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Apollo team members have proven effective in meeting a wide variety of challenges. In the representative case studies described below, each had a different set of issues and unique circumstances. In each case, the correct problem, obstacle or opportunity was identified, an appropriate solution was devised and then successfully executed to solve the problem or maximize the opportunity. Whether your challenges are improving profitability, driving down costs, delivering products and services in a timely manner, gaining operational efficiencies, improving customer service, or supporting a growth strategy, Apollo can help.
Call us at (973) 518-1970 to arrange for a free assessment.
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| MANUFACTURING |
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Initiative-A manufacturer of custom designed, engineered and fabricated products.
Situation-Deficiencies in work processes, accurate cost identification, product pricing and in the control and management of its engineering and fabrication activities presented serious management challenges.
Impacts-The company was unprofitable.
Actions Taken-- Identified a series of systems, process re-engineering and management initiatives that would provide the process improvement, information and control to rectify these deficiencies.
- After understanding the full range of solution alternatives, managed the full project life cycle implementation of a customized Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to meet their needs.
- The system allowed complete control of quoting, order entry, engineering, bill of materials creation, inventory management, purchasing, production scheduling, production management, job costing, quality control management, packing, shipping, invoicing, accounts receivable/accounts payable processing and customer service activities.
- Made changes to critical work flow processes to improve efficiency and control.
Results-The company returned to profitability.
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Initiative-A manufacturer of custom furniture and interior fittings.
Situation-The inability to deliver on time had led to the loss of most of the profitable customers, ongoing mis-pricing led to many unprofitable orders and frequent fabrication errors necessitating costly corrections were driving up costs.
Impacts-The company was losing money, was unable to consistently make payroll in a timely manner and the company was facing labor unrest.
Actions Taken-- Identified the true cost of customer acquisition, design, construction, delivery and installation.
- Introduced cost plus pricing to ensure profitability of orders.
- Developed simple processes for estimating, contracting and scheduling of orders to ensure proper pricing and delivery date commitments.
- Made changes to critical work flow processes to improve efficiency and control that resulted in reduced confusion and defects.
- Developed tracking system to understand order progress and costs of orders.
- Developed marketing plan to attract more profitable customers.
Results-Provided the guidance, methods, tools and process for the company to return to profitability. |
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| SERVICES |
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Initiative-Airline Catering Company.
Situation-An airline catering company wanted to establish a national presence by expanding its geographic reach from three airports to the supply of services across the United States through a series of affiliates.
Impacts-Existing customers could only be serviced on outbound flights or on flights between the three airports serviced thereby forgoing tremendous revenue and leaving an opening to growing competitors.
Actions Taken-- Developed a complete systems strategy and a sequenced series of projects to meet the business goals.
- Managed the full project life cycle of a system for order entry, food order tracking, food preparation tracking and dispatch, delivery routing and tracking and customer billing.
- The project included implementation of a full general ledger.
- Conceived and managed the delivery of a web based system for affiliates to receive, fulfill, invoice and track food orders.
- Managed the development of the electronic interchange of orders from key customer constituencies (fractional aviation ownership providers).
Results-The company was able to expand nationally and reach a much higher level of profitability.
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Initiative-Services Provider.
Situation-A services company newly formed through merger faced significant integration challenges and had an objective of rapid organic growth for which they were ill prepared.
Impacts-High costs resulting from inefficient operations caused the company to be unprofitable and growth plans were on hold because manual processes could not be easily duplicated or controlled in a growth situation.
Actions Taken-- Managed the integration of the differing technology platforms used by the predecessor entities into a single set of systems.
- Developed written processes and procedures for all significant job functions.
- Documented workflow inefficiencies and identified the target state.
- Developed a set of systems changes needed to allow work to be optimized.
- Developed a financial model to identify the key drivers of success.
- Performed a review of services pricing and made changes to align customer behavior with the cost of services.
- Developed Performa financials and cash flow projections in order to plan capital adequacy for growth.
- Restructured the payroll system and general ledger to provide accurate and timely management information to be able to better manage the business.
Results-Successfully integrated the operations, technology and financial systems of the merged entity. Created a detailed roadmap to prepare for successful growth in terms of work restructuring, technology changes and operational controls.
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Initiative-The development of a web based retail branch system for sales, customer relationship management, account opening and servicing.
Situation-The system had been in development for two years. Rollout of an initial release was halted due to the discovery of over 800 system defects while in pilot, slow response time and intermittent system lock-ups and crashes. Two major phases were incomplete and more than one year behind schedule. The program was at risk of cancellation.
Impacts-The delays in the new platform were delaying new product and service launches costing the company tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue. Integration of acquired entities was delayed driving up costs due to the need to supporting duplicate systems. Abandonment of the project would have required a write off of over $75 million and the failure to realize the original program's transformational benefits which included (1) the virtual elimination of user training which was key to mitigate the effects of staff turnover, (2) improved customer service by having a 360 degree view of the customer (banking, brokerage, etc.) and (3) having fully integrated and robust servicing functionality.
Actions Taken-- Rapidly compiled a list of technical issues, identified deficiencies in the existing staff and development methodology, and developed a turnaround plan.
- Managed the development and deployment of a series of three patch releases which addressed priority defects and stabilized the system.
- The rollout of the initial program phase was then resumed and completed without incident.
