Quantitative Skills
Reinventing the organisation - Heinz Europe A Heinz case study
Introduction The business writer, Charles Handy, illustrates the need for organisations to reinvent themselves by the sigmoid curve - effectively an ‘S’ shape on its side. An organisation which appears to be successful is on the upward growth path of the curve (point A). At this time, the organisation is making high sales and profits and is able to pay healthy dividends to shareholders. You may think, therefore, that there is no reason to change the organisation.
However, this organisation is close to its peak (point B). Beyond this point, the organisation may go into decline and be less successful. The time to change is at or before point A. The intelligent organisation will seek to reinvent itself and come up with new ideas in order to keep ahead of the competition. This is important as competitors will also be seeking to erode any competitive disadvantage that they may have. This case study focuses on the way in which Heinz, one of the world’s major global companies, has set out to reinvent itself at a time when it is already preeminent in a range of global food markets. The study examines aspects of Heinz’s ‘Project Millennia,’ an international restructuring plan announced in 1997, which chairman Dr Tony Reilly describes as ‘delivering the 21st century early’. In particular, the study considers the way in which Heinz has re-organised its European operations to create a pan-European structure based on eight global categories. The global Heinz Corporation Like many global producers today, the Heinz Corporation started off from a small scale and localised business. The first product produced by Henry John Heinz in 1869 was horseradish, followed by pickles, sauerkraut and vinegar. These were delivered by horse-drawn wagons to grocers in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1875, a new product was introduced which still flourishes today – tomato ketchup. Over time, Heinz expanded in the USA and
Introduction The business writer, Charles Handy, illustrates the need for organisations to reinvent themselves by the sigmoid curve - effectively an ‘S’ shape on its side. An organisation which appears to be successful is on the upward growth path of the curve (point A). At this time, the organisation is making high sales and profits and is able to pay healthy dividends to shareholders. You may think, therefore, that there is no reason to change the organisation.
However, this organisation is close to its peak (point B). Beyond this point, the organisation may go into decline and be less successful. The time to change is at or before point A. The intelligent organisation will seek to reinvent itself and come up with new ideas in order to keep ahead of the competition. This is important as competitors will also be seeking to erode any competitive disadvantage that they may have. This case study focuses on the way in which Heinz, one of the world’s major global companies, has set out to reinvent itself at a time when it is already preeminent in a range of global food markets. The study examines aspects of Heinz’s ‘Project Millennia,’ an international restructuring plan announced in 1997, which chairman Dr Tony Reilly describes as ‘delivering the 21st century early’. In particular, the study considers the way in which Heinz has re-organised its European operations to create a pan-European structure based on eight global categories. The global Heinz Corporation Like many global producers today, the Heinz Corporation started off from a small scale and localised business. The first product produced by Henry John Heinz in 1869 was horseradish, followed by pickles, sauerkraut and vinegar. These were delivered by horse-drawn wagons to grocers in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1875, a new product was introduced which still flourishes today – tomato ketchup. Over time, Heinz expanded in the USA and