The challenge

GAMA had enjoyed a long track record of incremental growth until the Covid 19 pandemic created a global explosion in demand for IPC equipment. The company’s steady expansion into new territories was disrupted by the sudden emergence of requirements in 42 different countries.

The company needed to review its long-term strategy to take advantage of immediate opportunities while remaining focused on sustainable growth. Following a personal recommendation, they asked Change Associates to help.

What we did

Our consultants spent three months reviewing and updating the existing GAMA strategy before turning it into a four-year objective-driven plan with a detailed execution plan for year one.

We helped the CFO, and directors of marketing, R&D and HR to create functional plans to achieve the overarching business objectives.

We worked particularly closely with marketing and sales to develop a strategy of international expansion in a world where the immediate opportunities were immense but unlikely to be sustainable at that level in the long term. This involved developing a playbook for entering a new territory, which included a prioritisation matrix for targeting new countries.

We led a process mapping exercise to identify and address any supply chain issues that might impede growth, and a project with the R&D team to manage the product portfolio to ensure a pipeline of products to go to the global market.

Reconsidering the operating model

Our recommendations during the project required a rethink of the organisation’s operating model and created new roles and opportunities. We used orgvue™ to model and cost alternative options and to advise on recruitment priorities.

CRM selection and implementation

As these immediate priorities were addressed, we were asked to help with the selection and implementation of a new CRM. After a competitive bidding process, we negotiated and contracted with Salesforce on behalf of GAMA, acting as their system implementers and providing change management support. We brought in specialists to assist with data cleansing, testing, preparation, and execution.

The quality of our work enabled us to play a key role in advising the co-CEOs and CFO on managing strategic and operational challenges in the business.

The result

• The leadership team has a strategy underpinned by a detailed plan and a clear set of organisational objectives.
• Members of the leadership team report a greater sense of alignment with better and quicker decision making.
• Key functions have objectives and metrics against which they report to the leadership team.
• The company now uses an agreed process for prioritising and planning international expansion.
• Salesforce went live on time and on budget in a ‘big bang’ implementation.
• The IT architecture of the company is transparent and clear.
• For the first time, HR has clarity of headcount and structure.

Image (c) GAMA Healthcare