Andrius Kubiliūnas | Business Transformation & Sales Strategy Consulting

Category: Case Studies

  • Breaking Free from the Daily Firefighting

    The Challenge
    A business owner found himself constantly putting out fires—handling urgent issues, resolving operational problems, and ensuring day-to-day stability. The overwhelming workload left no room for strategic growth. Despite all efforts, revenue had plateaued, and operational costs continued to rise, adding further pressure.

    Identifying the Core Issues
    A thorough review of financials, team structure, and workflows revealed that the owner was deeply involved in tasks that weren’t the best use of his time. The business lacked a structured approach to delegation and performance tracking, leading to inefficiencies.

    Strategic Changes Implemented
    ✅ Redistributed Responsibilities – The team had the capabilities to take on more, but the structure didn’t allow for it. By realigning roles, we ensured that each team member operated within their strengths while maintaining efficiency.
    ✅ Established Key Metrics – Instead of being caught in daily operations, the owner was given clear performance indicators to track business health and progress.
    ✅ Freed Up Leadership Time – By shifting non-essential tasks to the team, the owner could finally focus on strategic growth and long-term planning.
    ✅ Developed a New Revenue Stream – A side project within the company was identified as a high-potential opportunity. With the right structure in place, it was developed into a separate business unit.
    ✅ Refined Pricing Strategy – Small but impactful pricing adjustments led to improved customer loyalty, better profitability, and a noticeable increase in sales.

    The Results
    📈 Efficiency improved significantly, reducing wasted time and effort.
    📈 Customer satisfaction increased due to better operational execution.
    📈 Revenue began to grow again, reversing the previous stagnation.
    📈 The new business unit became a major success, eventually surpassing the profitability of the original business.

    This transformation underscores a critical lesson: to drive real growth, business owners must transition from being reactive problem-solvers to strategic leaders. With the right systems in place, companies can scale efficiently while reducing daily stress.

  • When Growth Stalls: How One Company Turned Decline into Expansion

    For years, a well-established retail and wholesale company thrived in global markets. However, as time passed, stagnation set in—sales across all channels plateaued or declined, while operational costs continued to rise. The leadership team recognized the urgency of the situation but faced a critical challenge: where to begin?

    Identifying the Core Issues

    A thorough assessment revealed that the company’s structure had become overly complex, leading to inefficiencies. Key pain points included:

    • Lack of role clarity: Responsibilities were scattered, leading to overlapping efforts and misalignment.
    • Absence of structured goal-setting: Without a clear performance tracking system, decision-making relied on assumptions rather than data.
    • Inefficient customer segmentation: Sales efforts were spread too thin, focusing on all customers rather than prioritizing the most valuable ones.
    • Cumbersome sales processes: The team was burdened with routine tasks that took time away from strategic growth activities.
    • Limited accountability: Without clear ownership, employees lacked the autonomy to make meaningful decisions.

    Strategic Changes That Sparked Growth

    To reverse the decline and reposition the company for expansion, several key initiatives were implemented:

    ✅ Refined Organizational Structure – Clearly defined roles and responsibilities streamlined workflows, ensuring every team member had a focused area of impact.

    ✅ Goal-Setting & Performance Tracking System – A structured system was introduced to monitor progress in real time, allowing leadership to make data-driven decisions.

    ✅ Optimized Customer Segmentation – The company redirected its efforts toward high-value, long-term clients, maximizing revenue potential.

    ✅ Streamlined & Automated Sales Processes – Reducing manual tasks allowed the sales team to dedicate more time to business development and strategic partnerships.

    ✅ Empowered Teams with More Ownership – Employees were given the authority to make decisions, fostering a culture of accountability and proactive problem-solving.

    Results: A Business Reignited

    These strategic shifts didn’t just stabilize the business—they fueled expansion. With a more focused approach, improved team accountability, and optimized operations, the company regained its competitive edge. As a result:

    • Sales rebounded and showed consistent growth.
    • Operational efficiency increased, reducing unnecessary costs.
    • The company successfully expanded into new markets with renewed confidence.

    Key Takeaway

    When a business begins to stagnate, the solution is rarely just to “sell more.” Sustainable transformation occurs when structure, strategy, and execution align. By clarifying roles, leveraging data-driven insights, and optimizing processes, companies can break through stagnation and reignite long-term growth.

