Konsulttiyhtymä AIKA

Consulting for choosing a sales partner

A Finnish food producer that had long been the market leader in its own product area in Finland needed help for finding a suitable sales partner. The company has been facing tougher competition over the last few years after some new competitors became active in this product area. Company Z sells its products mainly through major retail chains. They had difficulty getting information about product sales and selection from individual stores, which made it hard for them to target their marketing and sales activities. The company’s revenue was still under 1 M€, which meant it did not have opportunities to hire its own sales and marketing personnel. Konsulttiyhtymä AIKA helped the company build a model of operation where field sales were outsourced to a sales partner familiar with retail chains. Konsulttiyhtymä AIKA surveyed key candidates in Finland, evaluated their suitability, helped the client make the final pick and the contracts and supported the launch stage of the partnership.

A similar consulting process can be used for choosing sales partners for other product manufacturers selling their products through a retail channel.

Responsible partner Antti Lehtimäki

Program of change

A machine workshop that has been a sub-contractor for a few major clients mainly in Finland needed outside help for reaching its long-term growth targets and implementing the changes it required. The company is a family business that has undergone a generational transfer. The new owners are eager to grow and develop the company by developing their own products. Konsulttiyhtymä AIKA helped the company analyze the current state of its operation, the opportunities of the market situation and the targets of development necessary for reaching the goals. The result was a very broad two-year program of change where the company is developed in a systematic and coordinated fashion to clarify and reach the goals. The program of change started with clarification of the owners’ desires and the company strategy and moved on to building a management group, improving the efficiency of production and surveying for new markets. Konsulttiyhtymä AIKA was responsible for coordinating the program of change throughout the project.

Programs of change are suitable for companies that are usually 10 M€ or more in size and have several large projects of change that need to be implemented simultaneously.

Partner Antti Lehtimäki