"Never walk the path marked out, for it will lead you only to where others went".

Every time we undertake an innovation project with one of our clients, we resort to the concept of this famous phrase by Graham Bell. Innovation is the engine of change, the constant search for value creation; is applied creativity. These concepts came to mind when I interpreted the words of Gabriela Mazza, Director of Organ&Co, at our first meeting. He conveyed his desire to innovate, to create, to grow even more in the value proposition of your company to remain in the "top of mind" of your customers; this was what prompted her to contact DINKA.
Our first meeting with the renowned company of ecological amenities for Hotels and Spas, It was in their offices prior to the inauguration of their new space. The pleasant aromas invaded the environment, giving our meeting a particularly pleasant atmosphere. in that first chat, Gabriela stressed that, although the company was achieving good results, a significant demand for its products, very high level of customer satisfaction and good reputation in the market, there was no clear projection with established objectives for the future.

DIAGNOSIS and PLAN

We start working almost immediately, as we always do from DINKA, performing a comprehensive diagnosis. We carry out this complete analysis trying to gain a deep understanding of the organization by getting to know its products., customers and competition, value proposal, interviewing company members, analyzing the results of the last periods (volume, trends, costs, margins, and more), to then draw the first conclusions that would lead us to a diagnosis and consequently, to a work plan.
From the analysis of the collected, we concluded that important decisions had to be made, fundamentally define a clear growth strategy. For this, it was essential to define an action plan based on innovation, that would allow sustaining an orderly growth of the company and anticipating possible changes in the economic context- political and market, such as the release of import barriers, strengthening competitors, the appearance of new competitors, etc.
From here came the need to work in two lines. On the one hand, improve organizational efficiency (improvements in their management and work processes) and on the other, face an innovation process.

THE MANAGEMENT

As we usually do in DINKA, we face the project in an integral way. First of all, we work on parameterizing the management data, implementing control panels that allow analyzing the information for decision making.

We needed to have a good starting point, good planning and a clear horizon. Every process of change takes time., and it is necessary to go through the stages to achieve a real transformation. This is how we initially approached dashboards, to generate the indicators that would show the profitability of the business and where it was leveraged.

DETECTION OF OPPORTUNITIES

Before starting the innovation process, we focus on the detection of existing opportunities in the target market, towards which to direct the actions.

since its inception, Organ&Co-developed and marketed its products within the framework of ecological and sustainable cosmetics. In recent years, the global trend towards sustainability has experienced tremendous growth at all levels, also impacting the responsible hotel industry and generating a greater demand for "eco-friendly" amenities. Argentina represents a "green" destination for foreign tourists, who value actions in pursuit of sustainability. Currently there is no competitor that works the concept of Amenities as a "partner" when it comes to improving the level of guest satisfaction.
in addition, customers satisfied with the products used during their stay, permanently demand the possibility of acquiring them and continuing to use them in their homes, generating an additional sales channel.
On the other side, the growing niche of small hotels is demanding suppliers that can supply them with quality products, without the requirement to purchase large quantities.
The analysis of these detected opportunities, allowed the elaboration of a general strategy and particular actions, directed to satisfy the demands of the market.
The clearly defined objectives were, among others, continue to provide eco-sustainable hotels with high-quality ecological amenities, increasing the commitment to care for the environment, providing advice to hotels on sustainable practices and serving the needs of small hotels as best as possible.

START UP

Once the course to be followed was established and under the new slogan of "being the main supplier of sustainable products within the national hotel market, being recognized for our commitment to the environment”, we began the review of each aspect that would comprise the change. Since a process of this type can never be performed on a single element, rather, it is necessary to comprehensively analyze the situation and see how each factor plays with the others, it was necessary to act on different axes such as product, service, process and communication.
A wide range of products was redesigned, taking into account the commitment to the environment that is to be transmitted. This means that their content was reformulated, so that they approach the maximum possible biodegradability. Regarding the packaging, it also migrated towards alternatives more in line with the care and conservation of natural resources. The tags used, which until now were white paper, they were migrating towards recycled paper. The "refill" method was implemented through the development of the dispenser for the use of the product in bulk, leading to a significant reduction in material consumption.
The service to hotels was also reinforced in terms of advice, complemented with the delivery of instructional material for the Care of the Environment, in order to make clear to the guest the Hotel's commitment to environmental impact.
On the other side, online with communication, the new positioning in the market was launched. This involved reviewing and redesigning the website, development of an informative mailing, Contact with organizations associated with the Environment, Tourism and Cosmetics.
Finally, as usual in many of the projects that we face from DINKA, after clearly defining the new strategy, a review of the processes was carried out, with the aim of optimizing the efficiency of the organization and lowering non-productive costs.

SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY

To comply with the Triple Bottom Line concept – a term referring to sustainable businesses-, actions tending to environmental responsibility were implemented. For this, the soap collection program was developed, SOS Soap. The process begins with the collection of the loaves that are discarded in the rooms and spaces of the hotel., through an instructive handed out by the company to the housekeeping. The company is in charge of selecting and reprocessing the soaps and gives them to different foundations so that with their volunteers they can proceed to recycling and manufacturing new bars.. These are donated to the community or saved for disaster relief. This project is based on the fact that in a month, a hotel of 30 rooms discarded approximately 20 kg of unused soap. This equals 6 years of hygiene of a typical family. Witnessing this inequality, inspired us to design the SOS Soap program, that seeks to recycle this waste to bring it closer to the most needy communities.

THE CHALLENGE

Currently the company must work on a new business strategy, considering its trajectory so far and adapting its management towards the future with the incorporation of the new elements available, result of the work of the last months. In line with the innovation process carried out, it will be necessary to develop an e-commerce platform that will complement your main activity. In this way, The new commercial strategy must be developed and adjusted as closely as possible with the new strategic objectives outlined.. Once again, the definition of commercial objectives is extremely important, the implementation of commercial dashboards, and the use of all the necessary tools to detect deviations and act quickly accordingly.
Later, and based on a good analysis of the information available, New commercial actions can be implemented to further leverage the initiatives developed, communication to customers and society and thus provide feedback to the business.

 

SANDRA FELSENSTEIN
Founder and director of the consultancy DINKA.
Industrial engineering (UBA) Postgraduate in Strategic Marketing. Advised more than 40 companies on how to “empower” existing businesses, until the creation of new businesses.