1. Business Results Road Map
Planning and Implementing Transformative Change
Audit | Tax | Advisory | Risk | Performance The Unique Alternative to the Big Four ®

2. Businesses often spend considerable
time and effort developing and
refining their corporate strategies,
only to discover that turning those
strategies into effective operating
plans is an even greater challenge.
The Business Results Road Map, developed by
Crowe Horwath LLP, has proven successful in helping
companies meet this challenge. The highly focused,
fast-paced road map approach helps executives identify
and prioritize those initiatives that are most promising
for producing positive results that are directly related
to the corporate strategy, while at the same time
recognizing the need to operate realistically within the
boundaries of the organization’s business assets. Even
more important, it enables prompt follow-through,
successful execution, and measurement of financial and
performance outcomes, while maximizing the effective
use of business assets in human, organizational,
financial, and informational resources. The result is a truly
transformative change in the organization, which enables
it to make the leap to the next level of performance.
2

3. Crowe® Business Results Road Map
A High-priority Approach to Achieving Change
“Various studies Turning plans into actions is not a new
challenge – in fact, it’s a challenge
The road map then helps executives
prioritize the various initiatives based
done in the past 25 as old as business itself. Yet in on their individual and collective return
today’s competitive environment, on investment (ROI) and their overall
years indicate that 60 the ability to successfully execute strategic impact. The result is a clear
percent to 80 percent strategy is more critical than ever. action plan that leaders can use to
Studies show that most business begin implementing an appropriate mix
of companies fall strategies consistently fail to achieve of short- and long-term initiatives.
short of the success all their stated goals – a shortcoming
that just about every executive
Even more significant is the
transformative change that occurs in the
predicted from their experiences firsthand, often several
way the company translates strategy
times, throughout his or her career.
new strategies.” into action, and the development
To overcome such impediments, the of a strong, effective management
— Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton
Crowe Business Results Road Map system that ensures chosen initiatives
Harvard Business Review1
helps companies step away from are executed effectively, and that
isolated or disconnected improvement projected results are achieved.
projects, and instead take a broader
view of the organization’s strategy
and its implementation. An intensive
approach that generally is achieved
on a seven-week timetable, the
road map process begins with a
high-impact review of the existing
environment, followed by clarification of
improvement targets and performance
benchmarks, and the identification
of a series of potential initiatives that
will provide maximum impact.
www.crowehorwath.com 3

4. Crowe Horwath LLP
Executing Strategy: Where Good
Companies Often Struggle
The inability to successfully execute Overcoming these common challenges
strategy can threaten the very survival requires a management strategy that
of a business. This challenge can starts and ends with a business focus,
manifest itself in a variety of ways: beginning with clear identification of
the desired business outcomes, and
„ In some companies, the failure
ending with the accurate tracking of
to execute strategy results in a
the actual business results. The Crowe
growth plateau, where the company
approach will provide management
struggles to reach the next level as
with a mechanism to choose the most
it wrestles with challenges that limit
appropriate alternatives with the highest
its size, scope, and sales revenues.
potential ROI. In addition, strong
„ In addition to an inability to achieve monitoring is essential in order to track
growth targets, some companies realization of the targeted results.
also encounter an operational wall,
To be successful, companies must
experiencing unexpected increases
establish a “new normal” – that is, a
in claims, service complaints, bad
new, accepted method of operation
“I sat in rooms debt, or other breakdowns.
that truly transforms the organization
for years, looking „ Some companies develop
reasonable and promising strategies
into a high-performing entity.
at promising for revenue growth, lower costs,
improved service, or other critical
strategies that never objectives, but key managers are
delivered results.” uncertain where to begin or unable
to overcome inertia to get started.
— Jack Welch
“Jack: Straight From the Gut” 2 „ Still others are able to accurately
identify the best initiatives to enact
their strategies, but find that execution
and long-term adoption are lacking.
4

