Aligning Culture and Strategy at A. P. Nichols

A.P. Nichols, a distributor of parts in the maintenance, overhaul, and repair (MRO) industry is facing the need to realign its strategy to cope to a consolidating competitive environment. A key component of their realignment involves changes the culture and compensation of their sales force while simultaneously building sufficient sales capacity to take advantage of opportunities in their key markets. The case focuses on the newly hired vice-president (VP) of sales, who is tasked with leading the change initiative. Immediate issue facing the VP include: 1) alignment of the client service representative (CSR) team to the strategy and the new model; 2) infrastructure and the need to make a commitment to invest in bringing this up to a best in class level; and 3) building a critical mass in the CSR group.