A recent study on General Partners (GPs) revealed some glaring shocks. A significant one is that economies of scale only arise after an AUM (Assets Under Management) investment of between 8 and 10 billion dollars by Private Equity (PE) firms. There is growing pain in this industry. There are layers of complexity, the moment investment figures cross the fifty billion mark. Certain functions tend to grab scale better than others. Astudy by McKinsey has revealed, how the use of digital techniques can help bridge this gap.   This includes the redesign of the client- journey across the touchpoints. Intelligent process automations need to be put in place. As far as possible, companies need to involve strategic use of business process outsourcing. Advanced business analytics is increasingly, a part of PE funding analysis. Digital sprints ought to be used up, as they’re often more productive than a longer route.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-equity-and-principal-investors/our-insights/how-private-equity-is-tackling-operational-complexity

Uploaded Date:02 February 2019 

There is much talk on the disruption being affected on organized retail. Several Stores are shutting down, and giants booked for bankruptcy. But this tells only half the story. In fact, the overall retail sales in 2017 were 3.9% higher in the USA than in 2016. Yes, disruption is going on, but the closures in the industry are doom- mongering and far from the truth. The talent recruitment battle is also being fought heavily, both within the industry, as well as externally. Marketers at retail giants need to pose some crucial questions to themselves. They need to understand whether their top brass is in touch with the customers. The right technology and business analytics tools need to be made use of. Some provisions also need to be kept to take on the non- retailers. This is a breed of brands who are now directly selling to their customers, bypassing these retail outlets. Global risks would also at each local point. The store now needs to be reimagined, with Nike’s consultation services being a good example of this change. Proactive partnerships need to be put in place, such as what McDonald’s did with Uber Eats. A 360 degree of risk needs to be considered, while the company strategy needs to be agile.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/winning-in-an-era-of-unprecedented-disruption-a-perspective-on-us-retail

Uploaded Date:25 January 2019

A lot of manufacturing companies struggle while optimizing their production processes, as they fail to capture the precise data. Sizeable gaps occur between projected targets, and realized gains. To make up for this, advanced business analytics ought to be used as a tool. A metric has been devised known as ‘profit per hour’, to improve resource productivity. This combines value, volume and cost to extend the measurement frontier. Using this technique, a chemical plant has been able to reap in, process- level improvements. A steel mill meanwhile has made faculty- wide gains. Google’s Deep Mind is one such app which is at the centre of such a technique, having made use of AI to make energy savings by up to forty percent on is data centres over cooling. This unified metric enables the full tracking of all costs.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/pushing-manufacturing-productivity-to-the-max

Uploaded Date:22 January 2019

A study was recently conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI), to understand the reasons for the relatively poor retention rates of women among STEM companies. According to the business intelligence provided by the CTI, a little over half the women working in the STEM fields tend to quit their jobs. One of the areas that really differentiates the women who stay on and flourish is their ability to demonstrate confidence in themselves. Another is their ability to evoke credit for their ideas. This seems commonplace, but sadly, several women in STEM do not get their dues. To thrive, women really need to work on honing peer networks. They also need to demonstrate an ability in talent management and retention, as this will lead to proteges who will remain loyal and further boost up their positions. This also helps the women in STEM to further hone their brand within the firm. Whatever one does, an authentic presentation of image remains essential.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/04/6-things-successful-women-in-stem-have-in-common

Uploaded Date:22 January 2018

For all companies that are present market leaders, there is little need to stay sanguine regarding the future. Yes, the business may be doing well now, but a quick glance towards the leaders of the last two decades reveals the massive churn. Rather, the flux is now permanent. That is why companies would be well advised to constantly revisit their corporate strategy. Any reorganization will then take about eighteen months on average. We are living in the age of urgency. This urgency can be bridged by a combination of identity, agility at work and the team’s capabilities. Corporate training programmes must likewise be arranged to arrest the gap between the present capabilities of the team and the desired levels.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/five-fifty-flooring-it

Uploaded Date:07 January 2019

One of the unfortunate consequences of a company or professional doing well is the halo effect that gets associated with it. Whenever a company tends to do well, numerous commentators praise the company for its customer focus, series of acquisitions and the corporate strategy applied. But the moment it goes sour, the same researchers will blame all these factors, plus its talent management practices. Such a tendency has been observed at US tech giant Cisco as well as Swiss- Swedish engineering giant ABB. Core competencies and the corporate culture are difficult to measure. The really good managers know how to assess themselves independently, rather than from the prism of the company success alone. Instead of getting deluded by absolute performance figures, one must study the relative effects. Especially in the modern times, no success is absolute, thanks to the constant churn of digital technologies. A clear thinking is needed to ensure strategic insights get implemented. Uncertainty will be prevalent irrespective of how the planning is done, so it needs to be embraced rather than fought against. The inputs need be separated from the outcomes realized.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-halo-effect-and-other-managerial-delusions

Uploaded Date:07 January 2019

In the tech sector, some companies have recorded outsized growth margins, while others have stalled, with much lower growth rates. Amazon and Google certainly belong to the former category. But all this is not because of market share, product stage, deal activity or even company size. This is because of their approach towards value creation. That is why such companies are known as “market makers”. In technology, these are those companies that create markets. They focus heavily on business research and development, but also strike the right mergers and acquisitions. They forge deals that will assemble success. In Google’s case, the acquisitions of Applied Semantics in 2003 and of Android in 2005 are examples of such game- changing deals. Amazon had similar success in acquiring Zappos in 2009. While business innovations are a part of their game, they also have a culture of reinvention as they understand that scaling up is what really matters, when it comes to business success.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/How-Tech-Market-Makers-Build-Value?gko=4d034

Uploaded Date:07 January 2019