Subject

With the significance of ecommerce as a B2B sales channel growing, the leading biotech corporation was faced with the challenge of efficiently meeting the demands of this sales channel.

eccelerate was commissioned to develop a concept which, in addition to an e-commerce organisational structure backed by efficient processes, also included the expansion of the system landscape to include a shop system.

Solution

After taking stock of current processes and associated systems, a solution was developed that aimed to create a powerful e-commerce organisation as well as a suitable system landscape. The focus was on dividing the existing aspects of the business into the following categories: knowledge, information transfer and sales. Sales-relevant aspects were transferred to the shop system, described using examples and implemented in short developmental stages. Agile project management was lived and breathed throughout.

Outcome

Establishing a modern e-commerce organisation has enabled the coporation to methodically capture the requirements of its customers and transfer them into new features. The integration of the new shop system was successfully implemented within 6 months, including integration into the existing system landscape with CRM, ERP, PIM and CMS.

As a result, the biotech multinational possesses a powerful platform containing all the features required to conduct B2B e-commerce with customers all over the world. It is now equipped adapt its growth to that of its e-commerce sales channel.

Conclusion

Working with the client’s project team and the service providers involved, eccelerate supported the leading biotech corporation throughout – from the creation of an e-commerce strategy to its implementation, both organizationally and technically. The resulting platform enables them to put the focus back on the needs of its customers and convert potential for growth into sales.

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Subject

With the significance of e-commerce as a B2B sales channel growing, the leading biotech corporation was faced with the challenge of efficiently meeting the demands of this sales channel.

eccelerate was commissioned to guide the implementation process and put a special focus on the relationship between the project’s technical experts and technical roles.

Solution

After taking stock of the existing processes and features involved in the sale of products, the requirements were broken down into manageable sizes. Using User Story Mapping, functionalities were assigned to appropriate stages of the Customer Journey and prioritised. Acting as product owner, eccelerate was able to achieve a common understanding between project participants. On this basis, agile methods were introduced and “lived” throughout project management and other areas.

Outcome

The new shop system was successfully implemented within 6 months, including its integration into the existing CRM, ERP, PIM and CMS system landscape. Thanks to the new shop system the e-commerce organisation can now apply its professional expertise quickly and efficiently. The multinational corporation possesses a stable and powerful platform via which customers around the world can access the features required to do B2B e-commerce. As a result, they can adapt its growth to that of the e-commerce sales channel

Conclusion

Working with the client’s project team and the service providers involved, eccelerate was able to provide the leading biotech corporation with organizational and technical support during the implementation of the new shop system. The resulting platform enables them to focus on the needs of their customers and convert existing potential into sales.

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Subject

To drive growth in the face of increasing vertical integration and digitisation, an international automotive supplier wanted to realign its sales strategy. A key criterium was to avoid channel conflicts.

eccelerate was commissioned to develop a digital B2B and B2P (professional) strategy as well as methods with which to test strategic goals and guard rails operationally before the international rollout took place.

Solution

After running an extensive market, customer group and user analysis, the target customer segmentation was revised. On this basis, the core target groups were defined in several multidisciplinary discussions and strategic guidelines for the expansion of customer relationships were developed. After defining the business and operational objectives, pilot measures were created (“Lighthouse Initiatives”) to test the developed hypotheses. eccelerate’s technical and professional experts accompanied the client throughout.

Outcome

Tried and tested from a user and customer perspective, the clearly defined target groups helped in the development of specific goals and strategies. Deriving operational measures to test the strategic hypotheses helped to promote the new digital strategy within the company and led to the multinational rollout of key initiatives. Today, the company has already converted 90% of its distributors to digital communication and transaction channels and, via marketplaces primarily, increased its direct-to-consumer sales. What is more, it succeeded in establishing close partnerships with several online retailers, with whom it ran successful online campaigns. This initiative is also about to be rolled out internationally.

Conclusion

Working with the client’s project team, eccelerate has succeeded in developing a sustainable digital strategy that will guarantee the supplier medium-term sales growth on three levels – direct online sales to B2B customers, indirect sales to B2B and B2P customers via online retailers and direct sales via international marketplaces. If you need help developing and implementing a digital or e-commerce strategy, please feel free to contact us.

