Lastminute.com

Context

Lastminute.com is one of the most successful on-line travel and leisure brands in the world, a true innovator that knows performance in a number of key 'strategic processes' is vitally important to long term success.

Speed, alignment, executive buy-in and clear action plans are important factors but how do you consistently measure and collectively improve performance in key areas, 'softer processes' like: knowledge transfer, innovation, strategic planning, brand building, demand management and customer experience.

Insight

Identifying strategic priorities quickly, across a range of processes for a multi-billion pound pan-European business is not easy. Other than intensive consulting approaches there are few, if any methods or tools to audit and align performance of strategic processes or assess the value of strategic assets - so we built them.

Solution

We developed tools to extract qualitative and quantitative measures of performance and insight into the relative strengths and weaknesses of strategic processes. We created a method to align strategic processes in the context of a new operating model, a short cut to focus and prioritise the things that matter.

Using these tools we delivered 'top line' performance insight within a week. Through 'face to face' working session with senior executives throughout Europe we reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of key processes. Using 'self assessment' tools and executive workshops we were able to align actions and prioritise plans and workflows to inform corporate strategy. This in turn was used to align lastminute.com strategy with some of the emerging European business strategies of SABRE Holdings (lastminte.com parent company).

Benefits

The depth and rigour of brand intellect approach delivered six clear benefits to lastminute.com:

• Quick identification of strengths and weaknesses, barriers and enablers of strategic processes.
• Accurate performance assessment and prioritisation of actions to infom lastminute.com and group strategy.
• Executive coalition around key strategies for performance improvement in critical processes.
• Focus of effort and resource around what really matters.
• Alignment of marketing strategy and processes for European operations of lastminute.com.
• Repeatable performance measurement tools and self assessment methods for strategic processes.