Customer service & profitability

In an increasingly competitive climate, business progress demands an absolute focus on both customer service and the bottom line. Supply chains need tailoring to the different characteristics of a segmented market - a single company will have multiple chains.



Few companies have a true picture of the service characteristics of their customers and their cost implications - as a consequence they cannot determine the most profitable and effective way to supply them - losing major profitability and market share.

Combining customer service analysis with our registered technique, Cost-to-Serve®, we carry out full service and profitability reviews to give clients a true picture of customer service demands, how profitable one customer is compared to another, one product is compared to another, and what actions should be taken to improve customer/product profitability and deliver the right service levels.

Crucially, this approach has helped our clients re-set their market offer, re-configure their supply chains strategies for competitive and cost advantage, and change the way in which they organise and measure real return.

We have:

  • increased profitability in a business-to-business supplier by modelling the contribution for all its product/customer combinations - resulting in a differentiated offer and supply approach
  • developed a profitability method for a European petrochemical business that segmented their market for business and operational decision making - resulting in a more focused portfolio and higher margins
  • delivered a profitability tool and approach to a distribution business that revolutionised how they assessed profitability for all their sales and operations.
A typical finding is that 25% of customers (or products) deliver 80% of contribution margin and over 30% of customers destroy profitability.

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