Profitable Growth

Every company wants to grow. Whether that involves launching new products and services, expanding into new geographical territories, or increasing market share, growth is the lifeblood of business.

But just as important, every company needs to be profitable, too. Without profits, even dramatic growth will become unsustainable in the long term. With profits, growth is a winning prospect.

Yet profitable growth for most organizations actually comprises two distinct processes: First, cut costs (thereby increasing margins). And second, grow.

Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures all seek profitable growth, too. Companies merge to forge market-beating synergies, acquire other companies to gain entry into new markets, and sometimes divest themselves of operating units that no longer fit their model for profitable growth.

Even government and nonprofit agencies find themselves under similar pressures. For them, the emphasis is on financial accountability — the art of doing more with the same, or smaller, budget.

When it comes to cost containment, IT is a vital lever. Cloud computing, server virtualization, data center consolidation, virtual desktops, and “as a service” software and services are among the new IT solutions helping organizations in a wide variety of industries rein in their costs. Business solutions such as outsourcing can help control costs, as well. Here are some of the ways CSC clients have grown profitably:

• Golden State Foods: This diversified supplier to the food industry grew quickly, but found its IT systems overly decentralized. Now it’s making a seamless transition to the cloud. This will help the company streamline its systems, paying only for the IT services it needs. Golden State will also be able to open new service centers in weeks, rather than months.
• Coca-Cola Enterprises: With CSC’s help, the beverage supplier recently launched Genesis, an IT-enabled, business-transformation project aimed at optimizing its manufacturing and supply-chain processes.
• Maryland Dept. of Transportation: This state government agency implemented CHART (short for Coordinated Highways Action Response Team), the first U.S. statewide intelligent transportation system, to improve highway safety and operating efficiency. The system monitors data from some 900 devices — including traffic cameras, road sensors and speed detectors — then shares it with more than 30 state agencies and the public.

Are you ready for this kind of technology-enabled profitable growth? CSC offers business consulting services that first help you determine where you are in the profitable-growth cycle, then select the best strategy for the future. For later in the process, CSC offers solutions — whether packaged or custom-developed — that will put your profitable-growth plan into action. Ready to learn more? Contact us today.