How to make the most of your back office
Results Brief newsletter 6/20/2007
by Paul Rogers and Hernan Saenz
When back-office costs spiral and services fail to deliver, the reflex is often to cut support services across the board. But a recent Bain study of 37 companies-in industries ranging from consumer products to financial services to energy-shows that strategically trimming and reconfiguring support functions such as HR, finance and procurement is often smarter than making wholesale cuts. Done right, it can actually improve effectiveness as it reins in costs. Companies that focus on support services generate results, and they come in three flavors: higher revenues, more effective service and reduced costs.
What to do when growth hits a wall
Results Brief newsletter 5/2/2007
by Chris Zook
What do most companies do when their formula for success has stalled? Many leap into new markets or consider risky mergers. But rarely do such moves pay off. Instead, we find that companies choosing instead to mine their hidden assets-assets they already possess but have failed to tap for maximum growth potential-can go from unsustainable to unstoppable growth. Based on Chris Zook's latest book, Unstoppable: Finding Hidden Assets To Renew The Core And Fuel Profitable Growth (Harvard Business School Press, April 2007), the article describes what to do when your company's growth hits a wall. It provides a simple framework for understanding how hidden assets can become the keys to transformation.
Borrowing from the private equity playbook
Results Brief newsletter 2/7/2007
by Michael Mankins
A cash mountain used to be considered a good thing-savings for a rainy day or a war chest for acquisitions. Today, it's a mixed blessing. For one thing, profitably emptying a war chest isn't as easy as it once was. As private equity firms hunt for big deals and bid up prices, strategic buyers are effectively being priced out of the market.
Private equity's new path to profits
Results Brief newsletter 2/7/2007
by Chris Bierly, Graham Elton and Chul-Joon Park
When a consortium of private equity firms teamed up with Edgar Bronfman Jr. to acquire the Warner Music Group for $2.6 billion in 2004, it looked as if they were in for a rough ride. The music industry was in the doldrums: Sales were slipping badly, while the cost of signing and marketing artists was climbing, and digital piracy was rampant. Yet, in less than two years, WMG management and the buyout partners had dramatically lifted the company's earnings, by reining in costs, tapping into digital distribution and bundling music and other content. The new owners had so transformed the company that they were able to take WMG public-and watch the stock rise until their equity stake, combined with dividends, was worth more than three times their initial investment.
Blocking China's fast lane
Results Brief newsletter 11/16/2006
by Steve Ellis and Orit Gadiesh
Every global leader today has to learn how to keep pace with the Chinese, or risk being overtaken. This issue of Results Brief describes Bain's insights on the trends powering China's outsized growth - and what multinational firms can do to make sure they stay out in front.
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