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Subject

To cope with strong online growth, a leading international fashion retailer of large-size clothing was faced with the strategic challenge of transforming itself from a traditional mail-order business with a bricks and mortar presence to an omni-channel player with a focus on digital distribution channels.

The goal was to eliminate the divide between purchasing and marketing activities that is still very common among traditional retailers. To achieve it, the business realigned its organisational structures and implemented measures to drive merchandising and accompany items holistically throughout their life cycle.

Solution

First, after a thorough analysis, product-related data were merged into a real-time product report. As the main basis for decision-making, this kept the focus on margins and the efficient allocation of resources. Putting tradition types of organisation aside, staff responsible for two product categories were then sent to a war room to run a proof of concept. Here, new ways of working were developed and primary responsibility for the product category’s success assigned to the entire team. With maximum freedom to make mistakes, new forms of cooperation were experimented with using methods and processes derived from the analysis and developed within the team.

Outcome

Today, purchasing and marketing activities are much more closely interlinked. Marketing decisions are made with an eye to margins as well as inventory. Likewise, purchasing and scheduling decisions are coordinated with marketing and trends taken into consideration. The Realtime Product Report also provides us with a holistic view of each item. Among other things, more than 25 Level 1 processes have been integrated into our working practices, 16 new dialogue formats between Marketing & Procurement created, and over 90 measures implemented. What is more, demand a third higher than the industry average for the year is clearly attributable to the war room and the measures implemented.

Conclusion

Together with the project team, eccelerate has succeeded in establishing a spirit of partnership between purchasing and marketing in the pilot ranges after decades of mutual recrimination and misunderstanding. Goods and customers are once again much more in the foreground when it comes to abstract functions. New working methods, processes and the strong identification of all employees – from purchasing to sales and inventory management – with the product range not only creates qualitative improvements, but also significant quantitative ones with an uplift in demand of € 10 million with the project team.

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Subject

With increasing numbers of its customers in manufacturing, mobility, education, aviation, IT and the raw material extraction industries digitalising, the inspection services industry is facing a challenge. Pressure to digitise its own services is growing. Its workforce, however, is not equipped to develop, operate and distribute digital services.

As both a method trainer and project coach, eccelerate was asked to support the newly created in-house training program with its operational digital expertise. Acting as a sparring partner, the goal was to drive digital transformation within the organisation from the inside out.

Solution

After evaluating the organisation’s digital readiness with the help of our Digital Fitness Framework, a digitalisation objective was defined in conjunction with the management team. Subsequently, the methodological needs of the organisation were derived from the objective by means of interviews and workshops held with department heads and personnel developers. Finally, with the help of eccelerate, a tailor-made training programme was designed to enable selected employees to act as digitisation multipliers. The aim of the programme was to impart methodical digital expertise, both theoretical and practical, through the application of the methods within specific digitisation projects.

Outcome

The training program has now established itself as an integral part of our client’s digital transformation program. Every year double-digit numbers of staff are trained as digital experts. The practical methodological workshops cover topics such as Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Business Model Innovation, Agile Project Management, Digital Marketing and Data Analytics and have contributed to the successful implementation of more than 30 digitisation projects in the first two years. These range from new digital services through digitised processes to new digital business models and serve as tangible examples of successful and sustainable digital transformation of personal talents.zu neuen digitalen Geschäftsmodellen und dienen als greifbare Beispiele erfolgreicher und nachhaltiger digitaler Transformation der eigenen Talente.

Conclusion

Along with our client’s project team, eccelerate has succeeded in developing a structured curriculum that has introduced employees to digital topics and innovative methods. As agents of change, these employees have been a key success factor in our client’s digital transformation. We would be more than happy to help you drive transformation within your organization using this empowering approach. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

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Subject

A leading fashion retailer set itself the strategic goal of transforming and expanding its business model, which was heavily focused on retail and direct-to-consumer e-commerce, into an internationally competitive platform business model. To achieve this transformation, investors and financial partners had to be got on board.

eccelerate was commissioned to carry out a strategy audit and to evaluate the platform business model under development in terms of its competitiveness, feasibility and scalability.

