Three years ago, 70-year-old Hill-Rom Inc. was in a position familiar to many mature businesses: The company was strong but needed to be stronger. It was a top producer of hospital beds and specialty mattresses--its core product lines. It also had competitive, complementary lines of stretchers, furniture, and architectural equipment. Its customer base was extensive and had a respected sales force and solid profit margins. But by the time Ernest Waaser took over as chief executive in early 2001, revenue growth had been slowing, and competition was on the rise. To secure Hill-Rom's place in the market, Waaser focused first on the sales organization. The CEO took several steps to restructure the sales force. The company changed its customer segments to reflect customers' demands and financial status better, ultimately targeting two main groups: key and prime customers. It then changed the overall structure of the sales organization so it could tailor its approach to these two segments; key customers received more specialized service than prime customers. Finally, Hill-Rom adjusted the sales force after the company took an in-depth look at historical data on products and services and sales completed. Reasons for staffing changes were carefully communicated to the sales force. Because of Hill-Rom's initiatives, the cost of sales is down, short-term revenue growth is up, the outlook for long-term revenue growth looks bright, sales and profit margins are up, and customer satisfaction has increased.

【書誌情報】

ページ数：12ページ

サイズ：A4

商品番号：HBSP-R0403H

発行日：2004/3/1

登録日：2012/3/28