How a Manufacturing Company Cut $15 Million Worth of Initiatives Using GateZero

Client 
A North American manufacturing company [Name withheld for privacy]

Problem
The company was grappling with a complex array of initiatives and projects, many of which were straining their resources. They were at a crossroads, facing challenges in effectively managing their portfolio and realizing that several initiatives were not delivering the expected value. It became evident that they needed to prioritize initiatives and cut those that were not aligned with their strategic goals.

Challenges
The primary challenge was in evaluating the performance and alignment of their various initiatives, as well as the allocation of resources. The company struggled with identifying which initiatives to cut or continue.

The root causes of the problem included an absence of tools and methodologies to assess and prioritize initiatives effectively. This resulted in misaligned resource allocation and inefficient project management.

Cost of not solving the problem
The cost of not solving the problem was significant. The manufacturing company overspent and wasted resources on underperforming initiatives, risking financial stability and market competitiveness.

Industry-wide problem
In the manufacturing industry, project and initiative management inefficiencies were a common concern. Many manufacturing companies grappled with issues of overspending, resource misallocation, and project misalignment. The industry data highlighted the importance of optimizing portfolios to maximize efficiency and competitiveness.

How GateZero solved it
GateZero’s Tools and Methodologies: The company utilized GateZero’s full suite of 16 tools to address their challenges:

• 8-Dimensional Problem Definition: This tool enabled the company to build a rock-solid rationale and consensus for its initiatives, eliminating seeds of failure and setting the right foundation for success.
• CAS – Purchase Decision Alignment: Maintaining product focus and ensuring product adoption allowed for better sales and support alignment, optimizing their initiative portfolio.
• Buyer Motivation Parity: Aligning business planning with industry trends and customer expectations allowed for a clearer understanding of which initiatives were likely to succeed.
• Problem Score Card: This tool helped identify the value of each initiative, allowing the company to cut underperforming ones and reallocate resources effectively.
• Problem Validation: Validating investment decisions with the target audience minimized research work and avoided costly failures.
• Solution Scorecard: Ensuring the company could build a solution and taking calculated risks reduced failures in the initiative portfolio.
• Crux Rectangle: Building core strength into the product and understanding product features channeled investment in the right direction.
• Crux – Competitive: A deep understanding of competition and competitive research helped the company avoid failures and enhance its initiative portfolio.
• Crux-Impact: Understanding product appeal to customers and weaknesses allowed for the elimination of underperforming initiatives.
• Crux-Alignment: Measuring the inherent strength of initiatives facilitated better allocation of resources.
• Revenue Score: Accurate revenue projections and an understanding of the product’s true potential helped avoid overspending and prioritize initiatives correctly.
• Risk Score: Identifying business risks and proactively addressing them reduced failures and enhanced resource allocation.
• Funding Score: Understanding funding requirements and optimizing financial resources improved the financial efficiency of the initiative portfolio.
• Marketing Score: Improved marketing capabilities and alignment enhanced customer engagement and market penetration.
• PMCM (Product Market Channel Model): Ensuring external alignment allowed the company to reach the right customers at the right time with the right offer through the right medium.
• Demand Peak: Getting the timing of the product right and avoiding failures through accurate market timing.