Case study · Strategy
A tool wholesaler: a “profitable growth” strategy at a time of broken supply chains
A trading company with a strong regional brand was selling more and more, but operating on low margins, and the organisation couldn’t keep up with its scale. After a team diagnosis and 3 days of workshops with the management team, the board received a strategy map to 2025: 26 tasks with measurable goals, owners and deadlines.
Situation and goal
Sales were growing, margins and the organisation weren’t
The client is a tool wholesaler and distributor: wholesale to shops, supplies for industry and tradespeople, and an online store. Strengths: a recognisable brand in the region, a wide range, a high-margin private label and fast deliveries.
Problems: operating on low margins, no customer segmentation or pricing policy, too much money tied up in inventory, and market knowledge largely held by the CEO. In the team survey the loudest messages were: “if you want a job done well, do it yourself”, no time for tasks with deadlines and constant “firefighting”.
On top of that, 2021: broken supply chains, problems with purchasing in China, aggressive price competition and fast-growing large players. The board’s goal: profitable growth – higher revenue and an EBITDA margin above 6% in 2025.
What we did
Four stages – from a team survey to a list of tasks with deadlines
Organisational diagnosis
- Survey of growth barriers (74 people) and organisational efficiency (69 people)
- Growth barriers at 26.5 points vs. 21.1 on average across more than 700 Polish companies (the higher, the worse)
- Efficiency at 3.30 out of 5 vs. 3.57 on average in Poland – the weakest: products, management systems and organisational culture
Market, competition, trends
- Opportunities and threats in wholesale and industrial supplies
- The impact of broken supply chains, inflation and generational change among the owners of client companies
- The company’s strengths and constraints in each of the 6 areas
Strategy workshops
- 3 days of workshops with the board and the management team
- The foundation of the business: a definition of the business, a mission with a measurable goal for 2025, a core strategy
- Five pillars of the strategy: operational excellence, multi-channel sales, “smart sales”, private labels, high value-added solutions
Implementation plan
- 19 initiatives broken down into 26 tasks with SMART goals
- A priority, an owner and a start date for each task
- Implementation milestones: strategy approval, implementation team, quarterly monitoring, annual update
Results
What the board received at the end of the project
- A strategy map to 2025 with a measurable goal: revenue growth and an EBITDA margin above 6%.
- A plan to improve return on capital: faster inventory turnover, a shorter receivables cycle, active management of payables and logistics costs.
- Market and product tasks: customer segmentation, category management, a private-label strategy, a unique value proposition, new suppliers from Europe and Poland.
- Sales and marketing tasks: a contact centre, CRM, marketing automation, a marketing strategy and e-commerce development.
- Management changes: a role-based structure, strategic controlling, a management academy and regular meetings that end with decisions.
Takeaways for your company
What worked in this project
Profitability isn’t just the margin on a product. Much of the reserves lay in inventory, receivables and logistics – and went into the strategy as a separate area.
The owner’s knowledge has to be moved into systems. Segmentation, CRM and market analysis mean decisions don’t depend on one person.
A supply crisis can be an opportunity. A private label, new suppliers and better inventory planning make it possible to build margin when supply is limited and demand holds up.
Who led the project
Strategy Partners expert
Damian Rusiecki
Founder and Managing Partner of Strategy Partners. One of the advisers leading the project – the diagnosis, strategy workshops and implementation plan.
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