5. Crowe® Business Results Road Map
The Underlying Causes of Failed Strategies
There are many reasons why companies
fail to accomplish transformative change.
„ Limited resources (both financial
and human), which prevent the
“The vast majority
One common impediment arises when organization from bringing projects of companies never
companies fail to take a broad enough to a successful conclusion;
view of the challenges. become great,
„ Competing and conflicting priorities
Companies in this situation often within the organization; precisely because
launch a series of one-off projects,
using various skills and disciplines
„ Individual executives’ inability to the vast majority
recognize the strategic implications
with which they are already familiar of their initiatives; become quite good
such as business intelligence,
quality control, lean manufacturing,
„ Lack of executive support – and that is their
or a powerful champion
vendor-managed inventory, or
within the organization; main problem.”
other, similar specialized tools.
— Jim Collins
„ Lack of a proper management
Some of these initiatives can be valuable “Good to Great” 3
system to sustain performance
and helpful, but only to a limited extent
gains and perpetuate the new
because the chosen initiatives address
manner of doing business;
only a fraction of the full set of issues
required for success. Such well-intentioned „ General resistance to change; and
but inadequately planned efforts can be „ Complacency after partial or limited
counterproductive, with often disappointing success that fails to lift the company
outcomes including turnaround from “good” to “great.”
expectations that are never realized.
In addition to adopting an unnecessarily
limited view of change, companies also
encounter a number of other common
obstacles including:
www.crowehorwath.com 5

6. Crowe Horwath LLP
Comprehensive, Transformative Change
Developed in response to businesses’ „ Products – including new product „ Customers – including initiatives that
struggle to achieve transformative development, product profitability, involve relationship management,
change, the Crowe Business Results item rationalization, stocking and forecasting, channel partners,
Road Map is a rapid, intensive customer service levels, quality, service level agreements, customer
approach that helps companies step and portfolio mix projects; collaboration, early access to
away from isolated or disconnected customer ordering patterns, special
„ Organization – including programs
improvement projects, and instead take terms/royalties/rebates, and
designed to update personnel
a broader view of the organization’s customer inventory visibility; and
roles, organizational structure,
strategy and its implementation. responsibilities, business policies, „ Supply Chain – including projects
During the seven-week road map intergroup dynamics, outsourcing, that affect suppliers, supplier-
initiative, management is led through shared services, risk management, owned inventory, transportation,
a process that helps the company and internal best practices; production, distribution centers,
assess the entire suite of potential service level agreements, and
„ Process/Systems – including
initiatives that could be undertaken, contract management.
projects focused on business
producing an accurate evaluation of the processes improvement and system Opportunities in these five categories
business impact each of those initiatives integration, as well as specific are assessed to identify their impact on
would bring to the organization. technology projects such as the company’s organizational, financial,
This initial assessment produces a enterprise resource planning, business operational, and strategic goals. For
portfolio of high-impact prospective intelligence, forecasting, warehouse each potential initiative, Crowe and the
improvement projects that address management, data collection, client organization also collaborate on a
five fundamental business domains: and document management; comprehensive list of key dependencies
and risks, rating the maturity of current
processes, projected business benefits,
Pillars for Road Map Initiatives client resources required to implement,
and critical success factors.
Products In this way, the road map helps to
effectively coordinate the delivery of
these initiatives and deliver positive
results, while also providing management
with additional and valuable perspectives
they would otherwise not receive.
Above all, the process enables the
Customers Organization organization to move quickly in actually
executing chosen initiatives successfully
over a 12- to 18-month period.
Supply Chain Process/Systems
6

