Strategy development and implementation for WFL Millturn Technologies

In 2017, the WFL management initiated a new strategy cycle together with the board of the Autania parent company. The key objectives of the strategy redevelopment were significant annual growth, repositioning in the market and taking the workforce with us. 3DSE was chosen to accompany the strategy development for two main reasons: the massive response to specific customer needs, such as the integration of innovative methods for strategy development, and 3DSE’s technology expertise in mechanical engineering, market segments relevant to WFL, innovation and R&D.

Strategy development for WFL took place in a series of two-day workshops. In the first workshop, the strategy team, consisting of WFL and Autania executives, worked out the trend-setting “North Star” and the growth story. For clear differentiation on the market, a competitive profile was drawn up with the decisive competitive factors for the future. The second workshop aimed at developing the “Strategy Map”. 3DSE’s approach to success factors for achieving the North Star proved to be extremely helpful and, in the same breath, provided the essential levers for achieving the strategy goal, e.g., continuous portfolio management, a process-oriented organization, or a leadership culture that is aligned with it. In the third workshop, the strategy team planned the strategy implementation using the “Strategy Roadmap” and selected the initiatives to focus on for 2018 and 2019 from a wide range of possible options. Exemplary initiatives include the establishment of a Millturn Innovation Center and the addition of automation solutions to the service portfolio, which has already been significantly advanced with the acquisition of the company FRAI Elektromaschinenbau in 2018.

The jointly developed and agreed vision, mission, strategy map and strategy roadmap were a tangible and directly communicable result of the strategy development. The way in which consensus was reached in the three workshops, which built on one another, and the way in which the employees were carried along on the path to strategy implementation were positive for everyone involved. This was done through the growth story, a communication plan and a dialogue-oriented integration of employees in the communication events and trainings.

“3DSE’s focus on innovation and R&D, and deriving the strategy from there, has contributed significantly to the successful strategy development,” says Norbert Jungreithmayr, CEO of WFL Millturn Technologies GmbH & Co. KG. “The technical and social competence of the acting persons and their understanding of WFL and our machines helped enormously to develop the strategic concepts together.”

In 2018, WFL had the most successful fiscal year in its 25-year history. Double-digit sales growth and an increase in the number of employees to over 400 set the direction for future strategy implementation. 3DSE Management Consultants are pleased to continue to be part of the strategy implementation through semi-annual strategy reviews.