In a little over 2 years, a mid-market manufacturer increased orders by 20%, with operating income increasing by 1,100% and company valuation increasing by 264%.

The transformation didn't come from adding more customers, products, or programs. Instead, the company learned where its greatest opportunities were and focused the organization around them.

Strategex 80/20 helps companies identify where economic value is created, reduce profit-draining complexity, and focus resources on the opportunities that drive sustained growth and profitability.

Strategex experts work alongside leadership teams to apply 80/20 across the business, using customer and product economics, operational insight, and Voice of the Customer perceptions to make better decisions and execute against the highest-value opportunities. Strategex also teaches and coaches client leaders throughout the engagement, building the capability and operating discipline needed to sustain the system themselves.

The company had built significant complexity across its customer and product portfolios. Over an 18-month period, it served 2,850 customers purchasing 1,356 different parts.

80/20 analysis quickly showed just how concentrated the economics were.

Only 163 customers—less than 6% of the total customer count—generated 50% of sales. The bottom half of the customer base generated only 4.8%.

The product portfolio followed a similar pattern. Just 65 parts—approximately 5% of the portfolio—generated 50% of sales, while the bottom 680 parts combined generated only 2.8%.

The customer base and portfolio weren’t the only sources of complexity.

The company had also made an outsized commercial investment that wasn't producing consistent and predictable growth. Its commercial team spent virtually 80% of its time with specifiers—the people recommending products—based on the assumption that those recommendations would ultimately convert to sales.

In many cases, they didn't. Opportunities could remain in the pipeline for more than three years before a final purchase materialized.

The company needed a better understanding of where its economic value was concentrated and how buying decisions were actually being made.

Strategex combined its 80/20 customer and product analysis with its proprietary Voice of the Customer in-depth interviewing research to develop a clearer picture of the market and buying process.

The research identified six pivotal decision points and four distinct roles influencing brand-use decisions.

Specifiers mattered, but they were only one part of a much more complex buying process.

The findings challenged a long-held assumption. Commercial resources had been disproportionately concentrated on specifiers, while the company’s sellers had less direct engagement with the end-customers and contractor-installers who both played critical roles in purchasing and product-use decisions.

Leadership now had a clearer view of customer economics, priority market verticals, buying roles, and customer needs. That made it possible to redirect resources toward the relationships and opportunities with the greatest potential to create value.

As the commercial organization became more focused, sales cycles shortened and selling expenses declined. Stronger relationships with end owners and contractors also helped generate repeat business and more sustainable growth.

The lasting impact went well beyond having fewer customers or products. The company had changed the way it made decisions and allocated resources.

By concentrating resources on the parts of the business with the greatest economic potential—and developing leaders who could continue making those choices—the company built a simpler, more profitable business positioned for sustained growth.