Solution

First, the eccelerate team conducted in-depth customer, market and competitor research. As part of this, it tested the retailer’s USP and value proposition against customers, platform partners (brands and dealers) and competitors. To this end, the team used insider insights gained from leading platform/marketplace business models (Amazon, Check24, eBay, Zalando, OTTO, etc.) and tested the proposed platform features and characteristics against those of the most successful models on the market. After evaluating the go-to-market and general marketing strategy, the team reviewed the business plan. To achieve this, they fully analysed the operating model including process, organisational, system and data management setup as well as the match to the evaluated business model strategy. Finally, the eccelerate team reviewed the roadmap until and after going live and collected suggestions for improvements from experience gained of past platform implementation projects.They then converted the results of the evaluation into a gap analysis and evaluated them in terms of risk, impact, expense and return to close the gap, thus prioritising them.

Outcome

The audit strategy produced actionable results for three stakeholder groups:- Management: The management team received an objective evaluation of the new business model strategy and the implementation process to date, including clear recommendations on which levers to adjust. Additional budgets were allocated, and organisational adjustments pushed forward.- Team: The operative platform team received clear recommendations for improvements at a measure level which included in-depth knowledge from leading fashion industry platform models. – Investors: The investors received an improved focussed business plan and an objective statement on the growth/success prospects of the realignment.

Conclusion

During an intensive four-week project, eccelerate’s team of platform/marketplace experts was able to convince all the relevant stakeholder groups of the validity and necessity of implementing the strategy. Thanks to their in-depth knowledge of established platform models, numerous mistakes could be avoided, and hurdles got over.

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Subject

A renowned mail order company wanted to improve and personalise its digital customer communications. This also included automating marketing tasks and processes to a much greater extent.

In a first step, eccelerate was commissioned to carry out a Marketing Automation Audit aimed at assessing the current situation. The resulting recommendations were then implemented in a second step.

Solution

In the Marketing Automation Audit, systems, data, content, workflows and processes were examined in detail. The general situation was assessed and described as were the current status and existing issues. Recommendations for action derived from the audit were implemented in various project teams. This included the introduction of a new marketing automation system, the implementation of a central customer profile (from a data perspective) and the introduction of several automated workflows. Eccelerate provided the client with expert technical and professional support throughout.

Outcome

A new marketing automation system was introduced to facilitate internal processes and orchestrate customer communication across multiple channels. Various manual tasks were automated, which increased marketing efficiency significantly. With the help of the central customer view, data streams were automated, and a large number of new customer segments developed. The Marketing Automation System addresses these segments personally. The implementation of various automated workflows and triggers led to a significant increase in customer lifetime value.

Conclusion

Working with the client’s project team, eccelerate succeeded in implementing the basis for a powerful automated marketing solution to deliver more personalised customer communication. Thanks to the new automated marketing system and a single view of the customer, marketing is more efficient, and customers can be addressed more personally. If you would like to automate your marketing and improve personalised customer communication, please feel free to contact us.

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Subject

A leading packaging supplier specialising in the plastic, glass and tinplate business. At the beginning of the partnership, business was mainly confined to chemical and pharmaceutical customers.

The goal was to grow the existing business using a two-pronged approach and establish a very scalable “asset light” procurement and service platform which, in addition to product expertise, would also offer the competition new monetarised sales channels.

Solution

After the company’s core competencies and potential routes monetisation had been identified, a hybrid digital strategy was developed in close cooperation with the customer. This further empowered and optimised the core business while at the same time validating and developing a new digital business. This was then used to derive specific venturing activities (including investment cases). After completing the first validation phase with existing customers and analysing the market and competition, a hypothesis-driven test approach was employed to develop the platform. Using lots of small experiments, this process leads to secure investments and customer-centric products that are easy to understand and bring real monetised added value.

Outcome

Within a very short time during the development phase, sales from digital channels had already increased by some 32%. The company’s core competencies were clearly defined (internally) as in order to identify the competition’s ‘unfair advantages’. The online range was greatly expanded on the e-commerce channel and partnerships for the new service and procurement platform were concluded.

