We deliver business solutions to companies who dare to be great. We help our clients achieve remarkable improvements in all of their important measures of performance.
Altreya’s primary service offerings include:
Vertically integrated companies have, for the sake of efficiency, focused their manufacturing efforts on achieving maximum quality at the lowest possible cost for each of the components that go into their final product. As market demands change, some companies find their manufacturing facilities operating below optimal capacity often resulting in increased variable and overhead costs.
Companies facing this challenge may have a significant opportunity to leverage their excess capacity by finding external customers who will view their component manufacturing capabilities as an attractive sourcing choice for their business. The challenge, however, lies in effectively promoting and selling their capacity and capabilities.
By their nature, vertically integrated manufacturers focus exclusively on meeting the needs of their internal customers. Accordingly, these manufacturing organizations lack access to the expertise, processes, infrastructure and personnel necessary to sell their products and services externally to other companies. Further, these operations do not have the bandwidth to focus on external sales while at the same time still meeting the needs of their internal customers. Product Offering Altreya Consulting, LLC can help vertically integrated manufacturers create and implement a sales and marketing function within their component manufacturing divisions. This enables the manufacturing divisions and the company, as a whole, to quickly;
By using Altreya’s imbedded business development services, clients are able to quickly and cost effectively:
Altreya Consulting is able to deliver imbedded business development services because:
Before a company can figure out the best way to get things done, they must figure out what it is they should be doing and why they are doing it. The creation of and adherence to a mission, vision and set of values is of the utmost important to all organizations. Altreya guides companies through our proven strategic planning process. Once a strategic direction is established and agreed upon, Altreya can also assist with operational planning. Our team works collaboratively to understand the current operating environment, and makes recommendations to better align operations with the company’s mission and vision.
Companies poised for growth face unusual demands in today’s rapidly changing business climate. Even the world’s best organizations are often not equipped to develop or enter markets in a timely and cost-effective manner. As such, companies form strategic alliances with other organizations, even competitors, in order to increase speed to market, enhance their organizational agility and to control costs. Altreya has been engaged to help companies define the need for and negotiate the initiation of a variety of alliances and partnerships that have allowed them to maintain and gain market share in rapidly changing marketplaces. The case study below illustrates Altreya’s success with this type of engagement.
The Challenge
Three competing technologies for retail product security have cost consumer-packaged goods manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars each year in excess inventory costs. Improvements in the efficiency of product authentication and identification along the supply chain have been fragmented and ineffective in meeting the global needs of both retailers and manufacturers. As retailers moved toward an inventory management system which put the burden of security on manufacturers, the need for a viable solution was dire.
The Solution
Altreya’s principals worked with a small technology company in Ohio to design a multi-dimensional “Intelligent Holographic Chip” that could become a universal standard to meet the security packaging and product identification needs of the consumer products industry.
Our principals designed, developed and implemented an alliance of consumer products manufacturers (Eastman Kodak Company, Procter & Gamble Company, Johnson & Johnson and The Gillette Company) to fund the development of a universal standard for security packaging and product identification.
Results
Our principals were retained to establish and manage a 501c-6 not-for-profit organization (Consumer Products Manufacturers Association, Inc.) that has successfully opened its membership to hundreds of major consumer products manufacturers and retailers around the world. Work to develop a universally accepted standard continues.
Leaders can sometimes be too close to their organization to see the barriers between the status quo and breakthrough success. Understanding the true nature of business issues is a matter of perspective. From up close, looks can be deceiving. Altreya offers an assessment service that allows leaders to get a fresh view of their organization. Through an evaluation of the customers, employees, competitors and finances of an organization, management is better able to identify the true nature of the challenges it faces. The case study below illustrates Altreya’s success with this type of engagement.
The Challenge
In this organization, years of acquisitions coupled with a corporate structure and management style that encouraged autonomy and entrepreneurial behavior led to wide differences in attitudes and approaches toward work processes and teamwork. Among the factory floor workers, resistance to change and distrust of management was widespread. Immediate and measurable improvements were needed to transform the organization from a moderately efficient operation into a fast-moving, highly competitive, high growth organization.
The Solution
Altreya’s principals were brought in to lead a cross-facility change effort to reverse the downward trend in productivity occurring in a number of high volume facilities. Our highly collaborative approach to designing and implementing improvement enabled us to organize and focus facility management teams on the vital areas requiring improvement. We quickly earned the confidence, credibility and trust of management to move this company’s manufacturing facilities forward.
The worst performing facilities began system-wide change efforts, involving setting and aligning fundamental business objectives, identifying the key success factors, isolating the vital few areas requiring breakthrough efforts and coaching the employee implementation teams.
The Results
Within 30 days from the start of program implementation, labor and material costs stabilized; by the end of the third month, the facility began meeting productivity expectations and by the end of the sixth month, total productivity in each facility exceeded 100%. In each facility, daily losses of $20,000 turned into gains of as much as $10,000.
One year hence, these facilities were considered role models in the organization. In addition, employee and management morale has noticeably increased.
