Organic Growth at Avery Dennison

The leadership team in Avery Dennison was looking to accelerate growth-now-while building the foundation for continued expansion. Using the Rapid Results Approach, they were able to add $50 million in the first year of the program; the second year they contributed an additional $150 million to the top line.

The Challenge
In 2001 and 2002, the adhesives films, and office products manufacturer, Avery Dennison, was growing, but CEO Phil Neal and his leadership team were not satisfied with the pace. Although growth was a major corporate goal, the company had increased its revenues by only 8% in two years. In August 2002, Neal and President Dean Scarborough asked us to introduce the Rapid Results Approach as a way to quickly act on growth opportunities that could be turned into real growth within 3-6 months.

How Schaffer Consulting Helped
Within weeks, we helped launch 15 Rapid Results teams in three North American divisions. One was charged with securing one new order for an enhanced product, refined in collaboration with a large customer, within 100 days. Another focused on penetrating three new retail chains so it could use that experience to move into new distribution channels. A third aimed to book several hundred thousand dollars in sales in 100 days by providing-through collaboration with a dozen other suppliers-all the parts needed by a major customer. By December, it had become clear that these growth initiatives were producing results, and the management team extended the process throughout the company. Dozens of teams, involving hundreds of people, started working on Rapid Results initiatives. Rapid Results Initiatives continue to fuel organic growth in the company.

The Impact
The 15 pilot growth initiatives had delivered almost $15 million in annualized incremental revenue. After expanding the program through all major divisions and around the world, the program delivered over $50 million in incremental revenue in the first year and $150 million the second year of using Rapid Results to fuel organic growth for the company. The effort continues, driven by internal resources we trained to support the approach. Ron Charan described Avery's winning strategy of focusing on "singles" and "doubles" in his book "Profitable Growth is Everyone's Business".