Learnings from a 5-year Partnership with one of the World’s Largest Products and Services Providers to the Energy Industry

Client Context

Facing relentless and unprecedented market forces, companies in the Energy sector were under pressure to rapidly reduce costs while increasing speed and efficiency to remain competitive.

Recognizing these challenges, the client engaged EFESO’s Product Innovation and Value Management (PIVM) team to strengthen its market position and establish a Lean New Product Development (NPD) framework.

The collaboration evolved through four distinct phases, driving a sustained transformation toward continuous improvement in product development.

Key Challenges

• Cost pressures and market volatility threatening long-term competitiveness.
• Inefficient product design processes, leading to higher costs and complexity.
• Fragmented product portfolios, increasing SKU complexity.
• Need to institutionalize Lean New Product Development for sustained impact.

Approach & Key Success Factors

EFESO guided the client through a structured transformation journey in Lean New Product Development, focusing on three key areas:

1. Value Engineering

• Applied structured value engineering methodologies to identify cost-saving opportunities in product design.
• Implemented set-based concurrent engineering to optimize design decisions and reduce costs.

2. Portfolio Management

• Conducted a SKU rationalization initiative, reducing unnecessary complexity in the product portfolio.
• Streamlined product offerings, leading to a 93% reduction in SKUs.

3. Lean Product Development

• Introduced Lean project management principles to improve speed-to-market.
• Implemented set-based development to enhance design flexibility and reduce costly iterations.
• Institutionalized a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring ongoing sustainment of Lean NPD.

Results

$195 million

In annual EBITDA improvement through new product revenue growth and cost reduction.

25-29%

Average cost reduction in product design.

93% SKU reduction

Improving operational efficiency.

Sustained organizational and cultural transformation

Embedding Lean New Product Development as an ongoing journey.