The Executive Edge Newsletter December 2007
Achieving Profitable and Controlled Growth
Midsize Growth and Profitability Resources
The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Answer
Achieving Profitable and Controlled Growth
Midsize businesses face some of the same challenges as larger enterprises: dealing with the constantly shifting priorities of customers, acquiring and retaining talent, operating in multiple geographies and complying with government regulations, to name a few. But they handle these challenges in quite different ways.
While today’s midsize businesses are difficult to categorize, they do have common attributes. Most of them are focused on achieving profitable and controlled growth. In many cases they have deep expertise in a narrow field and serve niche markets. They are also pragmatic about change and they identify flexibility and adaptability as key enablers of success. The most successful midsize businesses have implemented best practices that lead to financial gains. In this exclusive white paper, Oliver Wyman Group looks at some of the common attributes of these successful midsize companies.
According to a recent study by Wyman, those midsize businesses that excel at managing profitable growth have six common distinguishing features:
· Disciplined execution at all levels
· A culture in which people readily adapt to change
· An entire business focused on a few initiatives
· Ability to make effective trade-off decisions about investment
· Strong metrics and feedback loops
· Promotion of excellence in execution
Some of the highly successful organizations Oliver Wyman Group has identified have invested heavily in technology, and they use IT as a key enabler of flexibility, adaptability and performance. In most cases, they have built some key element of their software systems on their own at considerable time and cost.
While it makes sense for these companies to follow this potentially expensive path, most business environments don’t allow for such an expense in time, money and resources. As a result, most midsize businesses are left with an IT infrastructure that either does not offer the breadth and depth of functionality that they require, or it lacks the flexibility and adaptability they really need.
These organizations need a new type of software. The enterprise software market has not offered what many midsize businesses truly need: a comprehensive solution that is flexible and transparent, easy to implement and easy to modify. Such a solution would allow executives to focus on their business and not on IT and more easily respond to changing customer requirements.
Download the complete Oliver Wyman Group white paper "Achieving Profitable and Controlled Growth as a Midsize Company."
Midsize Growth and Profitability Resources
These sites provide helpful advice on how midsize companies can achieve growth and profitability:
Change Management Learning Center
www.change-management.com
This site has links to articles, Webinars and other resources on various aspects of change management.
IT Infrastructure Library
www.itil-officialsite.com/home/home.asp
Learn all about the ITIL and how it can help organizations improve IT services and manage change. The site includes news, updates, documentation and related links.
Managing Automation
www.managingautomation.com/maonline/channel/SmalltoMidsizeBusinessesSMB
This site, primarily serving small and midsize manufacturers, includes links to resources on business intelligence, quality management, human resources, financials and product lifecycle management.
Montgomery Research
www.midmarketstrategies.com/documents.asp?d_ID=4501
This site offers articles, case studies, interviews and white papers on innovation, success strategies, building infrastructure, improving performance, connecting to customers, mobilizing a workforce and supply chain management.
TechRepublic
search.techrepublic.com.com/search/midsize+business.html
This site offers a wealth of articles on strategies for success, business continuity, security and other topics.
The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Answer
Diversify your product line. Stick to your knitting. Hire a professional manager. Watch fixed costs. These are some of the suggestions entrepreneurs sort through as they try to get their ventures off the ground. Why all the conflicting advice? Because in a young company, all decisions are up for grabs. Amar Bhide, in this article from Harvard Business Review, describes a three-step sequence of questions that all entrepreneurs must ask themselves in order to deal with the array of opportunities and challenges they face. Full story (PDF format)
About Us
SophLogic Global is a leading SAP Business All-in-One solutions provider based in Bradenton, Fl. Whether you are considering your first project or planning a migration to the latest technology, we offer a wide variety of solutions to meet your growing needs. As a preferred SAP solutions partner we provide SAP professional services for leading small and midsize companies across North America.
About SAP Business All-in-One
The SAP Business All-in-One solution enables midsize companies to optimize all facets of their operations - and manage both operational efficiency and growth. ERP and CRM software support core business processes. Business analytics and reporting capabilities offer visibility into business operations and performance. SAP Business All-in-One solutions are industry-specific and can be tailored by our partners to meet most specific business needs.
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