Most companies know what it is that they do best. To grow a thriving business, however, this is no longer enough. Forward-thinking companies must maintain a sharp awareness of their competition in order to truly flourish. In some cases, Altreya may assist companies identify who their competition is. Once the competition is identified, Altreya helps clients perform due diligence on their competitors. Further, we help our clients understand what their customers think and know about the competition: who they perceive as the best competitor, or how the company rates as compared with the competition. These valuable insights allow our clients to adapt, differentiate and market themselves in a way that in fact sets them apart from the rest.
Customer satisfaction is a necessity for success for every organization. Without customer satisfaction, an organization will either fail, or be forced to resort to competing exclusively on price. This often leads to a decline in profitability and an increased risk of failure. Altreya has been engaged by a number of clients to assess customer satisfaction on an annual basis. The data collected and analyzed has been transformed into actionable information, which has allowed our clients to carefully develop new strategies to improve customer satisfaction. As a result, revenues have improved and costs have been reduced. The case study below illustrates Altreya’s success with this type of engagement.
The Challenge
A national service firm offers complete laundering, servicing, delivery and distribution systems. to the healthcare industry This $250 million division of a $600 million firm experienced a significant increase in customer defections over a two-year period, and the cost of losing these customers escalated to $34 million at the end of this period. The firm strives to be the premier provider of textile rental and laundering services in the healthcare industry. In order to achieve its aggressive objective, the firm sought first to stem the losses from contract cancellations by reducing customer defections to zero.
While senior management was being told that price was the primary driver of contract cancellations, no data existed to support the argument that prices needed to be lowered.
The Solution
Altreya custom designed and implemented two separate customer assessment instruments. The first instrument was designed to identify and understand the key drivers of customer satisfaction. This instrument was fielded among our client’s former customers. Results from the first survey were used to design the second survey instrument.
The second instrument was designed to assess our client’s performance vs. their customers’ expectations. This instrument was fielded among nearly 2,000 current customers.
Our principals tabulated and analyzed the survey results and identified the priority areas requiring improvement.
The Results
Early in 2000, our client implemented initiatives that addressed the top three priority areas raised by former and current customers. Their improvement efforts yielded impressive results:
Having motivated and satisfied employees is a necessity for success in every organization. Without it, an organization risks alienating customers and suppliers and increasing the risk of failure. Altreya has been engaged by a number of clients to assess employee satisfaction on an annual basis. The data collected and analyzed has been transformed into actionable information, which has allowed our clients to carefully develop new strategies to improve employee satisfaction. As a result, revenues have improved and costs have been reduced. The case study below illustrates Altreya’s success with this type of engagement.
The Challenge
As the premiere service provider in its industry, a provider of raw materials for the printing and publishing industry sought to dramatically increase its return on capital employed. Altreya was engaged to lead an effort which would identify and address critical customer, employee, shareholder and operational barriers to success.
The Solution
In order to quickly isolate and prioritize the key barriers, Altreya began by focusing on the employee. Our principals teamed with the client to conduct an Employee Satisfaction Assessment, to identify the vital few drivers of employee disloyalty. In addition, an operational excellence audit (based upon The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria) was conducted to identify the specific operational areas requiring improvement. Once the barriers were isolated and prioritized, small, cross-functional teams were empowered to develop plans to overcome these issues. As a result of several team initiatives, the organization simplified its mission-critical processes and eliminated wasteful activities.
The Results
Not only did Altreya jumpstart this client’s change effort, but the way in which it was implemented showed this organization that a high performance management model was required to continuously achieve its goals. As a result, the firm was able to accelerate profit growth while its revenues doubled over a two-year period.
Sales channels, whether direct, online or through partners, play a crucial role in customer acquisition and retention, and must provide responsive, high-quality service while maintaining profitability goals. Altreya helps companies grow revenue by enhancing and integrating their sales management capabilities. Our sales force optimization solutions have enabled companies to leverage their relationships across the organization, no matter how complex, as well as identify, track and forecast opportunities to achieve superior performance.
Most distribution channels are outdated and unwieldy, serving neither customers nor channel partners adequately. When working to transform the Go-to-Market Strategy, it is important to consider a number of factors, including the configuration of the existing industry channels, an assessment of one’s existing approach to the channel(s), any conflicts that might exist, as well as opportunities for collaboration across brands and/or product lines. We provide a fresh approach to enable our clients to best serve customers, and reap appropriate rewards. We also provide guidance on managing multiple cannels, and overcoming common barriers that impede transformation.
Universities and research institutions are often torn between their mission to advance discovery and knowledge and their need for revenue to fund operations and grow the institution. Few of these organizations have the commercial experience, expertise, proven processes and infrastructure needed to effectively derive the majority of the value created by research because internal efforts tend to be:
Altreya works with clients to maximize the commercial potential of their IP portfolio to identify and further develop and/or commercialize significant new technologies that fill unmet market needs. The case study below illustrates Altreya’s success with this type of engagement.
The Challenge
Altreya was engaged to evaluate a set of related patents in a client’s intellectual property portfolio to determine whether they could be readily moved from an idea into a commercial opportunity, thus addressing a significant market need.
The Solution
Altreya determined that the size of the opportunity, in dollars, was significant and worth pursuing. Altreya also found that capitalizing on the opportunity was technically feasible and that the marketplace would likely accept the proposed solution. Further, Altreya found that the opportunity could be developed and captured in a reasonable timeframe.
The Results
Our client invested in further protecting the intellectual property and developing a commercialization plan that would generate substantial revenues.