Supporting the growth strategies of small and medium-sized trading companies

We supported a small to medium-sized trading company operating in Japan. This company is a small business with about 20 employees, but they had plans to double their number of employees. However, to succeed in rapid expansion, they needed more than just hiring people; they needed a comprehensive strategy to achieve growth. That's why they asked us for help.

There are several challenges for a small company to double its size in a short period of time. Many companies tend to think that they can grow naturally by adding more people, but in reality, it is not that simple. The following issues are particularly important:

**The organization's direction is unclear**

When a company expands, it is essential that all employees share the same direction and have a unified vision. However, this client lacked a clear vision for growth, and employees were not sharing the goals they should aim for.

**Lack of employee training**

As a company expands, it becomes necessary to create a system that can improve the capabilities of employees and contribute to the growth of the entire organization. However, employee development plans were not adequately developed, and progress in improving skills for growth was not being made.

**Sales process uncertainty**

Sales activities, which are the key to growth for trading companies, are often highly individualized. This creates a risk of reduced efficiency. In addition, there was no adequate system in place to facilitate smooth communication with customers.

Using our proprietary framework, we took the following approach to achieving our clients' growth objectives:

A. Creating and sharing a vision

We formulated a unified vision for growth that all employees could share, and designed an effective communication method to convey this vision to all employees in an easy-to-understand manner. We also conducted market research and analysis to make the vision more feasible. Generally, when requesting market research from a major consulting firm, the high costs can be a major burden for small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, we used our own framework to focus on high-priority areas and provided market research services at a significantly lower cost than other companies.

B. Building employee development programs

We have developed a training plan to strengthen the skills necessary for growth and have built a system that allows each employee to contribute to the organization. In particular, as the company grows, employees will need to take on new tasks that they have never experienced before and tasks for which there are no manuals. To overcome these situations, it is essential to improve soft skills. For this reason, we have introduced a proven training program that we have provided to major companies.

C. Sales process optimization

In order to improve the situation where sales activities were dependent on individual skills, we reviewed the entire process and built a more efficient and sustainable system. In addition, we introduced sales tools to improve communication with customers and helped make it easier to share and track information.

The following results were achieved:

- A clear vision for growth was established, ensuring that all employees were on the same page.

- Improved employee capabilities and overall organizational performance.

- Streamlined sales processes and improved customer communication.

- The company successfully doubled its size in a short period of time, establishing a foundation for sustainable growth.