7. Crowe® Business Results Road Map
A Practical, Phased Approach to Strategic Success
By developing the Business Results change that is the overall objective. „ Execution
Road Map in a collaborative manner, The final road map identifies Building on the high-level resource
Crowe and the client can identify, define, budgets, projected benefits, timing, map, management can now quickly
and prioritize specific initiatives that will and a plan for implementation, and confidently assign responsibility
yield the maximum impact in critical beginning with some initial “quick for each project and establish
performance areas. The development wins” that create momentum and the project’s priority in the overall
and execution processes are generally help engage the organization. improvement effort. Some projects
organized into a series of phases: These are followed by longer-term are assigned to internal teams,
initiatives that, over the course of others may be led by Crowe
„ Defining Objectives
the execution, move the organization consultants, and still others may
The recognized need for change
toward the enhanced performance be executed by niche specialists.
is expressed as a series of clearly
level called for by the strategy.
identified and measurable business
objectives, with quantifiable and
tangible measures of success.
„ Identifying Improvement Initiatives
Crowe and the client identify
potential initiatives that could be
undertaken by the organization
to realize these results.
„ Assessing Impact and ROI
The anticipated impact of each
potential initiative is compared
against the objectives. To identify
ROI, Crowe’s assessment
includes a detailed business case
analysis and payback analysis.
„ Prioritizing Projects
The objective assessment of the
projects’ impact is combined with
other critical decision factors –
such as timing, potential barriers,
resource constraints, risks, and
strategic importance – to produce
a prioritized list of initiatives.
„ Resource Planning and Road Map
An agreed-upon action plan creates
clarity, aligns people with the mission,
and shows how actions will drive
toward the broad transformative
www.crowehorwath.com 7

8. Crowe Horwath LLP
Heat Map
Controls/Risk Mitigation
Repeatable Processes
Returns Improvement
Inventory Reduction
= RECOMMENDED
NP Launch Savings
Data and Analytics
Customer Service
COGS Reduction
= CRITICAL
Scalability
Road Map Initiatives and Projects Business Performance Foundation for Growth
Products
New Product Development H H M H H M H M M
Existing Product Management H H M L L L M M M
Organization
Roles and Organization Alignment H H M H M M M M M
Performance Management M H M M H M L M L
Systems
ERP System Replacement H L L M M H H M M
Forecasting/Demand Management System H M M M M H H M M
Document Management/Work ow Enabler M M L H M M H L M
Reporting/Business Intelligence Framework M M M M L M M H M
Systems Architecture, Integration, & Optimization M M L M L H H M H
Supply Chain Process Improvement
S&OP Process Improvement H M L L L H H M M
Inventory Management H H M L M H M M L
Sourcing M H L M L H L M M
Service Quality L M M L M L M M H
Returns L H H L M L M L L
Additional Projects (identi ed post-review)
New Distribution Center Assessment M H L M H H M M L
Transition to 3PL H H L M H H M M L
New Brand Introduction M M L M M L L L L
Although an actual heat map would typically display many more potential projects, this example
illustrates the clear visibility and prioritization this useful tool provides.
8

9. Crowe® Business Results Road Map
A Closer Look at Key
Road Map Deliverables
The Crowe Business Results Road Map Charter Development
is designed to help companies overcome The objective assessment of the
significant challenges in translating initiatives’ impact, as spelled out in
strategy into meaningful operational the heat map, is combined with other
improvements. Several key deliverables critical decision factors to produce
are essential to achieving this goal: a prioritized list of initiatives. These
decision factors usually include:
Heat Map „ Timing (ideally a mix of quick
This objective, intuitive matrix demonstrates
wins and longer-term projects);
the anticipated impact of each possible
initiative and compares it against the defined „ Potential barriers to implementation;
objectives. The heat map helps prioritize „ Resource constraints (including
projects, based on their assessed impact. financial and personnel limitations);
For example, those in which the impact
„ ROI;
is assessed as “high” in three or more
categories are classified as “critical,” while „ Risks;
others are “recommended” for execution. „ Strategic importance;
This prioritization is essential to counteract
„ Interdependencies among various
the tendency to try to implement too many
departments and divisions;
projects at once, resulting in none of
them finishing satisfactorily. „ Possible overlaps with
other initiatives; and
Business Justification/ROI
„ Key executive sponsorship.
Crowe applies its industry, financial
modeling, and operational experience
Resource Plan
to help clients develop a detailed
A high-level resource plan identifies
documentation and payback analysis that
the available resources from the
can be used to justify key investments
client, Crowe, and potential third-
with top executives and the board
party participants. This resource
of directors. In certain situations this
plan will drive the next phase of the
analysis may also serve as a key
process, which is the production of
input into incentive-oriented projects
the actual road map document.
based on actual business results.
www.crowehorwath.com 9

