Andrius Kubiliūnas | Business Transformation & Sales Strategy Consulting

Tag: Sales 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.