JOHN HOGG

The challenge

A newly appointed executive team, including the CEO, Technical Director and Financial Director, identified a need to grow and seize opportunities they could see in the business.

However, they were also faced with a number of challenges including:

• Shrinking regulation compliance which accounted for a significant proportion of their revenues.
• A lack of innovation and new product development, which meant they hadn’t launched a new product for a few years.
• A lack of clarity and confidence in prioritising decisions and future plans.

To achieve the growth they wanted, they identified a need for a more robust strategy creation process moving forward.

The solution

John Hogg’s Technical and Commercial Director, Phillip Double, had previously attended an IfM Strategic Roadmapping course and saw alignment with the challenges they needed to address and the IfM’s roadmapping approach. IfM Engage facilitated a series of workshops, including business strategy creation, with stakeholders from across the business.

The results

John Hogg now have a more robust business strategy creation and review process which is aligned with project, business and budgetary planning cycles. Ongoing use of roadmapping also helps the business link technical capabilities with market demands.

Following the process, the business invested heavily in areas identified through the workshops and this is having far reaching effects across the business. This includes strengthening their commercial position and improving customer intimacy by significantly investing in expanding the commercial team. Following the investments, notable impacts include:

Reallocating £1.4 million worth of R&D investment

The new business strategy informed the decision to reallocate £1.4m of investment into areas of the business that were identified as having the potential to increase growth. Key areas include job creation, technology development projects, and a focus on building strategic relationships with other companies with complementary strengths.

Target to improve operational efficiency by 20%

To help them increase their commercial presence, John Hogg needed to improve operational efficiency. To do this, the business invested in new equipment and new jobs, including a Process Chemist and Engineer. This enabled them to deliver a better-quality product and dramatically improve efficiency in the main plant leading to significant savings.

Adoption of a market-led approach

The process helped the company to improve their understanding of market needs and adapt to a more market-led strategy for technology development and commercial opportunities. John Hogg expanded their Business Development team and have a better understanding of their core product market groups so that, right from the innovation stage, the customer is placed at the heart of all decision-making processes.

Subsequently they have won new business in both regulation compliance and fuel brand protection areas. They have a global presence, and launched their first new product in a few years, projected to bring in £1.5m revenue in the first year after launch.

Investment in new products and facilities

Roadmapping helped the company gain a better understanding of their current situation, where they want to get to and, most importantly, how to get there. Having more confidence in each of these areas when it comes to decision making, coupled with their new focus on innovation, has led to planned investments in key facilities. These include new state-of-the-art laboratories, plant upgrades and collaborative workspaces.