As a new breed of consultancy, we have become used to challenging the old ways of the “traditional consultancy houses” and even before Covid19 existed had developed services that as experienced consultants, entrepreneurs and engineers knew was a much-needed resource. Our portfolio has evolved over time to suit the demand of our clients and in this current landscape we are finding Consumer goods businesses are in need of immediate short term support, with the Covid19 impact providing a bipolar effect (volume uplifts to lights out).

With this in mind, we have created a dedicated fast-acting Rapid Response service which offers resources and advice as early as tomorrow for as long as required.

This includes a practical, hands-on approach to short term needs of businesses when you need to respond quickly; Whether it’s urgently solving a problem or helping you work through a potential opportunity; we have the horsepower, heads, brains and experience to keep you moving.

Strategy and Innovation Director of Pollen John Heseltine says “The idea is that when quick results are needed, we can act with speed and efficiency. There are no long discussion times in relation to scope of work or costs (we will utilise our risk-reward structure to ensure we deliver measurable results, simple day rates or even pay us what is was worth to you).”

Pollen has always challenged the preconception of old-school consulting and we understand that in today’s economic environment we need to tailor our approach to suit immediate needs. Our team of entrepreneurs are doing a fine job using innovative ideas on how projects can be delivered remotely; Our technology division are using their knowledge in virtual simulation to see medium term scenarios and creating fast solutions for decision analytics. Pollen Academy are using this opportunity to upskill people with remote training so they can return to work stronger, some of which is fully government funded.

“The manufacturing and supply chain services we have can make a real impact in our client’s businesses tomorrow, unlocking capacity, reducing conversion costs or where needed working through options to remove fixed costs and minimise the impact of a significant volume drop”. Stated Pollen Director Stephan Mang.

From a procurement perspective, we are supporting partners to set up alternate supply chains for stressed categories across their raw material and packaging inputs as well as indirect such as Personal Protective Equipment and IT hardware.  Our large local and international network covers a diverse group of categories and is well positioned to acquire goods in difficult markets from a range of supplier partners.

“One notable problem we are seeing is that businesses in a state of chaos, start lots, deliver some and forget to prioritise tasks and resources. An area our Rapid Response team are working is in the setup and running of control towers (in the current environment War rooms could be more pertinent) to keep the business aligned to deliver the actions that really mater! Where horsepower does not exist, we can drop down and execute as well”. says Paul Eastwood – CEO.

Business can be uncertain at the best of times, and so our agile, innovative thinking and strategic systems allows for complex problems to be distilled quickly so that we can get to the nub of the issue quickly. At the end of the day it’s about delivering results and enabling businesses to survive.

We have been delivering substantial results for clients large and small in the FMCG sector since our inception and the Rapid Response Unit is an extension of our considerable knowledge and expertise that fits with the current climate.

“Throw us your problem and we will come back to you in 24 hours with either an answer or how to fix it quickly. We will do the first one for free, to demonstrate our remote problem-solving capability, or you can even pay what you think the solution was worth to you”.

Other key areas of focus and delivery in the current climate are:

• Critical project deadlines
• Analytical horsepower
• Problem solving
• Engineering expertise
• Strategic thinking and no regret decision making
• Business Diagnostics to identify risks and opportunities
• What-if scenario and contingency modelling
• Remote working rhythms
• Getting big data running quickly & remotely
• Rapid network consolidation
• Innovation Strategies
• Unlocking site capacities
• Identifying alternative Sources of Supply for all key inputs
• Using Local & Global Sourcing Networks for hard to source goods

 

To learn more about Rapid Response and how we can help you – CONTACT US NOW

 

First published in Inside FMCG (March 25th 2020): Read Here