10. Crowe Horwath LLP
Road Map
This is an agreed-upon action plan that „ Initial budgets and expenses for various projects’ execution;
creates clarity, aligns people with the „ Projected savings, revenue enhancement, or other benefits;
mission, and shows how actions will drive
toward the broad, transformative change „ Timing expectations in view of resources, risks, and dependencies;
that is the overall objective. The road map „ Expected business impact;
will also incorporate many of the company’s
„ Expected costs;
existing portfolio of projects, and will
rationalize any change to existing project „ Action plans and next steps for implementation; and
priorities. The final road map identifies: „ Executive and management responsibility for each initiative.
ACME Supply Chain Improvements – All Projects Road Map
New Product Development
ERP, Forecasting
Roles and Organizational Alignment
Systems Architecture and Integration
Critical
Inventory Management (8 projects)
Outsource to Third-party Logistics Provider
Distribution Strategy
Program Management
Optimization
EU Distribution Introduction
Document Management
Systems and Work ow Performance Management Recommended
(10 projects)
Existing Product Management
Sourcing S&OP Process Improvement
Returns
Reporting/BI
Service Quality
0 – 6 months 6 – 12 months 12 – 18 months
Projects Led by Independent/ Phase II
Third Party
Company-led Projects Go Live
10

11. Crowe® Business Results Road Map
Execution That Helps Ensure Results
The ultimate measure of the Crowe The road map helps companies
Business Results Road Map’s translate broad strategies into a
effectiveness is the successful portfolio of realistic, practical, and
implementation of projects that advance achievable projects – complete with
corporate strategy and deliver real the processes to execute them and the
business benefit. Those initiatives tools that are needed to track results
assigned to Crowe for execution are – while relating each initiative back to
managed using a rigorous program the company’s defined strategy and
management methodology, based objectives. And it does this in a fast-
on established best practices in moving, seven-week process that
program management. For initiatives establishes a momentum for change.
assigned to internal teams or other
By identifying the investment required,
providers, the road map process helps
defining the projected payback,
identify milestones, define realistic
projecting an achievable timeline,
metrics, and establish clear lines of
and outlining a specific execution
responsibility for achieving results.
strategy, the Crowe Business Results
Finally, it should be noted that the Road Map can help businesses
Crowe Business Results Road Map achieve the transformative change
differs substantially from traditional they are seeking in order to turn
assessments, which often serve primarily sound strategy into measurable and
to confirm issues that management lasting performance improvement.
already suspects are impeding success.
Thought leadership from Crowe helps 1 Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton,
clients identify threats and opportunities “Mastering the Management System,”
Harvard Business Review, January 2008,
that often are “off their radar.” http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2008/01/
mastering-the-management-system/ar/1
2 Jack Welch, “Jack: Straight From the Gut,”
Warner Business Books, 2001, p. 383
3 Jim Collins, “Good to Great,” HarperBusiness,
2001, p. 1
www.crowehorwath.com 11

12. Contact Us About Crowe Horwath LLP
For more information about the Crowe Horwath LLP is one of the largest public accounting and consulting
Crowe Business Results Road Map firms in the United States. Under its core purpose of Building Value with Values®
,
or any of our other practical, results- Crowe assists public and private company clients in reaching their goals through
oriented business services, contact: audit, tax, advisory, risk, and performance services. With 26 offices and 2,400
personnel, Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the country’s
Vicky Ludema
best places to work. Crowe serves clients worldwide as an independent
800.599.2304
member of Crowe Horwath International, one of the largest networks in the
vicky.ludema@crowehorwath.com
world, consisting of more than 140 independent accounting and management
consulting firms with offices in more than 400 cities around the world.
www.crowehorwath.com
Crowe Horwath LLP is an independent member of Crowe Horwath International, a Swiss verein. Each member firm of Crowe Horwath International is a separate and independent legal entity.
Crowe Horwath LLP and its affiliates are not responsible or liable for any acts or omissions of Crowe Horwath International or any other member of Crowe Horwath International and specifically
disclaim any and all responsibility or liability for acts or omissions of Crowe Horwath International or any other Crowe Horwath International member. Accountancy services in Kansas and North
Carolina are rendered by Crowe Chizek LLP, which is not a member of Crowe Horwath International. © 2010 Crowe Horwath LLP
PERF9332B