VolkerWessels Telecom works with Hammer on commercial strategy
When VolkerWessels Telecom kicked off the process of finetuning the commercial strategy for its network business, the Dutch telecom group brought in Hammer Market Intelligence for support.
The telecom subsidiary of construction group VolkerWessels focuses on infrastructure products and services for the telecom industry. The Utrecht-headquartered company supports the entire lifecycle of assets, from design and build through to maintenance & operations and enabling technology infrastructure.
Around the summer of 2022, Joep van den Brink, Director of Network Solutions at VolkerWessels Telecom, launched a strategic refresh for the unit’s commercial plan. Network Solutions is responsible for the connectivity and technology infrastructure offerings of VolkerWessels Telecom, and focuses on a range of market segments.
“We were developing our commercial plan but lacked substantiation of market potential and opportunities in our different market segments,” explained Van den Brink, an engineer by background who has been with the company for over five years.
One of the challenges Van den Brink faced was the diversity between the different market segments. While some industries are well advanced in their use of connectivity, others find themselves still in their infancy.
Take manufacturing as an example. Frontrunners leverage the power of Industry 4.0 – driven by technologies such as cloud and internet of things – to build a competitive advantage. Yet successfully adopting Industry 4.0 can only be realised when the telecom network infrastructure is well organised and prepared. This is where VolkerWessels Telecom comes in.
“While the importance of connectivity is a key indicator of determining the attractiveness of a market segment, we were looking for a more integral approach, one that also assesses the market size, trends, potential, but also the fit of our offerings with the segments,” said Van den Brink.
VolkerWessels Telecom brought in external expertise to support the process, selecting Hammer– a boutique specialised in strategic analysis and market intelligence.
Hammer guided the telecom group through a number of steps. “We started with defining the market segments clearly, and then quantifying their respective sizes based on a wide set of indicators,” recalled Egbert Philips, partner at Hammer.
To arrive at the market sizing, the consultancy conducted a bottom-up assessment of (predicted) spending, fed by desk research, proprietary analysis, external benchmarks, and more. “We complemented and cross-checked the analysis with a top-down approach, to ensure we had a complete overview.”
The joint project team then mapped out VolkerWessels Telecom’s commercial objectives on to the market potential, in order to derive revenue- and profit pools, among others. “We worked closely together with representatives from the business to ensure that the data and insights were reflective of the sales strategy and major account-level sales plans.”
Upon delivery, “the results from the market study were used as input for our strategic decision-making process,” said Van den Brink. “The insights indicated where commercial focus should be aimed at across the short- and long-term horizons. The insights gave us valuable information regarding where and when to compete and formed an integral part of our new commercial plan.”
Meanwhile, while not entirely related, VolkerWessels Telecom recently was named the Netherlands’ most innovative telecom group in the communications segment by a local media publication. The company won the prize for the rapid growth of its managed network services offering.