Improving business Improving business performanceperformance
Case: Kymenlaakso Polytechnic
and Local SME co-operation
Customer satisfaction < -> Quality
Logistics Conference
Life cycle Analysis
Event marketing
Budget system development
Marketing Audit
. . .
SME
business
problems
Institutional
Changes
in the Region
Outsourcing
Brain drain
Inner city population
structure change
Generation change
…
Idea-> product >market
Product conceptualisation
Managerial accounting
Independent marketing
Business processes
...
Metal Metso,Sulzer,Andritz <->SME_network
Buildpolis housing, wood, stone, constructing
I C T
Logistics
Other
Focus
Industries
Kymenlaakso Polytechnic
‘PRODUCTS’
Project in brief 1
• Players
– Students completing their BBA degree, post BBA students
– Teachers tutoring thesis and course projects
– Business development personnel in South Kymenlaakso SME’s
– Bodies responsible for industrial development in the region
• Outcomes
– Networking; between Polytechnic and SME’s, intraSME networks
– SME business improvement
– Focus industry development
– Educational practicability and updating
– Regional effectiveness of the Polytechnic
Project in brief 2
Project implementation
• Create a system and a network for tracking core improvement areas in SME business processes
• Pilot project development
– Bachelor theses and consulting
– Reports, publications, portfolios
• Business process development, network models …
• Project conceptualisation
• Polytechnic R & D activity
– Improving teachers’ consulting skills
– Connecting business competence with Kymenlaakso Polytechnic’s Innovation and technology Park’s R&D activity
Project in brief 3
Business Process fit
Logistical capabilities
Profit fit
Accounting capabilities
Customer fit
Marketing capabilities
Business Process fit
Logistical capabilities
Profit fit
Accounting capabilities
Customer fit
Marketing capabilities
• Improving our total offering to match with customer needs?
• Defining/Designing our total service package?
• How to improve our processes ?
• Attracting partners for providing a package?
ProductProduct
• Needs ?
• Who are they ?
• Decision making ?
• Decision makers ?
• Satisfaction?
– With us ?
– Competitor suppliers ?
• ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS
• TAKE COMPETITORS CUSTOMERS
• ‘TOTAL QUALITY’ + ‘VALUE CHAIN’
• PROVIDE ADDED-VALUE
REASONS TO REASONS TO CHOOSE USCHOOSE US
= BRAND= BRAND
TWO APPROACHES
Who ?Who ?
self-assessed capability (mark 1…5)
grouped according to the profit (poor…excellent)
Profit Which Success Factor ?
Success factors poor satisfactory good excellent
1. STRATEGY a) market and industry understanding 3,67 3,70 4,00 3,50 b) focus on core capabilities 3,33 3,87 4,47 4,25 c) forecasting 2,33 3,23 3,53 3,75 d) cost efficiency 2,67 3,13 3,29 4,00
e) dealing with new situations 2,67 3,70 3,82 4,332. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS a) segmenting 3,33 3,53 3,71 4,00
b) customer voice 3,00 3,77 3,76 4,25 c) customer retention 3,67 4,33 4,47 4,75 d) supplier co-operation 3,33 3,83 3,38 4,00 e) supply-delivery communication 4,00 3,47 3,47 3,75
3. PRODUCTS a) quality control and development 3,00 3,33 3,35 4,75 b) product conseptualisation and development 3,00 3,30 3,00 3,75 c) product customisation 3,00 3,60 3,81 4,25 d) brand building 3,00 3,04 3,44 3,33 e) process cycle time 2,33 3,34 3,44 3,75
4. NETWORKING a) outsourcing 3,00 3,13 2,82 3,00 b) marketing co-operation 2,67 2,90 2,82 3,25c) logistics co-operation 2,67 3,03 2,81 3,67 d) partner evaluation 3,67 3,60 3,76 4,50 e) network communication 2,67 3,23 3,41 3,50
a) communication 3,33 3,33 3,76 3,75 b) internal marketing 2,33 3,17 3,29 4,00 c) team work /inter-department co-operation 2,67 3,37 3,76 4,00
d) management by objectives 3,00 3,27 3,41 4,00
5. INTRA-ORGANISATION
PHASE 2 Theme interviews
KK
students / Thesis ??
Project supervisor
PHASE 1 Partner search / Information collection
KK
existing connections / previous theses
market research
marketing projects
Accounting projects
Logistics projects
in web / spring 2003
PHASE 3 Problem definition
Thesis supervisor + student
+ about 3 meetings during thesis process
Business Process fit
Logistical capabilities
Profit fit
Accounting capabilities
Customer fit
Marketing capabilities
Business Process fit
Logistical capabilities
Profit fit
Accounting capabilities
Customer fit
Marketing capabilities
IMPLEMENTATION
Thesis for SME’s
# 11 in progress# 17 completed
Projects for SME’s
# 10 completed
Thesis for other institutes etc.
# 5 in progress # 11 completed
Projects/events for other institutes etc.
