From importer to organisation: restructuring an international solar panel supplier

Client: An international supplier of solar panels with a multi-million turnover (name withheld)
My role: Strategic advisor, through my consultancy
The challenge: Grow from an import business into a fully fledged organisation
The result: A restructured business with two entities, each built for its own market, and a very happy client
What I launched: A new two-entity organisation

Sound familiar?

• The business has grown beyond what it was set up to do.

• Small orders and major projects compete for the same people and attention.

• Everyone knows the structure needs to change, but nobody has drawn the new one.

The starting point

The business had grown as an importer of solar panels. Its ambition was bigger: to become a fully fledged organisation that could serve both project specification and the largest solar projects, each properly.

How we worked

Starting with the ambition

We began with where the leadership wanted the business to be, rather than with the organisation chart it already had. That made the question simple: what structure would each type of customer need?

Designing the new organisation

The answer was two entities. One handles project specification and importing. The other is dedicated to large projects. Each has a clear focus, its own customers and the capabilities it needs.

What changed

• A restructured business with two entities: specification and importing, and large projects

• Clear focus for each part of the business

• A very happy client

What it means for your business

When a business outgrows its original model, adding people to the old structure rarely works. Start from where you want to be, and design the organisation each customer needs.

Has your business outgrown its structure? Take the free two-minute Growth Check and see where you score.