Cairneagle Consulting: Strategy

We bring together the different elements of strategic thinking to support complex decision making. We use rigorous analysis to uncover insights about your business, customers, competitors and industry trends. With this insight we help you build strategies that are based on sustainable competitive advantage. Our fact-based and action-oriented approach keeps us constantly focused on how easy or practical it is to implement the strategy.

Strategic planning
Good strategic planning reveals and prioritises the critical large-scale choices that businesses face. Our partners have extensive experience in helping CEOs develop and articulate their strategic visions and directions and develop their strategic plans. We actively work with companies in designing their strategic planning processes ensuring they are practical, not too burdensome and integrated with the financial processes in the business.

Business unit strategy
Business unit strategy is the core level at which strategy is determined in organisations. We help our clients answer key strategic questions about the business unit and how it fits with the organisation as a whole. Questions like: what markets should we serve, what products should we develop, how should we price them and how should we sell and distribute them? We apply a quantified and research-based approach to address these questions with our clients. In many cases, we then also support with implementation, turning strategy into action.

Industry structure and profit pools
We have extensive experience in helping our clients get a clear view of industry structure and profit pools, the growth and profitability outlook by business segments, their relative competitive positioning, and the likely impact of regulatory, technological, demographic or behavioural change. We often work in industries characterised by very limited market data and use innovative primary research approaches to fill the data gaps. In one recent example we used the Freedom of Information Act to gain unique insights into Local Authority buying patterns.

Market Entry
Helping clients assess and plan market entry strategies across geographies and industries based on opportunity and gap analysis is a key element of what we do. At Cairneagle we are used to extending our initial analytical work which identifies the growth prospects, to a hands-on implementation phase, in which we work side by side with our clients, often with directly aligned commercial interests.

Portfolio strategy
At Cairneagle we have developed and used a number of methodologies which allow companies to determine the parts of their business they should focus on, how the resources should be deployed across the business units, and the financial returns that can be expected from pursuing alternative options. Understanding and quantifying a company's sustainable core competencies and growth potential relative to the competition and in the context of market developments, is critical in making investment and budgetary decisions and in determining acquisition and disposal strategies.