BCG - The Boston Consulting Group

Situation

A leading global consumer electronics manufacturer was experiencing rapid growth in China. Knowing that a well defined sales and marketing organization was crucial for overall efficiency, the company’s senior managers asked BCG to help them transform the sales and marketing department from a geography-focused structure to an account-focused structure. In addition, they asked for help to improve the headcount efficiency of the sales team as it went through this period of rapid expansion, and to define the strategic roles and responsibilities of the marketing team.

Approach

Starting with a clear set of structural redesign options and a detailed assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each, BCG conducted external benchmarking on the organizational design of leading companies in China and other relevant countries. Our team found that it was crucial to enable fast growth while keeping headcount in check, and to deploy talent at the right layers. At multiple management workshops, we shared our findings with the client and facilitated work toward the necessary organizational change; the client, in turn, provided us with input and feedback. We worked closely with the client to the ensure readiness of key implementation tools: job descriptions, headcount and interim hiring plan, and IT dependencies.

Impact and value created

BCG helped the client improve its field sales efficiency and, at the same time, establish a leaner yet more effective management structure. In addition, we provided the company with a long-term development road map for the marketing function.

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