# 1 in progress# 7 completed
Current situation review (03 05)
Results Summary
• All together 15 partner companies and 10 other partners.
• # 120 students involved
• # 40 BBA degrees
• Examples from the thesis and the projects– Customer satisfaction studies– New customer hunting projects– CRM plans– Logistical studies– etc.
Examples / Projects completed
• Theses for SME’s
» Customer acquisition
» CRM plan
» Service concept development
• Theses for other institutes (the project as a whole)
» IT in Logistics industry (market review)
» Brand creation for IT companies
» Awareness and image of Kymenlaakso Polytechnics business cooperation
• Study projects for SME’s
» Customer satisfaction
» New customer acquisition (several))
» Feasibility study
• Study projects for the projects as a whole
» Business training need survey
» ICT market review (players; customers)
» Environmental Management System in SME’s review
» Global SME (Internationalisation review)
Customer Value, cus satisfaction - loyalty
CRM,
customer profitability,
information management,
New customer acquisition;
b-tob segmentation+
direct marketing plan
Kaihdinlinkki Oy
Kymi Design(brochure,
design managemet)
Customer profitability application
(Manag. Accounting)
Example for one SME
SME business
Success factors and problems
Basic Studies
‘well-functioning enterprise’
Specialisation studies
Projects
Business Academy
THESIS
Continuing studies
Higher Degree
CORE IDEAS 1 *)
• Polytechnic – Business co-operation works as a part of polytechcnics’ main tasks I.e. TEACHING, R&D (and service activity) AND REGIONAL EFEECTIVENESS
• there must be tangible activity, where all these elements are completed at once.
LEARNING• the core ’business’ of a polytech is TEACHING or actually,
ACTIVITY FOR HELPING TO LEARN
• successful business cooperation acts as a powerful tool for better learning
• success in projects completed with/for the industry motivates and builds up ’internal entrepreneurship’ (only 5 % actually starts their own business, but demanding study participating projects, taking responsibility bring up better employees, too)
• creating a new geration of entrepreneurs needs a feasible, tailored ’entrepreneur-curriculum’ and an incubator network; this network incubator works together with local bodies for business development.
*) here ’business co-operation’ is understood in its broad meaning; it includes e.g. study projects for companies, theses, entrepreneurship education (internal entrepreneurship ~bottoms-up intrapreneurship), entrepreneur education (creating new businesses/concepts…(e.g. in incubators)
CORE IDEAS 2
REGIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
• strategic focus industries chosen consistently with the strategies of local business development authorities
• in order to have a substantial impact, large scale activity is needed; hundreds of students and their tutors must be involved
• most important tools for co-operation are theses and study projects
• teacher training; needs for more ’consultant-like’ approach than traditional academic one.
• practices must be co-ordinated; price, quality standards… you shouldn’t give a contradictory image towards your clients
• main target group is SME’s (micro or 10-50 employees ??); future employers’ of polytechcs’ graduates.
• Better internal co-operation is required for completing ‘total service packages’; faculties must accomplish projects together – business improvement is not a faculty-question
CORE IDEAS 3
BOUNDARIES – NEW OPENINGS
Generation change of entrepreneurs• E.g., only in Southern Kymenlaakso there are about 4500
companies; more than 1000 of the will face the process of transition in about 5 years.
• Polytechnic creates a system where companies likely to develop will get assistance and meanwhile new management will be trained in an incubator.
Global SME• Kymenlaakso Polytechnic has about 150 partner universities round
the world; they should be explored for finding partners in order to create a network for SME business improvement-internationalisation ( e.g. helping sme’s to take part in exhibititions abroad, accomplish a customer acquisition abroad etc.)
• Existing teacher-student exchange is enlarged to contain activities like project cooperation, theses, practical training …
• Co-operating in these areas generates options for continuing studies abroad
Sustainable development / ecological efficiency
• An economically profitable process may (must) be ecologically sustainable as well. Kymenlaakso Polytechnic will generate multi-faculty projects aiming at this.
Regional Effectiveness
Débarquement in Normandy would never have succeeded by few generals only. What was needed was a huge amount of vessels and frontline combatants.
Having few specialised research directors or R&D engineers, a polytechnic cannot provide regional effects.
Required is a mass of students (fighters), clearly targeted landing area (focus industries), well done home work and sufficiently logistic support (teachers competent to act as consultants in the projects they coach).
Webster , F.E., Jr. (1994) Executing the new marketing concept, Marketing Management, 3(1 )
Designing and Delivering Superior Customer Value
Create customer focus throughout the business.
Listen to the customer.
Define and nurture your distinctive competence.
Define marketing as marketing intelligence.
Target customers precisely.
Manage for profitability - not sales volume.
Make customer value the guiding star.
Let the customer define quality.
Measure and manage customer expectations.
Build customer relationships and loyalty.
Define the business as a service business.
Commit to continuous improvement.
Manage culture along with strategy.
Grow with partners and alliances.
Destroy marketing bureaucracy.