra was all about removing cost from organizations by removing people and increasing automation - a simple tradeoff. What external shocks tell us is that building agility and resilience into operations is far more important.
Historically in strong economic times, businesses expand and can afford to hire without focusing on increasing business productivity or customer outcomes. In worse economic times, removing people without a strategic view can leave customer service gaps and position the company in an even worse financial position for long term viability and growth.
The question is how to take this strategic view but address short term business operations challenges and turnaround issues that may be required on a company-wide or functional basis. The answer is to look holistically at the problem:
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Address the organizational design, capacity and sourcing issues
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Look in detail at the processes involved and how hand-offs to AI-driven automation across a sourced supply base have been sub-optimized
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Look at further opportunities to leverage new technologies and business ecosystems to shift to frictionless operations
Client Outcomes Generated
Doubling
Business Unit Client Revenue
+62%
YoY Growth
+142%
Business Partner Channel Revenues
35
Years of Experience in Client Projects
New
Additional Channels Created
-25%
Removed from Customer Service Costs
-12%
Unmanaged Attrition
Balanced
Time - Budget - Quality
Industries Served
Private Equity
Logistics
Telecoms
Retail
Discrete Manufacturing
Media
Packaged Goods
Process Manufacturing
Distribution
Hi-Tech
Success Stories
Customer Service for a Theme Park Company
Challenge
This company operates theme parks on a global basis and prides itself on superior customer experience based on highly knowledgeable staff. As the knowledge of the staff has dwindled with turnover and the increased digital interactivity of the elements within the theme parks, staff customer service skills for certain interactions has also dwindled. Customer preferences and requirements have also changed. Our mission was to understand these changes and to recommend how customer service could be improved.
Idea
Customer Service is always a delicate balance between cost and value. On the one hand, consumers have already bought your product or service; on the other service is almost always a key decision point in re-purchase of the product or service. Understanding which interactions are churn moments and which are less likely to result in churn is critical to the positioning of investments and value. Then applying immediacy to the solution (through mobile technology) and sharing those resolutions (through social technology) becomes a matter of strategy implementation.
Result
Consumers provided with mobile devices for basic service entering the park | Increase in customer satisfaction by 30% in 1 year | Improved staff morale
Strategy & Sourcing for a Telecoms Company
Challenge
This company provides low cost mobile telecoms to the mass audience, many of whom may be lower than average income or even un-banked. Over time they had grown a set of processes and systems more attuned to a much larger company with a wider range of customers. It was clearly time to slim down to the basics in customer care, marketing, IT, but yet still provide a great customer experience which suited the lifestyle of the consumers served.
Idea
Everyone deserves a great customer experience, but answering every call does not necessarily mean great care and high satisfaction. Often it's better to automate and move to a cleaner model. If you can't automate, by all means outsource to a lower cost location, but ensure that the metrics are in place to drive the right behaviors against strategy. Such a model will require investment, but every investment in stores, care channels, technology is now focused on reducing cost to serve and improving engagement
Result
Removed 25% of cost in customer care, marketing, merchandising & printing, IT and network operations | Increase in customer satisfaction by 20% in 1 year as measured through Net Promoter Score | No change in rate of net adds
New Product Introduction for an IT Service Provider
Challenge
This technology services business has a very successful model in serving many areas of the telecoms and media landscape but was struggling to find traction in the cable & satellite business. Our mission was to help develop a strategy, portfolio and go to market model which worked in the cable and satellite business
Idea
Some market segments have very different dynamics to others irrespective of the business. Even familiar territory can become unfamiliar in the face of subtle shifts in emphasis. Cable and satellite businesses have a different business mix, different history and different leadership styles to traditional "telephone" companies which informs everything from philosophy to technology standards. Walking through these requirements, setting strategy, providing insight into changes to messaging market facing offers and providing introductions helped the business get re-started
Result
Winning first new business in over 2 years in cable & satellite business | Re-launch of customer facing offers (including contact center outsourcing) | New market materials and sales talk track