Conclusion

Working closely with the client, we succeeded in sustainably increasing sales by some 30% as well as pushing forward the development of the platform and convincing the Supervisory Board of the need for continuous investment. Hybrid models that leverage the core business or use internal competencies to gain an unfair competitive advantage in new business models often pay off more quickly and generally find broader support from the workforce

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Subject

Our client is a Munich-based Mid-Cap Private Equity company with a broad investment portfolio of companies with revenues ranging from €25 to €200 million. The target was Germany-based online retailer specialising in garden tools. Sales were generated via its online shop, bricks and mortar outlet as well as online marketplaces.

Due diligence aimed at identifying the so-called deal breakers (red flags) in the first phase and, in a second, taking a more in-depth look at operational performance data.

Solution

The eccelerate team created a comprehensive overview of the market for garden tools comprising factors such as market size, market segments and sales channel development. It also put a focus on increasing online penetration, market and product trend analysis. Current direct and indirect competitors were analysed, and special attention was paid to the probability of Amazon entering the market. The customer experience and online performance of the target were compared and evaluated against the online competition. The performance KPIs provided by the target were analysed to develop a deep understanding of the level of professionalization along the customer journey and answer questions such as:

• Where does the target’s website traffic come from?
• What portion of this traffic is paid for?
• How much does it cost the target to generate a new customer?
• How well does online platform perform (e.g. website, app etc) and how effectively are prospects converted into customers?
• How personalised is communication with new and existing customers?
• How are prospects/customers communicated with via newsletters?

Finally, the team analysed the management’s business plan, identified relevant drivers and critical assumptions and tested them using market data, expert interviews and a wealth of experience.

Outcome

Interacting constantly with our client, we developed a comprehensive picture of the target’s current competitive and market environment, not to mention a feel for future risks and opportunities. When analysing operational performance, the team attached particular importance to identifying potential – especially when it came to the professionalisation of e-commerce. Thanks to this analysis, our client was able to submit a successful offer for the target company.

Conclusion

In order to really understand companies that sell products and services via digital channels, an in-depth analysis of the relevant steps in the customer journey is required ­– this can only be done by experts. eccelerate delivers this expertise, makes insights comprehensible and delivers significant added value, especially with digital targets. Contact us for your next deal!

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Subject

eccelerate was commissioned to carry out an objective Marketing Automation audit on the basis of which a roadmap to operational Marketing Automation excellence was drawn up.

Solution

As part of an audit, eccelerate CRM and marketing automation experts analysed existing processes, systems and performance. They uncovered weaknesses in the areas of strategy, data, content, processes and organisation.

After the audit, an objective was developed and, in the course of this, a gap analysis carried out to determine the status quo. Since the gaps turned out to be large and costly, especially in terms of data and processes/organisation, a pilot was developed to test initial hypotheses for improvement. For this purpose, possible pilot measures were defined and then evaluated according to cost, revenue and internal resource expenditure.

After budget approval, the selected pilot activities were translated into pilot projects and provided with roadmaps.

Successful implementation of these pilot projects provided the management with the input required to approve the necessary structural adjustments.

Outcome

This made it possible to introduce a central data management system (including all the loyalty and transaction data from every channel), develop central content guidelines and build resources. In addition, the relevant workflows in customer onboarding and extended CRM were automated and introduced to international standards.

Centralising data, systems and processes and the automation of the most relevant workflows this way enabled us to achieve efficiency potentials in the seven-digit range and double-digit growth in CRM.

Conclusion

Marketing automation requires a solid basis in data, processes and systems. But, as always when it comes to digitalisation, the step by step and test & learn method always need to come before large financial investments.

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Subject

The traditional tool business is coming under increasing pressure from online marketplaces. Our customer is presently making the transition from a direct sales model to a digitally driven omni channel trading model. In future, tradesmen and garages will be served with the same products across all channels.

eccelerate provided support for the e-commerce channel by developing new agile ways of working as well as a digital growth program. Key goals were growing the profitability of the online shop, generating new customers, as well as getting existing customers in selected markets to change channels.

