Turnaround

I always pride myself as a turnaround specialist.  Today, my sales has finally go over same period last year.  I just calculate the time it takes and yes, it is only 5 months.  I am glad that once again in six months or less in my new job, I grow the business. 

The first time, I did a turnaround was in probably 1997.  It was local company with with 8 or 9 staff.  Creative Technology was the biggest customer and decided to stop buying the company.  The company was bleeding badly.  We were getting GST back from the government every quarter.  I still remember this very well...one day, my accounts clerk, Carol came into my office.  She says we have to pay GST!  I stared at her for a while in surprise and was looking for words.  Then I asked why...she started grinning from ear to ear.  It is a good thing!  We are finally making profits. 

The 2nd time was in 2002.  The sales and profit margins were low.  Sales was high at the end of every quarter.  This is due to the sales incentive program which was paid quarterly.  While I did not change the incentive program, I change the way selling was done.  We start selling to the endusers and use the pull through strategy.  I also make sure we do not push products to distributors and ship to them only when they demanded for the products.

In this new place, the sales is still growing year over year on a 12 months rolling basis.  However, one product was obsolete creating a hole for the fiscal year on year comparison.  Today, the sales report finally showed growth.  Time to celebrate!

I have to start a celebrate our success program!