Case study:
Management
We stepped in to fill the interim CEO, COO, and CTO roles for an Australian logistics company struggling to modernize their core offering and expand into the U.S.
Industry: Financial Logistics
Expertise: Management
Duration: 18 months
The project
We stepped in to help a 96-year old Australian consumer logistics company at a critical inflection point in their history. Faced with the sudden loss of their CEO, they turned to bodetree advisors to help fill the gap. We did just that, reframing their core offering, developing a technology platform, and expanding into the U.S. in just 18 months.
Introduction
We were introduced to this well-established Australian company when we were asked to help formulate growth strategies to aid a U.S. expansion. Prior to launching that, however, the company suffered the sudden loss of their Global CEO, leaving them without critical leadership infrastructure needed to stabilize operations at home and expand globally.
We stepped in to offer our fractional executive services, filling the roles of CEO, COO and CTO to drive the institutional change desired by the company’s owners. Our mission was clear: stabilize Australian operations, optimize the technology stack, and expand into the U.S.
Why bodetree advisors?
The owners of the logistics business knew their strengths and weaknesses and realized that they needed external help to achieve their goals. After engaging with bodetree advisors to assist with their growth initiatives, they grew to appreciate our leadership styles and deep industry knowledge. It was the perfect, cost-effective solution for their business at its most critical moment.
The challenge
There were several major issues that needed to be addressed here. First, we found ourselves dealing with a client that had been successful for an extended period of time and grew complacent as a result. Things had “just worked” for so long that when the market began to shift they discovered that they lacked the essential skills and infrastructure needed to respond.
Second, we found ourselves dealing with an array of legacy systems that were connected through opaque manual processes.
Finally, we were faced with the challenge of translating a business deeply steeped in the Australian perspective into the very different American market. This required us to fundamentally rethink the product offering, recruitment, and marketing functions.
The approach:
We began this initiative by cleaning up an early abortive attempt at bringing their model to the U.S. via franchising. Once that situation had been resolved and the early franchisees taken care of, we performed an in-depth post-mortem to identify the core causes of the problems they faced.
We quickly discovered that the main problem was the structure itself. While the economics could be attractive at scale, the margins were too thin to support a franchise model. If we were to operate in the U.S., we’d need an altogether different model.
Next, we packed up and spent a significant amount of time in their core market of Sydney, Australia. Here we were able to observe the 96-year old business in action and get to know both the operations team as well as the individual operators who manned the fleet. We identified the commonalities between the Australian market and the U.S. markets and refactored the business model to capture as much crossover as possible.
From there, we developed a brand-new tech platform that comprised both back office and consumer-facing mobile applications. This dramatically reduced the reliance on manual processes for both dispatch and invoicing.
The final step was integrating all of these diverse initiatives into a single, global entity while developing a brand identity that crossed cultural boundaries. All of this was operationalized and implemented over the course of just 18 months.
The value:
The value provided to the client was immeasurable. Not only were we able to help them accelerate their operations and achieve their goals in the face of unprecedented adversity, but we were able to do it rapidly and without skipping a beat. The client benefited from three seasoned executives who were able to balance existing operations with the expansion initiatives at a fraction of the cost of hiring externally. Further, our team rolled up their sleeves and did the work that needed to be done, from developing the new model to creating the software solutions needed to execute.
From our founder:
“Our relationship with “the Aussies,” as they were affectionately known, went far beyond the bounds of a standard engagement. We viewed them and came to be viewed as essential members of the global team. While the commute was hell, the end result was tremendously worthwhile.”
- CMM