Solution

Assessing the current digital readiness of the e-commerce organisation and designing an agile digital growth program. Goals were defined according to the OKR method using hypotheses. The growth program was implemented in partnership with the product teams and divided into Conversion Funnel stages as part of a beta test phase run according to Lean Startup Test & Learn principles. A subsequent evaluation of the tested hypotheses combined with results from the beta test phase provided the basis for a holistic implementation plan for each market.

Outcome

Implementing the online shop’s digital growth program using a Lean Startup Test & Learn approach quickly led to double-digit sales growth over the market average. It also provided a qualified basis for making medium-term investment decisions about digital growth activities such as SEA, email marketing and social media. In an opaque market, iteratively testing which digital measures are and are not effective, instead of using a projected sales forecast, ultimately resulted in a list of portfolio of growth initiatives that were quickly tested and rolled out market by market with minimal forecast variance.

Conclusion

Instead of missing the target with a detailed financial concept, Lean Startup methods such as hypothesis-based Test & Learn help with the practical implementation of growth programs and enable the failure of individual activities to be turned around. What is more, combined with the OKR method, the Lean Startup method increases ownership and commitment within the implementation team. To alter the mindset of your teams using the latest methods, just contact us.

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Subject

A leading international manufacturer of building materials with well-known consumer and trade brands was faced with the challenge of merging B2B and B2C online without threatening its traditional business model.

eccelerate was offered the opportunity to help the manufacturer evaluate the challenges of digitisation and derive an international e-commerce strategy, operating model and operationalisation roadmap. A key objective was to monetise international e-commerce opportunities and at the same time avoid possible channel conflicts with the different sales models in each market.

Solution

After collecting and classifying relevant digital trends and customer behaviour in the consumer and trade markets in terms of their influence on the traditional business model, the OGAT approach (Objective, Goals, Actions, Targets) was used to define an e-commerce strategy for the parent company as well as its leading consumer and trade brands. Specific recommendations for organisational and process development as well as the implementation of customer-centric digital activities were derived jointly using an operations roadmap, coordinated throughout the Group and rounded off using an investment calculation. Market-specific e-commerce guidelines to avoid channel conflicts and taking in local sales structures, were used to supplement the strategy with specific recommendations for international e-commerce.

Outcome

The clearly defined strategy and recommendations provided the guidelines for the company’s digital business and served as a framework for expanding the e-commerce direct business centrally. They also informed the business’ approach to global online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay within an international sales organisation comprising very different regional sales structures. As a result, digital sale grew without channel conflicts occurring. The traditional division between the consumer and trade models was also preserved, despite the increasing merging B2B and B2C in the online segment. So far, the internationalisation of the company’s direct e-commerce business has been a success.

Conclusion

Working with our client, we had to derive an e-commerce strategy for a complex international multi-brand business with heterogeneous target groups. It needed to take in the opportunities as well as the challenges involved and minimise the risks of a channel conflict occurring in a borderless European online environment. A key factor in the strategy’s success was the development and adaption of an international e-commerce organisational structure. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are also facing the challenges involved in a complex international multi-brand and multi-channel organisational structure

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Subject

In order to maintain its customer base in the face of decreasing marginal income from SEA, our client – a mail order company specialising in fashion – was faced the challenge of achieving significant efficiency gains in online marketing without having to accept major revenue losses.

eccelerate was commissioned to completely overhaul online marketing, both strategically and structurally, to focus on results and create all the necessary structures.

Solution

The KPI setting was initially defined using an in-depth audit of the existing approach. Here the focus was on breaking with the average KNR control method, which is still very common today and emphasising CLV approaches instead. Untenable traffic was radically reduced. Feeds were enriched with margin components and disposition parameters in order to control the traffic dynamically where it was needed. The top seller system was replaced by a focus on offers and the agency management tightly reorganised and given a profit focus.

Outcome

As a result, for the first-time online marketing activities were not purely aimed at generating traffic, but at acquiring profitable customers or orders instead. Sheer quantity no longer plays a role. Efficiency is the overriding factor and simply focussing on growth now a thing of the past. Own brand inventory risks were significantly reduced thanks to the targeted and dynamic allocation of print advertising. The agencies involved also took this route, are now managed more efficiently and incentivised according to their contribution to the margin. Money saved was also put to work more efficiently targeting existing customers.

