JP Reis consultants were called in to map out a five-year strategic plan for a national telecom supplier. Having anticipated a largely technical challenge it became apparent, after numerous management interviews, that the client organization had considerable technology know-how.
The most pressing problems were organizational with medium-term external threats coming from non-traditional sources of competition for telecom providers.
JP Reis were supplied with previous five-year plans which essentially proposed business as usual. It would have been easy to follow this pattern; however, JP Reis consultants are selected for their integrity and highlighted some of the harsher realities to prepare the client for change. Areas to address included:
- A lack of stability and therefore leadership at the executive and board levels
- A hugely excessive headcount by every global industry reference point
- An incomplete back-end system integration meaning customers received disjointed service
- Divisions split into silos which didn’t reflect customer needs
- An unsegmented marketing strategy
- An excess of obsolete infrastructure
- A bonus system that undermined collaboration.
Organizational Transformation: Creating Engagement
JP Reis led an off-site workshop which addressed these issues and asked people to picture what an improved version of the organization would look like. This served to prepare people for change, to collaborate and to realize there was a widespread consensus. JP Reis facilitated leaders from different ranks of the company in thinking about strategy.
Strategic Goal Setting
JP Reis produced two reports; one focusing on internal issues, the other detailing global industry trends and the disruptive effects of the internet on telecoms. This is most clearly illustrated by the global usage migration from voice to data. Forecast growth in bandwidth requirements will cost telcos far more in infrastructure development than they will recoup in incremental revenue from traditional streams. It was advised that the client would need to nail customers to its network through the implementation of OTT services including M2M, SaaS and IaaS. This would require new skills in collaborating with client and partner organizations.
Strategic Road-Map
JP Reis highlighted the order of prioritization for future developments against an evolving industry arena and also facilitated a further session to align thinking of the Board and the executive management team. The work is on-going as JP Reis help their client to prepare for survival and success as the market redefines itself.
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