Case Study: Europe Business LaunchInternational Business
Starting from scratch, this Calgary company wanted to set up, staff & launch a Europe sales & distribution office - in just 90-days!
EyeWire Inc. was a Calgary-based graphic design products maker & online seller. EyeWire had an established customer base in North America – but wanted to expand internationally to fuel future growth. To accomplish its goal, EyeWire needed my help to set up a European business entity & office out of London, UK, and then equip staff, launch & run the operation from that location.
Note: Afdonex is a relatively new business. This case is from earlier work completed by Afdonex’s Don Wieshlow.
challenge
Challenges for this project management case included a very long task list requiring coordination of many people, and sequential time considerations leading up to a specific launch date. Added to this was that we didn’t know anyone in London that could help us, and I had only just transferred to that city at the start of this project.
- Some of the major items on our to-do list included:
- Set up legal entity, banking, insurance.
- Find, renovate & equip the office space to suit our operation and distribution.
- Set up internet, phones with international toll-free, mail service, shipping, etc.
- Hire and train call centre and shipping staff.
- Set up accounting & reporting process.
- Work with Dev. team to set up UK/Europe versions of website with appropriate currency & tax.
- Prepare & implement marketing plan for launch and ongoing operation.
solution
In this situation, we were not only setting up an office, but we were also setting up, launching & operating an international business. In order to make sense of, and stay on top of all the different components and the many tasks that needed to be done, I created:
- Business plan with budget & targets for the European operation.
- Project plan for the business/office set up.
- Project plan for the launch.
results
Benefit:
EyeWire benefitted from my project management skill for their international expansion. Through the combination of strong planning, attention to detail, sequential task delivery, and the effective coordination of the right specialist workers – we were able to deliver the entirety of the project and launch and begin earning in both the UK and Europe within 90 days from our project start.
Result:
This project was a great success, for the following reasons:
- EyeWire Europe launched on-time and on-budget, making sales from day-one.
- This business would go on to generate several million dollars in revenue.
- EyeWire’s global profile was significantly enhanced by having its Europe footprint.
- EyeWire & the Europe business successfully exited – acquired by and integrated into Getty Images
