Situation

Multiple $100M+ subsidiaries of $3B public medical device business with fragmented sales teams independently calling on common customers and distribution partners. Very low level of coordination, shared customer relationship and product knowledge resulting in limited sales resource leverage and customer confusion. The distribution network supporting these business was complex and highly opaque presenting significant hurdles to improving customer knowledge and intimacy.

Action

Consolidated multiple sales teams into one national sales organization resulting in a significant account coverage expansion and an across the board reduction in the overlap of sales reps interacting with common customers. Consolidated the distribution network from over 100 dealers nationwide to less than 30 to allow for more focus on strategic accounts. As a result of this consolidation, the company negotiated access to current SKU level sales data by end user customer account on a go forward basis. That agreement is still in place today (over 10 years afterwards). This data provides for a dramatic improvement in consumption visibility allowing the company to develop targeted sales and marketing programs and provide timely diagnostics used regularly at the street level and up. Established dedicated key account management for distribution partners and large group practices resulting in dramatically lower cost of doing business and a much more consistent level of strategic partnership. SKU level sales data provided the foundation for a market leading platform for CRM and sales analytics and a dedicated sales operations support team for the entire sales organization. All changes were headcount neutral.

Result

All impacted businesses achieved above market growth for several years post implementation. New organization upgraded professionally over time with more rigorous hiring practices and improved clinical, technical and sales training support. Regular access to current sales transaction data allowed for dramatically improved sales force call planning and targeting as well as closely integrated marketing program support. Clear lines of product and account responsibility enabled a much higher level of coordinated support at the customer level.