"Woodward was instrumental in bridging some challenging relationships with our partners through their representation work in one of our key markets."

Asia Distribution Management

Firms operating across Asia often incorporate a complex web of facilities and partners. The network of internal and external parties is often extensive and spread across different geographies, languages, and cultures.

In managing international operations, companies often rely on processes and structures that have been successful in optimizing operations and governance structures in home markets. However, in Asia, business practices and industry dynamics may be fundamentally different in ways that are not readily apparent. Without understanding these differences, efforts to optimize operations and governance structures with traditional tools (e.g. processes, procedures, and organization charts) are ineffective. Operational practices and governance structures must be adapted for the fundamental differences in business practices and market structures encountered in Asia.

Woodward Partners works with companies to diagnose inefficiencies in the network and achieve a new, more effective level of collaboration. We can help you visualize the entire scope of internal and external participants in a value network, capture knowledge flows, and reveal problems and solutions that traditional tools are not designed to tackle.

Woodward Partners worked with a US industrial materials manufacture to turnaround 20 years of declining growth in Asian markets.

The Problem
Dakota had years of experience in Asia - the company had grown organically and built a complex network of sales agents, distribution partners, suppliers, and joint venture partners. However, the management team thought growth had stagnated and wanted to explore ways to position itself for growth in existing markets.

The Response
After a series of executive workshops, it was discovered that significant collaboration issues were hindering growth. Woodward delivered a clear and comprehensive picture of Dakota's value network, highlighting key communication and collaboration gaps. Woodward developed a fresh approach to country teams and regional support functions that enabled Dakota to better tap its strength, utilize its network of partners, and revitalize its joint ventures.

The Result
These improvements positioned Dakota for growth in previously stagnant markets. Our work enabled Dakota to root out core problems and focus its attention on significant new growth measures.

The complexities of Asia present many companies with daunting challenges to effective collaboration and governance. Value Network Analysis (VNA) offers companies a way to gain clarity, pinpoint deficiencies, and realize maximized benefit from an extended network of people and organizations. VNA is gaining traction among researchers and practitioners from a wide range of fields. A brief VNA case study is also presented.