Subject area:              Corporate Strategy of Extension

Region:                        United-States, New England

Industry:                     Engineering Services

Company:                   ADI (the name of the company is disguised)

Decision Maker:       Tom Johnson, NE Regional Manager (the name of the person is disguised)

Challenge:                    Dilemma In order to maintain growth within the New England region of ADI, Tom had to choose where to focus the company’s resources. He narrowed it down to 3 industries he felt had the most potential – the transportation, real estate, and energy industries. He was under a lot of pressure to choose wisely. If the company is unsuccessful in its goal to maintain growth, it could risk losing some of its key staff which is its most valuable asset. In order to maintain their competitive advantage in the various industries where they conduct business, it is imperative that they retain their experienced employees.

Project’s Relevance: Team Composition

Our team consisted of five MBA students: Stefanie Beaver, Mattison Chilton, Andrew Hicks, Joshua Kern, Christopher Laurel. We selected this company’s quandary as part of our BE-EDGE Consulting Case. Each aspect of the case presented a unique opportunity to develop and grow as professionals. Our team has experience in Project, Product, and Contract Management as well as Engineering, working in R&D-oriented firms where talent is a highly valued asset to the organization.

Connecting with the Company’s Reality and Investing in Social Capital:
Methodology & Data Generation

The case is based on primary and secondary research conducted in January through March of 2021. The process of primary data collection consisted of one video conference with Tom Johnson on February 19, 2021, with continued follow-up conversations over e-mail. Tom also shared internal company data including financial statements, business plans, and strategic planning documents. Secondary research included state and regional data, engineering and construction industry/analyst reports, and news articles. The team leveraged several common business frameworks for analyzing the internal and external environment, including a Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Organized (VRIO) framework to unveil the company’s unique competencies and resources. The team analyzed the A/E/C industry through a Porter’s Five Forces model and the New England region using a PESTEL framework. We utilized a BCG growth-share matrix and several SWOT analyses to explore opportunities in the three industries of interest.

Generating Value and Investing in Professional Capital: Findings and Recommendations

The best course of action for ADI was determined by maximizing their key strengths and matching them to ADI’s potential opportunities. ADI can continue growing their business in the New England area and retain their most experienced employees. The consulting group developed comprehensive strategic recommendations in support of one corporate level strategy to solve this challenge-dilemma. Our key recommendation revolved around a focused-differentiated strategy by focusing on a single market. Our positioning strategy includes expanding the services ADI offers to clients. The implementation plan includes hiring additional staff and potentially acquiring a firm to support a specific SBU.

Strategic Vision: Capitalizing on the Project

This project has provided our team valuable insights into the industry of engineering services as well as a strategy consultation. For this specific challenge, we were overwhelmed with the collected data and were unsure how to properly funnel it down. The frameworks and strategies that were leveraged throughout the project allowed the team to formulate key recommendations for the future growth of the enterprise. Our “ah-ha” moments stemmed from our ability to connect the internal analysis to the external analysis of the firm such that we can capitalize on the opportunities. This journey yielded some essential tools that we have added to our toolbox that we intend on leveraging for future projects.