What We Do

What We Do

 

We specialise in retail, sourcing and supply chain strategies. We help you create sustainable value by identifying areas of improvement that will give you an industry lead. We manage the transformation together with you by embracing an end-to-end view of the business you want to create.

 

Using our expertise and network, we:

  • Work with the Boards of retailers and suppliers to develop and deliver comprehensive strategies and execution plans that look into all aspects of their “design-source-buy-make-move-sell” supply chains
  • Support organisations in redefining their sourcing and buying models to create a more efficient and cost effective ecosystem
  • Provide expertise to start-ups in retail and consumer goods in areas such as commercial, international expansion, risk management and build broad leadership that will help the CEO develop the right culture and governance
  • Assist businesses to gain access to reliable supply of goods and services
  • Enable suppliers to grow their sales by understanding how buyers think and work
  • Train buying teams to create win-win suppliers’ partnership programmes
  • Help retailers and suppliers deliver high quality products at competitive prices and ensure they are produced ethically

Retailers with existing sourcing networks

We help retailers with existing sourcing networks who need to redefine their model to remain competitive

Many retailers have developed a network of sourcing offices to get the full benefits of working directly with manufacturers. However only a minority of them operate at a strategic level, with a true vision and a long-term plan, where all functions of the organisation collaborate with each other and with the suppliers to seamlessly deliver actual sustainable competitive advantage, innovation and lower cost.   Many a times, these sourcing entities work in silos and make things complicated for themselves, for their colleagues, for their suppliers and for their customers. The true cost of what they buy is far less competitive than what they may imagine it is. Why? Because only lean, agile and adaptable sourcing functions that are fully embedded and connected into the heart of the business and have partner manufacturers can consistently deliver better products faster in a simpler way and at a lower cost, day in, day out. 

Using our expertise we can help you review how you are set up and assist to:

  • Refine your long-term sourcing vision and strategy
  • Create a fully connected supply chain by looking at the end to end process and removing the silos 
  • Analyse the true performance of your sourcing operations, spot where the “fat” is and make it leaner
  • Develop real strategic partnerships with key suppliers, profitable for you and for them too
  • Understand the risks inherent to the way you source-buy-make-move-sell products and create contingency plans to minimise potential disruptions
  • Guide you to be less ”one country” dependent, look at alternative sources worldwide and make the more difficult sourcing countries such as Bangladesh or Pakistan work for you
  • Create innovative and technology driven products
  • Leverage synergies across different functions of your business
  • Maximise working capital benefits and ensure your import process is cash positive
  • Review your sourcing talent gaps and support you to recruit and retain great expertise
  • Know what is really happening in your factories and ensure you maximise the cost of audits and inspections
  • Support your supplier base to get leaner and more cost effective and improve response times
  • Cut the tail of products and suppliers and focus efforts on what generates most of your profits
  • Create a bespoke supply chain to support your multi-channel developments

We help retailers without direct sourcing capability who need to quickly close this gap if they want to grow and survive against retailers who enjoy these benefits

Many retailers have not yet found the right way to get the full benefits of working directly with manufacturers. In the meantime, their competitors are developing innovative and unique products, generating increased margin and enhancing the shopping experience of their customers.

So creating a true strategic long-term sourcing and supply chain vision, where all functions of the organisation collaborate with each other and with key suppliers to seamlessly deliver actual sustainable competitive advantage, innovation and lower cost, is critical and indispensable for the future of any company. 

Unfortunately, most retailers who still work through importers, agents or trading companies, do not feel they have the right competence and capability to create a lean, agile and adaptable sourcing function that is fully connected and embedded into the heart of their business. They may think they do not need this or cannot afford this.  We show them that they may not be able to not afford to!

Using our expertise we can assist to:

  • Create a long-term sourcing vision and strategy
  • Build a bespoke and fully connected supply chain that will meet the needs of multi-channel customers
  • Open sourcing offices in the most relevant locations
  • Attract, recruit and retain talents
  • Train and coach commercial leadership teams
  • Get access to reliable and innovative suppliers
  • Meet the safety, quality and ethics standards required in your country and your corporate goals
  • Avoid making the same mistakes that some of your competitors have made

We help suppliers to be best-in-class in a world that is becoming increasingly competitive and volatile

As a supplier you are bound to face multiple challenges from multiple customers most of the time. At Big Ideas, because we have been on both the buying and production side, we can help you get into the brain of a buyer and understand the needs of the end customers better than anyone else, as well as help you to create world-class production units. We can assist you to really focus on what matters most and on what will make the biggest difference to your business. 

Using our expertise we can help you in the following areas either by working with you or by joining the Board / Executive team of your company to lead the changes from within such as:

  • Refining your long-term vision, strategy and plans
  • Diversifying your products and services offer
  • Developing a win-win approach and strategic relationships with your clients
  • Getting accredited as a top-tier partner supplier
  • Prioritising products and categories that generate growth and profit
  • Improving your procurement of raw materials and components
  • Complying  with legal and corporate ethical standards
  • Upgrading quality
  • Identifying and evaluating new potential customers
  • Increasing reliability and on-time deliveries
  • Shortening production lead-times
  • Maximising the output of your production lines
  • Understanding your end customers better
  • Training and coaching your senior team

We help successful start-ups who need guidance and mentoring

Many successful start-ups who quickly reach a critical scale in a very short period of time are faced with multiple decisions to make in areas which are not core to the products or business they have developed, but that will be critical for the future success of their venture. Sometime, even seasoned companies face the same challenge.

At Big Ideas, we understand and appreciate these situations and we give you the benefit of having a sparring partner, someone who sits outside of the business you are managing  and with whom you can share and exchange ideas, someone who could coach and mentor you in the following areas:

  • Retail Culture
  • Core Purpose and Values
  • Customers value proposition
  • Vision and Strategy
  • Roles, Processes and Organisation
  • Talent attraction and retention
  • Commercial capability