  • Scaling a Trading Business for Sustainable Growth: A Case Study

    The Challenge: Managing Complexity Amid Rapid Expansion

    A trading company specializing in foreign markets had experienced a period of rapid growth. While the company had successfully expanded its client base and revenue, operational strain began to emerge. Managing the sales department became increasingly challenging, and the company faced bottlenecks that threatened future expansion.

    As businesses scale, inefficiencies that were manageable at smaller volumes can become major obstacles, making it essential to refine internal systems, processes, and structures to sustain long-term success.

    The Solution: Strategic Operational Improvements

    To address these challenges and prepare for continued international expansion, the company implemented key structural and process enhancements:

    ✔ Implemented a CRM and contract management system – This provided greater visibility into the sales pipeline, improved forecasting accuracy, and streamlined contract handling.
    ✔ Refined operational processes and employee functions – Ensuring each team member had clearly defined roles improved efficiency and accountability.
    ✔ Conducted a market analysis – Identifying the most promising export opportunities helped refine the company’s international growth strategy.
    ✔ Restructured the team – Separating commercial and operational activities allowed for greater specialization and efficiency in both areas.

    The Results: Sustained Growth and Increased Efficiency

    By optimizing sales operations, market strategy, and team structure, the company achieved:

    📈 Continued high sales growth, maintaining momentum despite increasing complexity.
    📈 Successful international expansion, entering new markets with a refined strategy.
    📈 New client acquisitions, leveraging data-driven insights from market analysis.
    📈 More efficient supply chain coordination, with better alignment between purchasing and sales teams.
    📈 Improved team focus, allowing sales and operations to work more effectively without overlap.

    These strategic improvements not only supported immediate growth but also positioned the company for long-term stability in an increasingly competitive international landscape.

    Key Takeaways

    As companies expand, internal inefficiencies can become growth-limiting factors. Sustainable scaling requires structured systems, refined processes, and a clear division of responsibilities. Businesses that evolve their operations alongside their growth can achieve greater efficiency, stronger market positioning, and long-term success.

    If your company is facing operational challenges due to growth, let’s discuss how strategic changes can unlock new efficiencies and improve scalability.

  • Turning a Struggling E-Commerce Business Profitable: A Strategic Restructuring Case Study

    The Challenge: Years in Business, But No Profitability

    Running an e-commerce store for over five years should lead to a stable, profitable business. Yet, despite significant investments, one company found itself struggling to break even. Financial pressure was mounting, and another related project within the company’s portfolio required resources—but with the core business still unprofitable, future investments were uncertain.

    After a deep dive into the company’s structure and operations, key issues became clear:

    • Disorganized structure – The team was stretched thin, struggling to balance routine operations with necessary growth initiatives.
    • Operational inefficiencies – Certain processes and external service providers were draining resources without delivering value.
    • Conflicting priorities – Marketing and sales teams operated independently with different goals, creating internal friction rather than synergy.
    • Underutilized synergies – The business had multiple interconnected projects but wasn’t leveraging them effectively.

    Without addressing these inefficiencies, the business would continue operating at a loss, limiting its ability to grow.

    The Solution: Strategic Realignment for Profitability

    A complete overhaul was needed to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and create a sustainable path to profitability. The transformation involved:

    ✔ Restructuring the organization – Clearly defining roles and responsibilities to improve focus and productivity.
    ✔ Merging marketing and sales – Aligning both teams under shared objectives to remove conflicts and boost performance.
    ✔ Conducting a cost-benefit analysis – Identifying inefficient processes and eliminating unnecessary external service providers.
    ✔ Integrating related projects – Leveraging synergies between different business units to maximize efficiency.
    ✔ Prioritizing stalled projects – Reallocating resources to high-impact initiatives, leading to record-breaking sales.

    The Impact: From Losses to Profitability in One Year

    By optimizing operations and improving strategic alignment, the company achieved:

    📈 First profitable year after years of operating at a loss.
    📈 Increased efficiency, reducing resource waste while improving productivity.
    📈 Stronger financial stability, allowing for further investments in business growth.
    📈 Improved collaboration, with marketing and sales working together toward common objectives.
    📈 A clear roadmap for expansion, ensuring long-term business sustainability.