Conclusion

Along with its customer team, eccelerate has succeeded in completely reinventing online marketing. Agencies are now very closely managed, with every partner involved working towards profit. By turning away from standard solutions, a large chunk of the budget was freed up for other projects without this have a big impact turnover. To improve your online marketing, talk to other agencies. If you want to go to Next Level Online Marketing, talk to us.

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Subject

Our client was a mail order group with over a dozen brands and nearly 100 clients. Its goal was to generate budgets for strategic growth projects by improving classic KPIs and leveraging synergies.

eccelerate was commissioned to supervise the transition from a traditional catalogue mail-order business to an online retailer, both strategically and operationally, while always keeping an eye on synergies within the group.

Solution

On the strength of a comprehensive assessment of the status quo, it was decided at Group level where it would make sense to standardise sales formats in order to leverage synergies and where a degree of freedom needed to be maintained. The standardisation of the technical landscape freed up a huge chunk of the budget for development. This was invested in optimising the existing sales formats. eccelerate provided conceptual support in this area, but also accompanied things right up to IT level. Optimisation requirements were collected in workshops, and a portfolio management system was set up for prioritisation and control.

Outcome

The standardisation of sales capabilities across the Group greatly enhanced the Group’s ability to innovate and released a huge piece of the budget. This was invested in the creation of new sales formats and in marketing. Dynamic sales approaches made it possible to efficiently skim off the existing Best Ager target group, while at the same time opening up new, younger target groups without overlapping product presentation. Countless activities contributed to the verticalisation measures, private label strategy and operational excellence in daily doing. Quick wins were welcome. These provided the financial fuel for structural and long-term optimisation.

Conclusion

Working alongside the customer team, eccelerate has succeeded in implementing numerous shop optimisations that have a had a high commercial impact within a short period of time. Processes that are heavily geared towards catalogues have been adapted or completely rethought, as has the structuring of the teams. To improve your online shop, talk to an agency. To shift to Next Level Commerce, talk to us.

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Subject

The multinational machinery manufacturer with a focus on logistics, pharmaceutical, tobacco and tissue industries set itself the goal of increasing the number of qualified leads.

eccelerate was commissioned to create a fully trackable lead management process comprising everything from lead generation through to completion. This involved the implementation of a CRM system and tracking tools as well as the operationalisation of online marketing campaigns for lead acquisition and the procedural and organisational restructuring of the relationship between marketing and sales.

Solution

In an initial audit, sales experts from eccelerate analysed existing systems, lead management processes and the performance of the various lead generation channels using CRM. This way, the company identified the key parameters for strategy, systems, data transparency, processes and organisation.

Providing the basis for an additional project, system issues were first identified using a gap analysis. This created a link between the existing CRM system and the CRM SAAS solution required to track the end-to-end lead management process.

Since introducing a new system ties up a lot of resources, the pilot approach was chosen. First, some members of the sales and marketing team were trained to use the new systems. This was done using training sessions and video tutorials. As this was going on, eccelerate designed the new marketing lead qualification processes as well as the lead evaluation process for sales.

After analysing the performance of the different lead generation channels, activities to generate more leads were identified and prioritised. In addition, a strong focus was put on improving efficiency with campaigns emphasising target KPI “cost per lead”.

Lead tracking covering everything from generation through completion rates for every campaign was established systemically and differentiated on management and expert dashboards.

The successful implementation of the project resulted in a sequential rollout of the project across all the teams and business units.

Outcome

Thanks to the introduction of new systems and standard processes, synergies could be created across business areas and a scalable lead management process implemented. Given the high degree of automation this proved to be very resource-efficient.

For the first time, end-to-end lead tracking made it possible to create real-time analyses of channel efficiencies and anomalies in the lead management process. Thanks to the consistent evaluation and optimisation of the lead generation campaigns, the lead generation target for qualified, relevant leads were far exceeded and the sales target for measures exceeded by some 40%.

Conclusion

The transparent real-time tracking of every lead through every point in the sales pipeline forms the basis of an optimised and efficient lead management process. However, this new process and system landscape can only work if operational workflows can be implemented and the marketing and sales teams involved are closely involved in the project from the very beginning.

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