Ever-growing product portfolios
Brand manufacturers are focusing more and more on creating power brands, in an attempt to rationalize and globalize their product portfolio. For private label manufacturers on the other hand, managing product flexibility has become a strategic core competency. The market, however, is forcing both of them to constantly enlarge their product offering. Given the current global competition and market transparency, many companies are struggling to manage their large product portfolios and deal with the complexity which this entails. Especially after a merger, it can be very cumbersome to get to grips with your assortment offering. Equazion offers user-friendly software to manage your portfolio.
A multidimensional approach
Reviewing your product portfolio will never be accepted by your organization if it is done from a single perspective. Good product portfolio management, encompassing the full complexity, takes a multitude of perspectives into consideration.
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Which customers buy these products?
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How much revenue and costs – or true profitability - do they produce?
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Are those products crucial for our strategy or company image?
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In which stage of the product lifecycle are they?
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Are there any contracts linked to these products?
Based on our project expertise, Equazion has developed a set of analyses to screen your product portfolio complexity from a total business point of view. This allows you to assess various dimensions (revenue, margin, market potential, etc.) across all relevant customer and product classifications (markets, brands, technologies, key accounts, etc.).
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Combining both customer and product information is a must for breakthrough-thinking during your product portfolio exercises. Typically we start this exercise from a ‘helicopter view’, by dividing your product portfolio into four quadrants – stranger, jewel, crumb and goodwill products – according to the product and customer significance. Further on, this view is enriched with detailed diagnostics and, when necessary, Equazion enables you to quickly drill down to specific individual cases. This approach will move you from one idea and many ‘contra arguments’ to a mutually agreed decision to take action.
Not a one-off exercise
To prevent the outcomes of a product portfolio project being left on the shelf, the defined actions should be translated into clear and measurable targets. Closing the improvement cycle with a structured roadmap and a comprehensive monitoring board is recommended, so as to realize the identified potential. Moreover, as product and customer portfolios evolve over time, those optimization exercises should be done frequently. Equazion is the ideal tool to implement this sustainable solution within your organization and turn a project approach into a process.
