India’s leading consumer goods conglomerate had built a strong market position in luggage but was losing ground across its other product lines. With multiple businesses pulling in different directions and profitability under pressure, leadership needed clarity on where to focus and how to win.

Over a 10-week engagement I conducted a competitive assessment across each business unit, mapped strategic options against capabilities, and facilitated a leadership consensus process. The result was clear strategy statements per business — with explicit decisions on which to grow, stabilise, or exit — alongside functional improvement plans for each.

OUTCOME

Integrated business strategy with full leadership alignment, competitive position defined for each product line, and an actionable functional roadmap.

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One of India’s oldest print media groups had grown rapidly — adding newspapers, magazines, regional language brands, and an early online presence. But the organisation hadn’t kept pace, leading to uneven circulation, strained management, and declining profitability.

The engagement combined strategic and organisational work: assessing each masthead’s competitive position and growth potential, defining brand-specific strategies, reviewing headcount and capabilities, and designing a new organisation structure with clear roles, reporting lines, and responsibilities.

OUTCOME

Integrated corporate strategy, redesigned organisation structure, and identified systems changes to support profitable growth across the portfolio.

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A large Omani trading organisation saw an opportunity to replace imported bottled water with a locally produced brand. Before committing to sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution infrastructure, they needed rigorous validation of the market and a clear commercial model.

Consumer research covered SKU preferences, packaging, and pricing sensitivity. Trade research mapped distributor and retailer dynamics. A full channel architecture was designed, and a business case built covering market share scenarios, manufacturing costs, and long-term return projections.

OUTCOME

Full market-entry business case enabling a confident investment decision on local bottled water production and distribution.

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A South India-based engine bearing manufacturer — part of one of India’s largest industrial groups — was facing pressure on multiple fronts: intensifying OEM competition, a shrinking aftermarket share, and declining margins.

The engagement started with a Voice of Customer exercise across both OEM and aftermarket segments, then developed a detailed market-product strategy covering product mix optimisation, pricing restructure, dealer network assessment, and a redesigned marketing and sales organisation. Financial projections modelled the recovery path.

OUTCOME

Comprehensive business plan with a clear strategy for rebuilding market share in both OEM and aftermarket segments, and a restructured commercial organisation to execute.

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A second-generation Mumbai-based transformer manufacturer was facing an increasingly difficult position — outgunned by larger Indian and international competitors on design innovation and purchasing economics. Lengthy tender cycles and slow payment from State Electricity Boards were eroding margins.

Rather than doubling down on a weakening position, leadership chose to assess adjacent opportunities in the electrical sector. The engagement mapped the sector, assessed capabilities against each opportunity, developed business cases for the most promising matches, and stress-tested them across demand scenarios.

OUTCOME

Prioritised diversification roadmap and transition plan — moving the business from a single vulnerable product line to a portfolio of opportunities matched to existing strengths.

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Part of India’s largest industrial conglomerate, this high-tension and optical fibre cable business had been formed by combining several manufacturing firms. The challenge was to build a coherent corporate strategy for the newly integrated business and re-engineer its processes accordingly.

The engagement ran from strategy to implementation: vision and mission workshops, market assessment across customer segments and competitors, manufacturing cost reduction analysis, and organisation redesign. A functional structure was replaced with an SBU-based model better aligned to the diverse customer base.

OUTCOME

Corporate strategy, revised business model, new SBU organisation structure, and a detailed transition plan from the previous functional configuration.

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The Sultanate of Oman’s only provider of public bus services was government-owned and facing privatisation. Before proceeding, the Ministry of Communications needed to ensure the company was on a sound commercial basis with a credible plan for the future.

The engagement assessed operations from the ground up: routes, fleet composition, service quality gaps, and organisational weaknesses. A new business strategy was developed including route optimisation, fare restructuring, and fleet modernisation. Five-year financial projections were built including an assessment of the government subsidy required.

OUTCOME

Full business plan enabling an informed privatisation decision, with a clear commercial roadmap and quantified subsidy requirement.

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India Post saw an opportunity to collaborate with the United States Postal Service on courier, express, and parcel services between India and the USA. Before committing, the Department needed a rigorous market assessment and a clear picture of what an effective combined service would look like.

The engagement used trade flow data to map the CEP market, conducted customer interviews across B2B and B2C segments in multiple Indian cities, and designed a combined IP-USPS service offering. Capital investment requirements were estimated and a business case developed.

OUTCOME

Market assessment, service design, and business case enabling India Post to make a well-informed decision on the USPS collaboration proposal.

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As Muscat expanded rapidly, the Sultanate of Oman’s postal system — which only delivered to PO boxes — was becoming increasingly inaccessible. The Ministry of Communications needed to assess whether door-to-door mail delivery was operationally and financially viable.

The assignment covered demand estimation for residential and business mail, logistical system design based on a pilot study, and financial modelling. Risk factors were assessed and the level of government investment required was quantified.

