Enabling Effective Thinking

Go-to-Market Planning, Global Alternative Energy

An alternative energy company headquartered in Asia is finalizing its go-to-market strategy in 19 different countries across Europe. Although an expert in the space in their home region, our client is less familiar with local market dynamics in Europe, particularly around distribution, installation and regulation.

Solution

AlphaSights arranges a European market exploration trip with over 100 telephone consultations in preparation, and over 20 meetings during the client’s 3-week trip. Local industry advisors include:

• Distributors and other potential business partners
• Installers and other end clients
• Regulatory experts with local understanding
• Former executives of key incumbents in each market

Impact

Local Familiarity: Our client extends its network in Europe and gains valuable insight into the unique regulatory, distribution and marketing challenges in each market.

Key Acquisition: In-depth, face-to-face consultations with local experts enable our client to identify and then quickly execute a strategically relevant acquisition, giving them a leg-up in a large potential market.

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Acquisition Due Diligence, Oil Equipment & Services

A manufacturer of edible and non-hazardous oils is considering buying a target specialising in the storage and shipment of edible oils and biofuels with a view to integrating its supply chain. Our client requires a detailed overview of the downstream industry by speaking with decision-makers at companies requiring storage and shipping services.

Solution

AlphaSights arranges one-on-one interactions (in-person meetings and calls) with the following individuals:

• Business Development Director, port controller
• Commodities Trader (edible oils), multinational food producer (channel partner)
• COO, international agribusiness and vegetable oil trader (supply chain & customer)
• Food Products Director, global agribusiness and food company (financial & operational)
• Unit Leader (former), Biofuels manufacturer (operational & customer)

Impact

360 Degree Knowledge: Such a range of Expert Advisors provided the client with channel partner, supply chain, customer, finance and operational perspectives, giving them a holistic understanding of the opportunity

Better Decisions: Discussions with suppliers and key customers helped our client evaluate the medium term viability of the business, and inform their decision to move ahead with the potential acquisition.

HR Function Benchmarking & Re-Design, Global Engineering

Our client, a global engineering conglomerate, is seeking to benchmark and subsequently re-design its human resources function. Our client is looking to understand best practice HR in a comparable setting as a potential guide to its own redesign.

Solution

AlphaSights facilitates 8 telephone consultations over a 1-week period with advisors who have experience in HR policy origination and implementation:

• Former Heads of Human Resources / Heads of Talent at three similar organizations
• CIOs and technical architects with deep HR process and software knowledge
• HR industry experts providing insight into industry trends and latest thinking

Impact

Industry Best Practice: Our client quickly and efficiently gains a thorough understanding of current best practice in HR in the context of a global, multi-segment engineering conglomerate and takes this into consideration as it scopes out its own organizational redesign project.

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Research and Design Best Practice, Electronics

Our client, an R&D director at a global multinational conglomerate, wanted to improve global R&D centers to become a top tier player in the electronics space. In connection with this, they were hoping to gain a solid understanding of R&D management and operational best practice in the space.

Solution

AlphaSights identified a number of experts whose unique perspectives would enable our client to quickly understand R&D operational best practice in the electronics space, and within 72 hours we connected our clients:

• Former Chief Technologist at a global automotive manufacturer: Advisor was directly responsible for all R&D efforts, including electronics, integrated systems, robotics, energy and ITS, as well as outsourced functions.
• Former R&D Director at a global consumer electronics manufacturer: Advisor was responsible for overseeing R&D processes for a range of products, specifically highly knowledgeable on in-house and outsourced R&D best practice of electronics companies in Asia.

Impact

Authoritative Expertise: In-depth conversations with former executives revealed effective R&D operational models that could be quickly implemented within our client’s organization and highlighted the key strengths and weaknesses of each.

Directional Intelligence: Exposed specific R&D managerial best practice, specifically allowing our client to identify management programs and governance models to investigate further.

