•Revised organisation set-up
•New supply chain model
•Financial and investment cases
•Detailed phased plan of action Having approved the five-year growth programme, senior management and business development agreed on which of the specific execution projects business development should lead and which projects and targets that should be anchored with the line organisation. It was agreed that business development should take charge of all M&A activities in the plan including taking lead on mission critical projects that needed an outside perspective on best practices and rethinking. The list ended up like this Business development should
•Lead the acquisitions of five defined companies (in close liaison with the Finance Department)
•Build and implement a new divisionalised organisation (in close liaison with line organisation)
•Redesign and implement a new supply chain model (with external consultants)
•Execute the cost-of-sales reduction programme (with external consultants)
•Orchestrate the overall execution of the programme Other projects anchored with the different corporate and line organisation units
•New ERP implementation (IT)
• Centralisation of R&D (R&D)
• Production to China (Production)
• Relocation of physical warehouses (Supply Chain) In the period from 2003 to 2006, the company grew its sales by a compound annual growth rate of 125%, acquired four companies and increased its earnings significantly.
The case above is a great story about the role and responsibilities of successful business development at work. It also tells an important story about the necessity of defining a purpose, a role and a clear set of responsibilities for business development. In this case, the business development unit clearly liaised on an ongoing basis with senior management, the board and various organisational units to ensure effective execution. Notice also the distinction of tasks between business development and the line organisation, and notice how business development started as the analysers and architects of a growth programme and once approved went into execution mode by acting as leaders of specific change projects with overall responsibility for overseeing the totality of the programme.
A3. Responsibilities and roles in a BDM context
As it is evident from the above, business development is not a static discipline – its role is shifting as strategic priorities shift from analysis to architects to execution and back to analysis again. And obviously, a more mature business will have other and more disperse business development needs than a start-up company. Just as the diversified conglomerate with multiple business lines will have other and more complex business development needs than the less complex, mono-line SME. But leaving aside the complexity and dynamics, we have built a model of four archetypical types of business development at work and linked these to the areas of responsibility typically fulfilled by business development
oThe "Entrepreneur"
–typically found in young (2-5 years) start-up companies
oThe "Commercialiser"
–typically found in high-growth-driven companies
oThe "All-round strategist"
–typically found in large, mature corporations
oThe "Turnaround manager"
–typically found in companies or SBUs where turnaround is needed
2. MANAGING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
A4. Guidelines for defining the role and areas of responsibility
As the figure illustrates, defining the role and responsibilities of the business development functions entails an understanding of the purpose that the unit should meet in the organisation. Fx a start-up company's business development activities should focus on defining and understanding the market place, positioning the company, its products and services optimally and defining and implementing the business model that will yield the greatest returns to its shareholders.