OUTCOME

Comprehensive feasibility assessment giving the Ministry a clear picture of the operational requirements, financial model, and funding needed.

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A UK-based corporate running technical and vocational institutions in North India wanted to expand into management education. Before committing, they needed a rigorous assessment of local demand and the financial viability of the proposed institute.

The engagement identified industry-driven management skills needs locally, designed a matching curriculum, developed an appropriate organisation structure, and built a 10-year financial model. Risk factors were identified and a sensitivity analysis tested the model’s robustness.

OUTCOME

Full financial feasibility assessment enabling a confident investment decision on the proposed management institute.

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A UK-headquartered global school chain known for its International Baccalaureate programmes in 12 countries was partnering with a premier Indian corporate to open its first Indian school. As IB was new to India, the entry required careful navigation of regulatory compatibility and market acceptance.

The engagement covered site identification, campus conceptualisation, regulatory interaction with bodies in London, Geneva, Mumbai, and Delhi, and an assessment of IB’s compatibility with the Indian education system. A business case and risk/sensitivity analysis completed the picture.

OUTCOME

Comprehensive feasibility study enabling the client to proceed with a clear concept, regulatory roadmap, and commercial model for its India entry.

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The Indian BPO arm of a global industrial major was facing a talent pipeline problem: low hiring success rates, high early attrition, and entry-level hires taking 3–4 months to become productive. The solution lay in building a large-scale pre-hire training ecosystem outside the company.

The engagement designed a delivery partnership model involving state agencies, training firms, and educational institutions. Training content was developed for students and trainers, taken through corporate IP approval, and pilots were rolled out across 3 states with multiple delivery partners.

OUTCOME

Proof-of-concept pre-hire training model delivering 10x the results of the existing approach — demonstrating the viability of a scalable national talent pipeline.

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A large US-based NGO implementing a new India country strategy needed to translate strategic decisions into a detailed, actionable change plan — including the managed spin-off of several programmes.

The engagement analysed the implications of the new strategy across processes, IT, organisation structure, headcount, and skills. A cross-department change plan was built with RACI definitions, activity dependencies, and closure dates. An integrated advisory firm was brought in to support the legal, tax, and operational aspects of the spin-off.

OUTCOME

Comprehensive change implementation plan enabling the organisation to execute its new strategy with clarity, coordination, and appropriate external support.

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An international NGO with 15 years of India presence had grown opportunistically into 7 programmes across 4 thematic areas. The breadth was affecting funding credibility and operational efficiency. Leadership needed a sharper, more focused direction.

The engagement revisited the fundamental rationale for the India presence — mission, theory of change, and thematic priorities — and led to decisions on programme portfolio, a geographic and partner strategy, and a revamped operating model with the structure and capabilities needed for growth.

OUTCOME

India Country Strategy providing focused thematic direction, an optimised programme portfolio, and a new operating model designed for impact at scale.

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One of the world’s largest INGOs — operating through an affiliate network — needed to rethink the role of its UK-based Global Secretariat. Changing operating conditions required the central body to evolve from a support function into a proactive provider of common services and strategic guidelines.

The engagement redesigned the Secretariat’s role, operating model, and structure across HR, Finance, IT, and MIS/ERP — based on a distributed network of internal service providers enabling consistency across affiliates while preserving local flexibility.

OUTCOME

New operating model and organisation design enabling the Global Secretariat to remain relevant and effective in a changing global NGO landscape.

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An international hotel chain planning to enter India with a major retail property development needed to understand the competitive retail landscape across India’s major metros and identify the optimal concept and configuration for its properties.

The study reviewed retail and property markets in four metros, identified high-performing concepts, tested them with consumers and retailers, sized catchment areas, estimated traffic and sales potentials, and modelled possible configurations. Financial returns were projected on market-driven pricing assumptions.

OUTCOME

Market-driven feasibility study that shaped the property concept and configuration — and led to several follow-on assignments across other major urban centres.

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A major US-based global hotel chain was assessing the potential of the Indian hospitality market. Before making any entry commitment, it needed a clear, evidence-based picture of the market’s size, growth trajectory, competitive dynamics, and financial returns.

The engagement covered traveller segmentation, rooms and RevPAR analysis, competitive landscape mapping, and an assessment of shareholder returns by competitor — set against macro-economic projections of India’s travel and tourism traffic.

OUTCOME

Comprehensive market intelligence report enabling an informed strategic decision on India market entry and competitive positioning.

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An Omani development company specialising in tourism-related properties needed to define the optimal commercial concept for a new mixed-use development — balancing retail, commercial, residential, and hospitality components.

The engagement reviewed each potential usage category against the existing market, assessed consumer preferences, and evaluated competing developments. Findings were synthesised into clear recommendations on concept, land-use breakdown, and commercial terms.

OUTCOME

Market-driven project configuration recommendations giving the developer a clear, commercially grounded concept for the mixed-use development.

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