Automotive, Industrial & Consumer

The automotive, industrial and consumer industries are facing interesting times. Each industry has its challenges, however opportunities are available to industry participants prepared to think boldly and take action.

Automotive

The automotive industry presents very interesting challenges, largely due to long lead times required between product conception through to production. Billion-dollar bets are made three years before any returns, and brands are thoughtfully constructed over years. This reality means strategic priorities must be based on understanding how to make better bets - a cost structure that allows for a lower break-even and for customer demand for a vehicle to be based on desire, not just price discounts. This focus translates into strategic priorities for managing revenue, cost, and value chain participation.
As one of the leading management consultants to the global automotive industry, Booz & Company has helped senior executives at OEMs and suppliers in Asia, North America, and Europe address critical strategic, operational, and systems issues. Booz & Company has helped clients turn marginal market returns into exceptional returns. It is not just a single service offering, but the resulting integrated changes that truly differentiate players and help clients to not only take costs out but also to attain margin improvements.

Industrial

Industrial companies face an environment of accelerating change driven by market globalisation and the emergence of new low cost producers. At the same time, increasing customer demand, technology and scale economies are requiring ever-larger long-term investments. Further complications are created by the shifting landscape of deregulation, privatisation, consolidation, and environmental mandates.

In order to succeed, many industrial companies are finding it necessary to rethink how they manage risk, make investment decisions, and how the pieces of their portfolios best fit to create stakeholder value. Operational excellence, technological innovation, and strategic cost leadership are rapidly becoming the ‘price of admission’ for the right to compete in the global arena. Doing one or two things well is no longer sufficient. To generate acceptable returns, successful companies must develop expertise across the whole value chain.

Booz & Company works with industrial companies worldwide to provide expertise in corporate strategy, organisation and restructuring, merger integration, supply chain management, innovation, strategic sourcing, information technology, and change management.

Consumer goods

Innovation continues to be the top management priority as companies strive to create new products and brands, or at least news, to drive revenue growth. Deal making and integration are critical skills as companies push consolidation and globalisation to the next level through acquisitions. At the same time, most companies have to contend with a consolidating customer base. Many respond by rationalising brand portfolios and leveraging marketing investments better. New questions are being raised about the right operating model and supply footprint as companies explore ways to raise profitability.

Across consumer goods markets, growth has become a greater challenge, particularly for incumbent market leaders. ‘Natural’ growth resulting from increasing wealth, population growth, and opening markets has already played out. Competition among companies, brands, products, and marketing messages has become even more intense, limiting pricing power, raising promotion budgets, and decreasing the time for ‘me too’ products, which quickly erode the advantage of the rare, true innovation.

From the retail perspective, consumers’ attitudes, needs, and shopping behaviours are increasingly diverse, forcing a fundamental reconsideration of product management, communications, and marketing investments. Retail consolidation, along with the rise of such new channels as mass merchants, discounters, and warehouse clubs, has expanded the meaning (and demands) of supplier partnerships and the role of the sales force.

As one of the leading management consultants to the consumer goods sector, Booz & Company has extensive experience helping clients achieve profitable and sustainable growth. Booz & Company brings a unique, integrated set of skills, which complement those of our clients. Our clients have access to a global network of consumer-product consultants with broad experience addressing strategic, operations, and technology issues, as well as deep expertise in such critical areas as business and brand strategy, distribution and supply chain management, sales force optimisation, trade promotion and marketing effectiveness, cost-base transformation, and working capital reduction.

Services

Booz & Company helps clients chart new territory in the automotive, industrial and consumer sectors. We’ll work with you to design tailored solutions - so you can accomplish your goals of strategic growth, business execution, and corporate transformation. Our services include the following activities.

Strategy and growth:

• Access strategies for new and emerging markets 
• Acquisition screening and due diligence 
• Business and corporate strategy 
• Technology and product-line strategy and planning

Program and business execution:

• Marketing effectiveness
• Mission utility analysis and requirements management 
• Organisational effectiveness and alignment 
• Post-merger integration 
• Program risk management 
• Supply-chain and manufacturing effectiveness 
• Systems engineering and integration

Cross-functional business transformation:

• Achieving excellence in innovation 
• Building successful aftermarket businesses 
• Building an efficient global enterprise 
• Enterprise resilience - understanding and addressing business risks 
• Making the adjustment to low-rate production 
• Repositioning businesses along the product and service value chain 
• Smart customisation - balancing value of variety with cost of complexity

For more information on automotive, industrial and consumer services, contact Simon Gillies on +61 3 9221 1900 or email anzsea.enquiries@booz.com.