Initial situation

A medium-sized industrial company operating in the market as a supplier of special components for mechanical and plant engineering in the field of rock mills, crushing and screening plants, conveying systems, mixing systems for the recycling, cement, waste incineration and glass industries with a turnover of approximately €50 million has experienced a decline in sales over the last five years. The company’s main markets are currently in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.

Task/Objective

The equipment in the production processes of the target industries is subject to heavy wear and tear, making the spare parts and retrofit business very profitable. The goal now is to displace opportunistic competitors who are not present in the original equipment business and who have appropriated the spare parts business. Further sales growth is to be worked out by significantly activating the spare parts business.

Implementation

The first step is an intensive country comparison, differentiated by the most important industries. We calculate the sales potential and the market exploitation. Based on the result, Hungary is selected for a competitive displacement strategy. A detailed analysis of the existing customer structure and the definition of high-potential target customers is carried out. Furthermore, it requires an external image/market and opportunity analysis of top and target customers in the selected industry. Finally, the competitors are defined who are vulnerable and from whom market shares are to be won. Target customers to be won are defined and a package of measures is determined.

An essential step before the final implementation to the market is the subsequent onboarding of the sales team.

Result

After about 6 months of consistent work in the market, the turnaround succeeded. The spare parts business increased significantly. For the year as a whole, growth of 8% was achieved in Hungary instead of the expected decline in sales.