- Subsequently, eliminated the backlog of outstanding software defects.
- Completely overhauled the software development process and implemented metrics based quality measures that reduced new software defects by 90% and reduced the rate of software fixes rejected by testing from a rate of over 30% to under 5%.
- Delivered the remaining two program phases: (1) account opening and servicing for deposit, loan and brokerage accounts and (2) expanded the functionality to provide enough information to solve customer complaints on the spot in 90% of situations and to open and track through resolution an investigations unit case when issues could not be solved in the first customer visit.
Results-Preserved the previous investment by turning around and then completing the program while greatly reducing completion costs. |
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| LIFE INSURANCE |
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Initiative-The development of a life Insurance Policy Administration and Record keeping system to support a new group variable universal life insurance product.
Situation- The existing development effort, which had been underway for two years, was extremely disorganized, over one year behind schedule, and grossly over budget. The system was unstable and the nightly processing functions would not complete in the available processing window.
Impacts-Delays were costing millions of dollars per year in lost revenue. Contractual obligations with distribution partners were not being met. Further delays risked meaningful reputational and monetary damages.
Actions Taken-- Identified the remaining functional deficiencies and managed their implementation.
- Oversaw the redesign of the overnight processing functions to reduce run time from 236 hours to 12.
- Eliminated the backlog of 1,000 existing bugs and overcame significant system stability issues.
- Developed the requirements and programs to commence conversion of the existing book of business.
Results- Went live with seven new group plans on schedule to meet critical business commitments.
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Initiative-A $10 million initiative to provide the front and back office system support for a new corporate owned life insurance (COLI) product. Modifications needed to be made to 35 different systems supported by an array of in-house and external vendor development organizations. These included systems for underwriting, policy administration, illustration, accounting, agent licensing, commissions, beneficiary, field inquiry, unit value, check writing, reserves, etc.
Situation-The project had fallen six months behind schedule. Two vendors were having problems completing their work.
Impacts-Delays in the launch of the product would have marginalized the profitability of the entire initiative. Reversing the delays was critical to generating the superior returns associated with being a first quartile adapter in this marketplace.
Actions Taken-- Identified the critical issues, risks and constraints.
- Reorganized the management of the entire program.
- Initiated a project office to coordinate the component initiatives.
- Took over management of primary resources on individual components as difficulties arose.
Results-Overcame all obstacles, made up for previously lost time and enabling the launch of the product on the original schedule.
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Initiative-The delivery of a life insurance sales illustration system.
Situation-Significant delays in new releases of the illustration system to support new and enhanced products were totally disrupting the delivery of new products to the marketplace. The illustrations were required by regulation to be provided preceding the sale of any new product.
Impacts-New product delays were costing tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, reduced market share and causing reputational damage.
Actions Taken-- After taking over the group on an interim basis, instilled a disciplined software development process.
- Implemented efficiencies to reduce overall costs.
Results-Delivered four sequential product releases on time for the first time in years. Reduced ongoing costs by 35%.
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| INVESTMENT BANKING AND SECURITIES BROKERAGE |
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Initiative-Investment Bank Application Strategy and Systems Implementation.
Situation-For a boutique investment bank, fragmented information was reducing the effectiveness of customer interactions and manual processes made slow and difficult the preparation of committed monthly client deliverables.
Impacts-Customer service was not optimized and costs were higher than needed.
Actions Taken-- Performed a business needs assessment and a strategic review of existing technology support.
- Identified systems requiring replacement, key integration points, and an approach to support key business drivers.
- Identified and implemented work flow changes to improve operational effectiveness.
- Managed the implementation of Phase I of the project.
- Mentored the in-house technology team so that they could take over management of Phase II.
Results-All information about customer interactions was made readily available to keep relevant staff informed of the latest developments. Costs were reduced by elimination of overlapping systems and improvements in work flows.
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Initiative-The delivery of a suite of systems for retail brokers supporting portfolio management, asset allocation, education planning, retirement planning, sales prospecting, research delivery and client relationship management functions.
Situation-Deliverables were late, did not meet sponsor functional expectations and the software was unstable. Unsatisfied and vocal users had escalated the problems to the highest levels.
Impacts-The lack of properly functioning and updated tools reduced company revenue by tens of millions of dollars.
Actions Taken-- Identified, developed and delivered unmet requirements.
- Overcame the technical challenges.
- Formed a partnership with business management.
Results-Increased company revenue by $30 million per year and converted business management from vocal critics to highly satisfied sponsors.
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Initiative-Limited Partnership Settlement/Work Flow Management System.
Situation-The company’s operations were limited by ongoing operational constraints.
Impacts-These constraints were costing millions of dollars of lost revenue.
Actions Taken-- Analyzed existing technology support, work flows, business goals and developed a complete systems strategy and a sequenced series of projects to meet these goals.
- Developed business requirements, system requirements and then managed the implementation of a system to completely automate the business process.
- System tracked tender agreements throughout their life cycle from initial receipt, through the curing of all types of deficiencies, to the re-registration of units all the way to payment processing and check creation.
Results-Permitted the company to increase revenue tenfold without increasing staff vastly increasing profitability. |
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For immediate assistance, please contact Bryan Mason at (973) 518-1970 or by email at BMason@ApolloGr.com
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