The Company
In 2004, CLARKE, Incorporated (formerly Central Lithographic Printing)
acquired digital photography and mailing equipment, in addition to
a creative marketing firm, allowing them to expand services beyond
printing. CLARKE, Inc. now offers a wide range of services to its
clients with one-stop shopping for design, printing and mailing/fulfillment.
They are located in Lynchburg, Virginia employing 15.
The Situation
Since acquiring the original Central Lithographic Printing almost
a decade ago, owner Victor Clarke has continually grown his printing
business. With the recent addition of design and mailing/fulfillment
services, he wanted to ensure continued success and growth for CLARKE,
Inc. Victor was committed to developing a sound, strategic plan
to excel operations to the next level. GENEDGE ALLIANCE, a 360vu
designated network affiliate of NIST MEP, was invited to facilitate
the development of a strategic plan.
The Response
GENEDGE ALLIANCE is no stranger to Victor Clarke. Since 1998, GENEDGE
ALLIANCE has maintained an ongoing relationship starting with lean
implementation within their printing service. Professional Business
Advisor Michael P. Levy (PBA) was assigned to lead the strategic
planning project. He is the manager of GENEDGE ALLIANCE’s
Strategic Management Services (SMS) practice and delivers the practices’
services to clients as a PBA. Michael specializes in helping company
owners and leaders clarify and achieve their business goals using
a 360-degree approach of enterprise-wide strategic management services
including strategic and long-range planning.
After initial consultations with Victor and other
involved personnel, Michael recommended a six-step work plan. Those
steps included: establishing the company’s purpose incorporating
vision, mission, values and guiding principles; analyzing and documenting
present company strengths, weaknesses, market opportunities and
threats (SWOT analysis); developing goals; identifying internal
and external obstacles (learned from the assessments) to achieving
new goals; establishing criteria for entering new market segments;
and finally setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic
and Time-based) objectives necessary for successful execution of
the plan and the completion of the written plan.
The Results
The benefits and impact that can be achieved from implementing a
strategic plan for CLARKE, Inc. is directly related to the commitment
and involvement on the part of management. The impacts are measurable
by comparing the initial baseline process outputs at the start of
the plan implementation with the process outputs as the plan completion.
Such benefits and impact noted since completion
of the strategic plan have been:
- Increased sales revenue by 7%
- Increased profits by 243%
- Increased sales per employee by 13%
- Realized cost savings of $95,000
Management's Comment
"GENEDGE ALLIANCE has been a tremendous help over the past
several years. The success of the strategic planning project with
Michael Levy has put us in the top 25% of printers our size in terms
of sales and more importantly, profits." -Victor Clarke, President
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