    This case highlights a crucial lesson: growth isn’t just about selling more—it’s about making sure the entire business is working efficiently. For companies struggling with profitability despite years in the market, strategic restructuring can unlock new opportunities for success.

    Key Takeaways

    Achieving profitability often requires more than just revenue growth—it demands structural efficiency, cost control, and strategic alignment. Businesses that address internal inefficiencies can increase profitability, improve financial health, and set the foundation for long-term success.

    If your company is facing similar challenges, let’s discuss how strategic changes can drive profitability and sustainable growth.

  • Scaling Without Breaking: How Structure Transformed a Rapidly Growing FMCG Business

    The Challenge: When Growth Becomes a Bottleneck

    Every business strives for growth, but when expansion outpaces internal processes, it can quickly turn into a liability.

    A fast-growing FMCG company I worked with was enjoying increasing sales, but behind the scenes, operational inefficiencies were becoming a major issue:

    • Order mix-ups were leading to delivery issues and strained relationships with retailers.
    • The commercial team was overwhelmed, struggling to manage supplier and customer relationships effectively.
    • Innovation had stalled—with no time to focus on new product development, the company was at risk of losing its competitive edge.

    Without addressing these challenges, the company’s growth trajectory was at risk. Scaling without structure wasn’t sustainable, and they needed a plan to fix the inefficiencies before they became critical.

    The Solution: Implementing Structure for Sustainable Growth

    Rather than simply pushing for more sales, we focused on building a foundation that would allow the company to scale efficiently.

    Key initiatives included:

    ✔ Restructuring the commercial team – Defining clear roles and responsibilities, ensuring accountability, and improving efficiency.
    ✔ Introducing a motivation system – Aligning employee incentives with key business objectives to drive performance and engagement.
    ✔ Implementing a goal management framework – Prioritizing tasks and ensuring that teams had a structured approach to execution.
    ✔ Revamping warehouse management – Optimizing inventory flow, reducing errors, and improving cash flow through better stock control.

    The Impact: Sustainable Growth and Increased Profitability

    With these structural changes in place, the company was able to scale effectively while maintaining operational efficiency:

    📈 Profits continued to grow at a steady 20% per year, without increasing headcount.
    📈 Stronger sales relationships led to increased revenue from existing partners.
    📈 New business development accelerated, with a dedicated team member focusing on new product categories and partnerships.
    📈 Operational efficiency improved, reducing delivery errors, minimizing stock expirations, and improving working capital management.

    By taking a step back to optimize internal processes, the company transformed its rapid growth into long-term, sustainable success.

    Key Takeaways

    Scaling isn’t just about selling more—it’s about making sure your operations, team, and structure can support growth efficiently. Without the right foundation, businesses can struggle with inefficiencies, employee burnout, and missed opportunities.

    If your company is facing similar challenges, let’s discuss how structured strategies can help turn growth pains into long-term success.

  • Case Study: Transforming Wholesale Sales Through Strategic Assortment Management

    The Challenge: Unpredictable Sales & Inventory Risks

    A wholesale company I worked with was struggling with a common yet critical challenge: their products were available in retail stores, but they weren’t a priority for retailers. This resulted in unpredictable sales, excess stock stagnating in warehouses, and financial risk due to occasional but significant price drops.

    Retailers didn’t actively resist stocking the products, but the wholesale company lacked control over how their products were being prioritized. Without an effective strategy, inventory inefficiencies were leading to financial losses on both sides of the supply chain.

    The Root Cause: Poor Assortment Management

    A deeper analysis revealed that the issue wasn’t demand—it was inefficient assortment management. Products were placed in stores without aligning with regional demand patterns, leading to slow-moving inventory. This created cash flow constraints for the wholesaler and reduced shelf space efficiency for retailers.

    Instead of simply pushing for higher sales, we needed a strategic shift in how inventory was managed and optimized across the retailer network.

    The Solution: A Data-Driven Assortment Management System

    To address the issue, we introduced a structured assortment management model that enhanced inventory efficiency and strengthened the wholesale-retail partnership:

    ✅ Stock Monitoring Across Retail Locations: Implemented real-time tracking of inventory levels to ensure that each product was in the most suitable store based on demand trends.

    ✅ Proactive Identification of Inefficient Products: Analyzed sales performance to detect slow-moving products early, allowing adjustments before they became financial liabilities.

