Proven Results

Restoring Commercial Discipline in a Complex Operating Environment

This business was under pressure from declining profitability and operational complexity. Using a GrowthForge-style approach, we rebuilt clarity around where value was actually being created. Customer profitability was made visible, manufacturing was rationalised, and the logistics model was redesigned — including cross-docking to service remote warehouses more efficiently.

The result was not a short-term recovery, but a structurally stronger operation: clearer commercial decision-making, better-aligned operations, and a distribution system that supported sustainable profitability rather than masking inefficiency.

Stabilising Execution Under Extreme Constraints

Operating in a highly unstable environment, the priority was execution reliability. The focus was on improving quality, productivity, and flow — lifting both Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Overall Operational Effectiveness (OOE). At the same time, distribution systems were redesigned to reach difficult regions consistently despite ongoing disruption.

By strengthening operational discipline and simplifying how work was done, the business achieved greater stability, predictability, and resilience — even when external conditions remained volatile.

Fixing the System Before Fixing the Symptoms

What began as an operational improvement engagement revealed a deeper systemic failure. Alongside streamlining processes and restoring discipline, a major product diversion and smuggling syndicate was uncovered. Working with law enforcement, the leakage was eliminated.

More importantly, the business was rebuilt on firmer foundations: transparent systems, clearer controls, and leadership alignment. Trust was restored internally and externally, and profitability followed once the system itself was made whole.

From Financial Freefall to Commercial Control

During the GFC, this business was losing money rapidly, recording a net loss of 9.5%. Stepping in as a partner, the focus was not cost-cutting alone, but restoring clarity: tight cash flow control, disciplined priorities, and clear accountability across the team.

Within six months, the business moved to a positive net profit position. The turnaround was driven by focus, visibility, and alignment — not heroics — creating a base the business could build from with confidence.

Building Enduring Capability in a Contract-Driven Business

As a toll bottler servicing major Coca-Cola contracts, this business required high operational discipline and absolute reliability. The work focused on strengthening processes, lifting leadership capability, and ensuring full contract compliance.

Rather than relying on individual effort, sustainable systems were embedded — creating consistent performance, clearer accountability, and leadership depth that endured beyond the initial engagement.

Scaling Performance Without Dependency

Not every GrowthForge engagement involves stepping into an operational role. In this case, working as a business coach, the focus was on metrics, accountability, and ownership. Over four years, the business grew from under $5 million to $12.5 million in revenue — without increasing marketing spend.

The growth came from better decision-making, clearer priorities, and a team that understood both the numbers and their role in influencing them. Capability was built inside the business, reducing dependency and increasing confidence at the leadership level.