Business Growth Strategy

Lucent Lighting Limited

“We engaged Mike & EXALTA to assist in the continual professional development of our business. As a result over the past 2 years Mike has delivered many strategic projects that have helped us to improve our operations, quality processes and systems affecting most areas of our business. Sales strategy and management of our sales processes have been greatly improved as has overall management structure. Mike is focussed, asks hard questions and enables real progress to be made”

Michael Dunk. Managing Director, Lucent Lighting

Background

Lucent Lighting Limited was established 35 years ago by Michael & Valerie Dunk and remains a family owned and managed business. Highly successful in its core market where it designs, manufactures, markets, and sells architectural lighting solutions. These solutions are developed with the lighting designer and architect in mind and are installed in prestige, retail, hotel, apartment, and leisure projects around the world. Around60% of its revenue is generated outside of the UK. Lucent also has an independent manufacturing subsidiary in the USA and an international network of distribution partners. Working with some of the highest quality brands in its sector such as The Ivy, Ichibuns, Stella McCartney, Bloomingdales, The Ritz Carlton, Mandarin Oriental and Shangrila, to name but a few. In recent years not only has the business experienced high growth but it has also seen Michael & Valerie begin to step back from their full time roles and to hand over some of the day to day decision making to their management team - this and other challenges brought about through growth resulted in the need to review a number of areas of the business..

Challenge

The project brief was to work with the Directors Michael and Valerie Dunk, and their co-directors to further professionalise and bring more structure into the business and mentor the leadership team to enable them to better run and operate the business. Like many family run businesses there is always a certain amount of patriarchal deference to the founders. This is reflected in the sharing of power, influence and control where leadership is devolved yet still plays homage to the founders for key decisions and strategic direction. Michael and Valerie wanted to RAISE THE BAR in terms of their leadership team and devolve some of the decision making. In addition to this there was a need to improve operating procedures enabling better visibility of the sales pipeline and create a more transparent and informative sales process. Other projects involved marketing strategy and a rethink on processes and procedures around new product development and quality assurance.

Objectives

• Improve leadership and decision making of leadership team through mentoring & coaching
• Develop the UK & International sales process including sales pipeline management
• Develop the Marketing strategy
• Improve the New product Development (NPD) process
• Impliment a Quality assurance and continual improvement program

Solution

With a focus on the leadership team at the heart of the assignment, time was spent getting to understand the leadership team’s motivation, personalities, and interactions, together with the core aims and objectives of the business. A hybrid coaching & mentoring program was introduced to the 4 key directors in the business and both personal and business planning (ORBIT) was implemented to maintain accountability and bring some standardised processes and organisation into the company. This was further enhanced with specific strategies being developed for International growth, Marketing and UK Sales. New Product Development processes were introduced including a more formal review and evaluation process to align sales needs with NPD. The implementation of ISO 9001 was agreed and the structure and organisation around this quality standard this was further utilised to bring more process control and standardisation into the operational side of the business. Purchasing was realigned to make it more proactive to the needs of the businesses client sand new structures put in place for the production unit in the USA, including standardising product data. This was later used in the redevelopment of the Lucent website. A continual improvement plan was agreed with a view to implementing further business improvement as both time and funding would allow. This included the potential of working towards Investors In People, many parts of which were adopted in advance of implementing the actual standard.

Outcomes

• The leadership team has become more independent and management as a whole has been improved with more clarity of purpose, planning and reporting
• Strategic planning and focus have improved greatly·
• Financial reporting along with sales reporting has become far more transparent
• The sales team and its leadership have clear objectives and following the introduction of a new CRM system sales management has far more visibility of both its pipeline and the core drivers for sales growth in both the UK & Internationally.
• The marketing strategy is a continual work in progress following a big move to a more digitally based marketing concept, with a new website and catalogue already underway or delivered.
• ISO 9001 accreditation was obtained and now forms a solid backbone of quality throughout the business
• Purchasing, working with the supply chain has brought down costs, improved availability and managed to find new suppliers to improve quality and service
• NPD has delivered more, on time and on budget
• Sales have improved their focus and maintained the sales pipeline more effectively and, in the UK, delivered improved growth
• Sales leadership has a much better insight and understanding of the key drivers of the sales growth process and customer focus

Conclusions

The leadership team and the Managing Director are far clearer in both the decision making and general direction of the business, with improved strategic thinking and planning. This has helped the business to become more robust and operationally stable. The combined changes and improvements to Sales, CRM, NPD & Marketing all aimed at Sales growth have enabled the business to manage resources and create new business opportunity more effectively. Michael & Valerie have been able to spend more time reaping the rewards of their 35-year investment, with reduced risk and more confidence in their team.

“Bringing Mike into our business helped us bond as a team, get greater clarity of purpose and bring in many changes that have improved our business. The benefit of a Management Consultant with both knowledge and experience is that they can really add value to your business. Mike has also been a great sounding board in a non-executive capacity and sparring partner to me as the Managing Director”.