Exceptional Growth through People and Engagement
When we acquired Grabba International in 2017 it primarily was an R&D company, continually evolving their product into the best product possible within their field. Their field was enabling digital transformation for large entities by providing bespoke (custom created) devices that operate at the fringe of operations to automate all different forms of processing from simple POS systems and logistics through to biometrics.
They were able to get the contracts that no one else wanted. The ones that required all the tough customisation work. The devices where they are turning the customers dream into reality. The end effect on the business was integrating the new knowledge from customer generated requests into their core platforms. After doing this for many years, the capability of their underlying platform is truly impressive. Their customer list and product was also impressive, but the sales revenue was poor.
They had an amazing R&D team which can be easily seen on Linkedin, but the management attitude of 'built it and they will come' failed to deliver stable results leaving them in a weak position.
The primary problem was the best use of their product was large government or large corporate with the resulting large contract value. These are not sales, they do not need a 'hunter' to catch them. These large 'deals' are not only the classic transfer of trust, but also require a consulting angle with the key aspect being process improvement through digital transformation.
Ultimately, they need a partner and guide. The key contact in the business or government needs someone knowledgeable in both how the technology may be bent or twisted and also in the underlying business of the customer. This enables ongoing robust conversations around how the technology can be customised to produce a result far more outstanding than any off the shelf product that can be found today.
This is an approach that works in today's society where people want to purchase that they need, not what is available. After enormous growth over the last 3 years, one thing I can say is:
None of this is easy, but having the right people and true engagement with our customer leads to controlled profitable growth.
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