New Product Development, Food Production

Our client, a leading global food producer, was looking to improve their product offerings. In connection with this, they needed to identify how firms in the food production space utilize natural ingredients and understand overall consumer trends.

Solution

AlphaSights identified a number of experts whose unique perspectives would enable our client to quickly understand the synthetic and natural ingredients space and within 72 hours we connected our clients with:

• Former R&D Director at global food producer. Advisor managed two global R&D centers and was responsible for overseeing R&D for a wide array of categories, including innovation for a grass-fed meat frozen lunch line.
• Former Vice President of R&D Europe at multinational food producer. Advisor held responsibility for developing research and innovation strategies for all food colouring, fruit-juices, syrups, foods and spreads in Europe.
• Former European R&D Manager at leading global food producer. Responsible for frozen food and bakery product development, Advisor was a specialist in food ingredient innovation and could provide insights on the best practice natural ingredient usage.

Impact

Expert Insight: In-depth consultations enabled our client to understand best practice in replacing synthetic ingredients with natural alternatives, which further informed their product line analysis.

Idea Generation: Expert interviews with senior R&D professionals in the space revealed current consumer trends and those in which food producers are reacting to most aggressively, leading our client to spot opportunities and take decisive steps forward.

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Global Cosmetics Strategy

As part of a strategic innovation process review, our client, a multinational cosmetics corporate, needed to complement their product innovation. In connection with this, they wanted to understand how to incentivize innovation.

Solution

AlphaSights identified a number of experts whose unique perspectives would enable our client to quickly gain fresh perspectives around product innovation, and within 72 hours we connected our clients with:

• Former Senior Director of Product Innovation at a leading multinational cosmetics corporate. Advisor was the Lead Formulator for the beauty care arm, responsible for driving innovation, therefore could give examples of how cosmetic companies define and promote innovation.
• Former Innovation Officer at a leading US personal goods corporate. Advisor could speak to resource allocation between innovation projects as well as breakout/sustaining strategies. Advisor could provide insight into best practice innovation resource allocation models and how “performance-metric thinking” varies between different personal and skin care corporates.

Impact

Combinatorial Thinking: In-depth consultations with former executives revealed strengths and weaknesses of organizational design models and best practice, informing our client’s evaluation exercise.

Actionable Knowledge: Insight gathered from discussions led to new ways of thinking around the key elements of best-in-class product innovation structures and processes.

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VW Emissions Scandal, International Business

After it was revealed that Volkswagen, a major automobile manufacturer, had covered up the true environmental impact of its cars, a number of investors were asking if the issue was confined to the US and what the implications of the expose would be for VW. Our client was looking to identify an expert to lead an event for their end clients on this matter.

Solution

AlphaSights facilitates multiple conversations for the client to assess the suitability of a number of experts including:

• Former Chief of US Environmental Protection Agency’s Compliance Office.
• Former Chief Executive of a leading European emissions analytics company

Impact

Handpicked Expertise: In all, 6 meetings / conference calls were held and our client then selected one of the experts for a two-day road show. During this, 24 different institutions discussed their questions with him. AlphaSights sourced both experts within 48 hours of the initial brief from the client and assisted in setting up the road show.

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AlphaView on OPEC and the oil market

During recent volatility and price fluctuations in the oil market, investors and decision-makers were struggling to interpret and predict the short-term outlook. Following a critical OPEC meeting, a number of investors contacted AlphaSights with knowledge gaps.

Solution

AlphaSights facilitates an AlphaView, a multi-party conference call, within a few days led by:

• Dr. Mohammad Al Sabban, former Senior Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Petroleum of Saudi Arabia for 27 years. A renowned expert on the global oil industry, he represented Saudi Arabia at the first OPEC Long-Term Strategy Committee and as a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of the Saudi Supreme Economic Council.

Impact

Unique Perspectives: Clients were able to hear insights directly from one of the world’s foremost experts in the field and put their own questions to the Expert, including specific questions around OPEC, shale oil, as well as price predictions.