Growth and Portfolio Optimization

Why is driving growth so hard?

​Driving sustainable growth is extremely challenging because the environment has become so complex and the priorities of many different stakeholders (e.g., shareholders, customers, activists, and even management) can often be at odds with one another. There are also so many avenues that the choices can sometimes seem endless. For established businesses that are used to focusing on more traditional customers and augmenting with M&A activity, entering new spaces organically, and reconfiguring the portfolio to do so can be daunting. Conversely, in addition, they may need to sacrifice short-term performance for the sake of long-term success, which has significant implications both internally and externally.

Capturing growth is complex and requires companies to make a set of critical and interrelated decisions:

• What are our goals and aspirations around growth?
• What is the analyst community expecting of us?
• Where are we going to play in the market?
• How are we going to win in the market?
• How are we going to optimize our portfolio to best position ourselves to win and maximize value?
• What capabilities do we need and where do we have gaps?
• How quickly should we transition?
• How will we incentivize and compensate our employees and partners?
• How will we communicate these changes to the marketplace?
• How will we manage investor expectations?

All of these are difficult questions that call for strategic thinking, high levels of coordination, and visionary leadership.

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Challenges playing out in different sectors

​Simply trying to sell more of the same to existing customers no longer works. Targeting growth in new areas where customers are going is becoming the new norm across sectors, and finding the right portfolio of assets and capabilities that allow companies to do that is necessary for companies that wish to remain competitive.

This industry evolution has played out different across industry sectors:

• Technology: Both business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies must be able to provide the flexibility and accessibility customers are demanding. This requires leveraging the power of the cloud. The ensuing commoditization of traditional infrastructure necessitates a migration up the value chain, from products to platforms, software, and services.
• Media: Winning in the media space is increasingly about access to content rather than ownership of content. This is having ripple effects throughout the industry, with critical implications for content producers, brands, content distributors, infrastructure providers, and content aggregators.
• Telecommunications: Technological evolution, new competitive tactics, and the increasing savviness of customers are eroding the profitability of the traditional model, forcing companies to seek growth through means other than scale. Innovation in services and business models is a necessity, as is finding ways to serve customers more profitably.

As value capture migrates away from traditional sources, the continued viability of previously entrenched companies and even entire industries are being threatened. Companies that fail to explore and then capture new sources of growth may find themselves on the path to obsolescence.​

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Deloitte can help

A key to sustained value growth today is a virtuous growth cycle in which you identify where to play, how to win there, and how to future-proof your business model. With a 30-year history of helping businesses grow, Deloitte does not bring a pre-packaged answer, instead, we'll work with you to design the best solution for your organization. We understand that modern businesses comprise of a number of highly complex, interrelated systems, which is why we don’t view any growth or portfolio element in isolation. We can help you think through the implications of the business decisions you will need to make.

With a full range of capabilities, we can work with you through your most difficult challenges and questions to drive sustainable growth. We have professional who are knowledge about all industry dynamics, core functional areas, strategic capabilities, and enablement technologies.

In addition, we also bring together team members who are highly experienced in:

• Merger & Acquisition Services: Deloitte’s M&A specialists have the insight and experience to advise corporate and private equity investors through each stage of the merger and acquisition process. We help clients develop appropriate growth strategies based on their goals, so they'll be prepared to capitalize on opportunities during the merger, acquisition, or divestiture process. From strategy to due diligence to integration or divestiture, we recommend established strategies and solutions to help provide the confidence and support clients need to achieve their unique growth objectives.

• Corporate & Business Unit Strategy: Monitor Deloitte's Corporate and Business Unit Strategy practice works side by side with chief executives and their teams to create effective strategies and secure alignment across the organization. We are passionate about helping senior executives tackle tough issues and make choices in the face of difficult questions and varied options. We create the context for executive teams to explore many views, closely examine their choices, and emerge from the strategy process aligned and committed to action.
• Business Model Transformation: Deloitte's Business Model Transformation consultants are ready to help you capture new growth opportunities, reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and stay ahead of consumer preferences. We help organizations set and execute their strategic vision and dramatically improve business performance.
• Customer and Marketing Strategy: Monitor Deloitte's Customer and Marketing Strategy professionals work with marketing executives, particularly CMOs, to design and deliver customer and marketing-anchored change and growth in their enterprises. Our services center on three types of customer and marketing transformations: growth and marketing transformation, marketing analytics and operations transformation, and customer experience and service transformation.

Deloitte also brings together industry-leading expertise on some of the most important issues facing the industry today. We have dedicated professionals focused on these issues to bring you the best advice on how to get ahead of these trends in the market to win:

• Internet of Things: The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to fundamentally change how businesses and consumers operate. Deloitte’s IoT practice enables organizations to identify where the value will be created in their industry and develops strategies to capture that value, utilizing IoT for an operational benefit.
• Future of Mobility: The entire way we travel from point A to point B is changing. This transformation is creating a new ecosystem of personal mobility, with implications affecting more than just the automotive industry. Our team serves the entire ecosystem of companies working in and around mobility.
• Flexible Consumption Models: Flexible consumption business model transformation allows customers the flexibility to consume and pay-per-use, but transitioning is complicated and challenging. Companies exploring consumption-based business models should think through the implications of the complex and interrelated business decisions they will need to make as they transition.

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