By: Jose Carlos Hassan Suárez. Partner and North Amercia Director at Zavala Civitas.
Summary: One of the foremost global players in the beverage industry successfully orchestrated the transformation of a previously small-size single-channel distribution operation into a dynamic team of over 45 individuals within a concise two-year period. Zavala Civitas with its Organizational Consulting programs supported their client during this transition.
Context: A powerhouse in the wine & spirits sector, globally implemented and boasting a robust close to $1 billion in revenue, the company made the strategic decision to invest and grow their operations in their main subsidiary in APAC. In a mere two years, the small office burgeoned into a fully-fledged team complete with dedicated sales, commercial, marketing, finance and operation units.
Challenges the wine and spirits companies were facing:
- Market and culture disparities:
- Work methodologies effective in other subsidiaries faltered in their local market, leading to communication strategy misunderstandings.
- Time zone differences inevitably exacerbate communication challenges.
- Rapid Growth:
- Expeditious office expansion resulted in organizational disarray.
- Adapting processes to a larger team and a new market simultaneously risked reduced productivity and compromised organizational culture.
- Implementation and adopting new tools (i.e. ERP, inventory management)
The Decision to Engage Zavala Civitas with organizational consulting:
After extensive deliberation, the company recognized the need for external assistance and opted to leverage the Organizational Consulting services offered by Zavala Civitas.
The Strategic Approach: Zavala Civitas, renowned for Executive Search and Organizational Consulting, conducted comprehensive meetings with key leaders and activities with the whole team. The root issue identified was a lack of organizational alignment between HQ and the subsidiary in APAC.
The convergence of operations/execution and strategy is represented by strategy alignment. When there is a misalignment, nonstrategic initiatives can appear at the organizational level as managers and employees try to set their own course. This may have long-term negative effects on anticipated revenue sources, including missed operational deadlines, postponed product or service launches, and so on.
The measures necessary to support and sustain profitable growth encounter difficulties when companies start misfiring because of misalignment. It is not that the upper management and regular staff do not want to see progress made. The problem is that, even with the greatest of intentions, they are unable to adequately coordinate attempts to right the ship on their own.
To address the organizational challenges, Zavala Civitas embarked on the following steps:
- Identification of gaps between operational processes and the local context.
- Facilitation of alignment between differing perspectives.
- Proposal of targeted solutions to synchronize organizational objectives.
- Ongoing support for the client throughout the growth process.
Tools Employed for organizational alignment:
- Surveys
- In-depth interviews
- Focus Groups
- Workshops
Leadership Development Program:
As an integral part of the program, a Leadership Development initiative was implemented with both short and long-term objectives. This focused specifically on transition processes and tailored communication strategies for each leader involved in the project.
Solutions: Once gaps were identified and leaders aligned, they assumed the role of change ambassadors. The Leadership Development program equipped them with the necessary tools to guide others through a smooth and organized change process, ensuring a seamless transfer of knowledge, guidance, and a shared vision. Written commitments from the leaders and their teams were also signed by everyone at the end of the focus groups with initiatives that had to be implemented over the course of the year.
Zavala Civitas has a record of accomplishment of over 20 years of helping companies all over the world through organizational consulting programs if you are looking for an Organizational Consulting Partner, please learn here more about our service or directly contact us.
