Case Studies

Background  

SMH Fleet Solutions is a private equity backed, provider of vehicle fleet management services. Its main customer groups are car manufacturers, contract hire and leasing companies, motor dealers and major fleet operators.

After undergoing a period of significant growth through acquisition and with changing market conditions due to emission and electric vehicle regulations, the business needed to redefine its vision and develop a clear plan to take advantage of emerging market opportunities. In short, it needed to significantly reshape its operating model to achieve its growth ambition.

Project challenges  

The business had undergone a period of considerable change with two significant acquisitions, a new PE investor, investment in a major new site and changes in leadership; and inefficiencies in the operating model were starting to impact on service quality and customer satisfaction. To address this the board decided that a strategic review of the business needed to be undertaken and a business plan developed that would deliver 40% growth in revenue over a 4 year period.

Our strategic approach

We started by developing an intensive working plan with the senior executives which included a top to bottom review of business activities.

This detailed review of the business created clarity on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Most importantly, it gave the leadership team a clear focus on what was working and what needed to change.

A review of SMH’s market was also undertaken including competitor analysis and redefining the business proposition to support current customers and attract new customers.

Differing opinions and priorities across parts of the business were worked through to create a cohesive growth plan with clear goals and objectives. A crucial step was that all members of the leadership team agreed joint responsibility and accountability for the plan.

To ensure that the plan was delivered effectively, OPS-BOX designed an improved operating model and delivery plan for the business which ensured that people, processes, and systems were all aligned to deliver the business plan objectives.

A new organisational structure was developed, with newly defined roles and responsibilities, including the recruitment of sixteen brand new roles. A Balanced Scorecard model was introduced alongside these roles to ensure effective and consistent performance management across the business.

A new resilient and robust governance framework was introduced into the business and an IT strategy was developed to not only futureproof the business but to differentiate it from its competitors by delivering excellent service quality through innovative technology and a customer centric culture.

The outcome  

OPS-BOX project-managed the launch of the new organisation to 400 staff across multiple locations. A significant program of investment was embarked upon to accelerate IT development and infrastructure to enable the business to support its clients in a market rapidly accelerating to a net zero environment.

The new operating model in a short period of time enabled the business to take on new business opportunities which would have been impossible to facilitate within the previous structure.

This resulted in a successful launch phase which was tracking on plan to deliver the objectives of a 40% increase in revenue over a 4 year period.

It was against this backdrop of a redefined and strengthened business capability, that a successful sale of SMH to a major PLC was completed in in September 2021.