    ✅ Retailer-Centric Inventory Optimization: Designed a system that helped retailers transfer stock between locations instead of suffering losses from stagnant inventory. This ensured that slow-moving products found the right customers in higher-demand areas.

    The Results: Stronger Partnerships & Sustainable Growth

    💡 Retailers Saw Real Value – With optimized inventory, retailers reduced waste, improved shelf efficiency, and increased sales predictability.

    💡 The Wholesale Company Became a Strategic Partner – Instead of being seen as just another supplier, they became an essential business partner helping retailers optimize operations.

    💡 Higher Sales & Reduced Losses – By improving stock turnover and reducing the need for deep discounts, both the wholesaler and retailers benefited financially, leading to stronger long-term relationships.

    Key Takeaways: Beyond Just Selling Products

    This transformation demonstrated that in B2B relationships, sales success isn’t just about the product—it’s about enabling customers to succeed with it. By creating value beyond the transaction, businesses can foster long-term loyalty, differentiate themselves from competitors, and build more sustainable revenue streams.

    Does your business face similar challenges in wholesale distribution, retail partnerships, or inventory management? Let’s explore how these strategies can apply to your industry.

  • Turning an Underperforming E-commerce Team into a High-Performing Growth Engine

    When I joined an e-commerce company, it was stuck in a cycle of missed targets, overrun budgets, and employee burnout. Despite long working hours and significant financial investment in marketing, results were falling far short of expectations. The business was struggling, with goals being met at just 40%, and the return on marketing spend was disappointingly low.

    It wasn’t a lack of effort—everyone was working hard. But without structure, strategic priorities, and clear accountability, the team lacked direction. This led to frustration, low motivation, and inefficiencies that drained resources without delivering results.

    Key Challenges Identified

    1. Unclear roles and responsibilities – Team members were unsure of their priorities, leading to duplicated efforts and wasted time.
    2. Inefficient marketing spend – Budgets were being allocated without a clear strategy, leading to poor returns.
    3. Low employee motivation – The team was exhausted from long hours with little visible progress, resulting in declining morale.
    4. Lack of strategic goal-setting – Goals were set but not effectively tracked, making it difficult to adjust strategies in real-time.
    5. Stalled projects – Several high-impact initiatives were delayed due to lack of alignment and prioritization.

    The Transformation Process

    To address these issues, I implemented a structured approach to realign the team’s efforts with business objectives. This included:

    ✅ Redefining Roles & Responsibilities – Each team member was given clear accountability for specific areas, ensuring that work was distributed efficiently and effectively.

    ✅ Optimizing Marketing Spend – We analyzed past performance, cut unnecessary expenses, and reallocated resources to high-performing channels. A dedicated experiment budget was introduced to test new ideas without significant risk.

    ✅ Implementing a Short-Term Motivation System – To boost morale, we introduced an immediate reward system tied to short-term performance improvements, ensuring the team had tangible goals to strive for.

    ✅ Introducing Weekly Goal-Setting & Review Meetings – We shifted from a reactive to a proactive approach, setting and tracking key priorities on a weekly basis.

    The Results

    The impact of these changes was transformational:

    ✔️ Employee motivation soared – Instead of just executing tasks, team members started proactively proposing new ideas and innovative solutions.

    ✔️ Efficiency improved significantly – With refined roles, employees delivered results within normal working hours, eliminating unnecessary overtime.

    ✔️ Marketing became more strategic – Costs were controlled, and the new experiment budget enabled the team to test and implement more cost-effective customer acquisition strategies.

    ✔️ Sales performance skyrocketed – Targets jumped from 40% to over 80%, with a consistent upward trajectory.

    ✔️ Stalled projects moved forward – New product categories were launched, and operational expansion plans that had been delayed for months were finally executed.

    Key Takeaway

    This experience reaffirmed a critical lesson: Business success is not just about working harder—it’s about working smarter.

    By introducing structure, defining priorities, and implementing targeted motivation strategies, we were able to turn around an underperforming team and unlock sustainable growth.

    Have You Faced Similar Challenges?

    If your business is struggling with inefficiencies, declining motivation, or ineffective resource allocation, let’s discuss how a structured, strategic approach can drive meaningful improvements.

    Book an Introductory Consultation to explore how we can achieve similar results for your organization.