A direct marketing company, long established in media sales to the consumer sector, had experienced declining revenue and margins. Simultaneously, costs had risen and new entrants were stealing market share in what was already a mature sector.

New technology coupled with growing on-line consumer buying habits presented an opportunity that was not being grasped.

Investment in Technology using SAP had been completed without restructuring the organisation and this, coupled with the unreliability of the Systems had further impacted on the business.

Managing the business and attempting to resolve the systems issues further detracted from the urgent need to upgrade the marketing and sales of the companies products.

Leadership within the organisation had not been prepared for either the challenge of new technology or the increasing competition in the market. Error rates were high and productivity was identified at 50% of pre-SAP levels. Plus there was an obvious requirement to significantly and rapidly upgrade the skills of most of the 1000 staff and leaders.