Pollen Consulting launches rapid response consultancy service
Homegrown advisory Pollen Consulting has launched a rapid response service for local consumer goods companies impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
In response to a consumer goods sector left reeling from the coronavirus crisis, home-grown Australian advisory Pollen Consulting has established a Rapid Response service for companies in need of immediate short-term support, be it for urgently solving a problem or help with working through potential opportunities. Issues can be addressed by as soon as the following day.
“Throw us your problem and we will come back to you in 24 hours with either an answer or advice on how to fix it quickly,” said Pollen founder and CEO Paul Eastwood, who has guided the fast-growing firm since 2016. “We will do the first one for free, to demonstrate our remote problem-solving capability, or you can even pay what you think the solution was worth to you”.
Describing itself as a new breed of consultancy, Pollen believes that in the current environment its agile, innovative thinking sets it apart from the traditional firms. “The idea is that when quick results are needed, we can act with speed and efficiency. There are no long discussion times in relation to scope of work or costs,” said John Heseltine, Pollen Strategy & Innovation Director.
The firm points to the bipolar effect of the government’s pandemic countermeasures on fast-moving consumer goods companies – “from volume uplifts to lights out” – with some struggling through enforced closures while others are left frustrated with procurement breakdowns at a time of peak demand. Already, Pollen has been supporting partners to set up alternate supply chains.
According to the firm, this has covered everything from raw material and packaging inputs through to indirect items such as Personal Protective Equipment and IT hardware. “Our large local and international network covers a diverse group of categories and is well positioned to acquire goods in difficult markets from a range of vetted supplier partners,” Pollen states.
In addition, the firm has rallied its various departments to the cause – including its technology practice, which has been leveraging its knowledge in virtual simulation to envision medium-term scenarios and create fast solutions for decision analytics. Pollen Academy has also taken the opportunity to upskill people with remote training, some of which is fully government funded.
Meanwhile, the whole team has been devising innovative ways that projects can be delivered remotely during a period of widespread office shutdowns. To this end, Pollen has been arranging and running special “control towers”. Eastwood: “One notable problem we are seeing is that businesses in a state of chaos, start lots, deliver some, and forget to prioritise tasks and resources.”
The CEO adds; “Where horsepower does not exist, we can drop down and execute as well.” In a more personal note, Eastwood responded to the crisis on LinkedIn, “There are industries that have been decimated overnight, with no runway to even consider survival and my heart and thoughts are with those people. At Pollen, we are problem-solvers; it’s what we love and enjoy.”
