JWPM Consulting
Case Study
Whole-of-business strategy to reignite growth
The Challenge:
After years of successfully regrouping following a major supplier restructure, Remtron had emerged as a respected national supplier of industrial automation components, known for its technical capability and customer-first culture.
But momentum had stalled.
Sales growth had flat lined, internal systems were straining, and the company’s unique strengths weren’t being communicated to the broader market.
Like many technical product distributors, Remtron was juggling the expectations of global suppliers who demanded strong sales performance and brand representation, with the complex needs of a large and varied customer base.
Remtron distributes the world's leading automation component brands - ABB, Sick, Sullair, Schneider Electric, Foxboro, FESTO, Phoenix Contact, Rittal, and more.. serious global brands.
As a technical products distributor, Remtron wasn’t just selling boxes; it was helping engineers solve problems, specify components, and build systems.
However, the business lacked a cohesive strategy to guide growth. Marketing was fragmented, sales efforts were stretched thin, and the business model wasn’t fully optimized for scale.
The Brief
Remtron didn’t need a glossy “blue sky” vision of global domination, which is what many planning sessions deliver...
"we will be all things to all people, at all times, and in all places - sustainable, respecting the individual and... blah."
What it needed was a commercially grounded, deeply informed strategy that would guide the company through the narrow straight and inspire the crew to perform like a team.
JWPM was engaged to deliver that clarity and solve some basic issues like how to tie a conceptual ribbon around its house of brands, update the first-generation website into something more contemporary and fit for purpose.
Our Approach
This was more than a marketing project, it was a business transformation.
We began by lifting the bonnet to uncover the core of Remtron’s operation: understanding their business model, cost structure, supplier dynamics, customer segmentation, sales processes, and operational constraints.
We built a tailored strategy that aligned with what was actually possible not just desirable.
We started with a deep dive into the numbers, we interviewed directors, management, and salespeople. We spoke to customers and suppliers. We conducted planning meetings.
Like many strategy assignments, Remtron’s management team and owners had all the experience, knowledge, and ideas about how the business operates, the problems, and the potential opportunities.
But these threads were tied in a knot. Our job was to work with the team to unpick that knot.
Working with Remtron, we assisted them to develop a practical, results-oriented growth plan that integrated:
- Whole-of-business strategy and vision setting
- Targeted go-to-market design
- Commercial and operational priorities
- Internal capability development
- Marketing strategy grounded in business objectives
Rather than a one-size-fits-all playbook, our approach prioritized the fastest, lowest-risk wins with the highest commercial upside, while also setting a clear direction for long-term growth.
What We Delivered
- VISION: A quantified, business-wide VISION anchored to real financial targets that defined a measurable finish line, not some generic aspirational utopian future.
- GROWTH PLAN: A strategy based on the ANSOFF matrix, identifying exactly where this growth would come from and how it could be achieved. It broke the VISION down from “Wow! That’s a big number” to a collection of smaller numbers each within realistic grasp.
- Go-to-market model tailored to the realities of selling technical products, balancing the needs of global brands and local customers.
- Operational plan for the installation of new business systems, sales-force reorganization, and fine tuning of their selling model.
- COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: Repositioning of the brand around Remtron’s true differentiator; deep technical expertise embedded throughout the business. Remtron has an impressive engineering capability – best not keep it a secret.
- SALES-FORCE DIRECTION: Re-tasking the sales force from generic “get out and sell more” to short term mission planning and incentives aligned with growth objectives.
- MARKETING: Design of a scalable sales and marketing framework, including a new website design and architecture, SEO, and marketing automation foundations.
- ASSETS: Development of tools, templates, and systems to professionalize sales enablement and customer engagement.
- IN-SOURCING: Up-skilling of Remtron’s internal marketing resource to sustain momentum without ongoing consultancy reliance.
The Outcome
The visible manifestation of our work was a planning document, a new brand standards manual, a much clearer and more contemporary website, and sales tools - a marketing makeover.
However, the outcome was more than just professional branding and smarter marketing; it was strategic clarity.
The plan was grounded. Yes, it had stretch, the VISION defined ambitious growth to be achieved through business transforming objectives - but designed to be implemented by the team that already existed, with the resources they actually had.
It was believable and achievable.
Most importantly, it was THEIR plan, not OUR plan - we provided touches of magic as we should, but mostly we just unpicked the knot.
Today Remtron is a leading supplier of industrial automation products.
Practical strategy. Technical insight. Growth made achievable.