Managing Customer and Market Information for a World-Wide Leader in Manufacturing

Business Services
•	Positioning a Content Management Company
•	Expanding and Formalizing Internal Processes for a Growing Software Provider
•	Installing Project and Resource Management for an Identity Authentication Provider
•	Managing Customer and Market Information for a World-Wide Leader in Manufacturing
•	Developing Actionable Insights from Disparate, Abundant Data
Communications
Financial Services

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Managing Customer and Market Information for a World-Wide Leader in Manufacturing
A global powerhouse in heavy equipment manufacturing has a strong desire to become more customer-focused. Driving this ambition is the need for growth amid pressures such as foreign competition, geographic consolidation, deregulation, and decreasing government subsidies. A multi-billion dollar Division within the Enterprise believes that accurate, relevant, and timely information is essential to better understand customers and prospects and the markets in which they transact. Clearly defining the sources of and business uses for information, as well as how to collaborate with the rest of the Enterprise—including an independent dealer network—are critical factors in project success.

Based on its experience with content management and customer-centric methodologies, as well as its capabilities in organizational development and mobilization, SimpatiCo is selected to lead the Customer and Market Information (CMI) team.

SimpatiCo's Role

SimpatiCo was a driver and coach through analysis and design and into implementation. Specific project highlights include the following:

Designed project approach and methodology; ensured full ownership by client lead and executive co-champions
Co-authored and instituted guiding principles for the on-going management of information—from acquisition to aggregation, distribution to continual improvement (e.g., “a common customer identifier will be the backbone of disciplined information management”)
Identified all customer/market information intensive processes across the Division within the US and Canada; leveraged cumulative team knowledge to distill processes to key 50, and develop individual process flows
Created “big ugly map” demonstrating interconnectedness (or lack there of) of processes, and used illustration to present recommendations to senior leadership
Detailed information gaps and created action plan for filling, including purchasing from third party providers, gathering on-the-ground intelligence via field force, and accessing siloed information at dealerships and in other divisions
Facilitated IT enhancements for a quicker transfer of customer information between Divisional and Enterprise systems
Drafted information management metrics
Participated in Divisional budget exercises; allocated all requested funds for FY ’05
Managed team of five, top performing clients; consulted regularly with 30+ key stakeholders; worked with customers and channel partners

Results

A Division that once relied predominantly on intuition and disparate data points is now guided by relevant customer and market information for strategic and tactical business decisions. By tapping into legacy systems and accessing increasingly more sophisticated information sources, critical information gaps have been filled, and a longer-term vision and plan are in place for the continual improvement of information management. Additionally, new positions have been created (and CMI team members recruited) to ensure other recommendations are successfully implemented, momentum is sustained, and learnings are shared across other geographies and divisions.