The Goal
1
Reach a defensible go/no-go decision within four weeks
2
Identify an operating model capable of carrying stronger margins
3
Leave the founder with a decision framework they could apply independently afterward
The Strategy Sprint
The Strategy Sprint
The business wasn't failing. It was built for a market that no longer existed.
Client Overview
A food manufacturing SME saw revenue decline sharply under macroeconomic pressure, rising input costs, shifting consumer buying habits, and a retail model that no longer paid for itself. ZER Consulting Africa was engaged to run a four-week Strategic Viability Sprint: settle whether the business was still viable and, if so, what path forward made sense.
The Challenge
➤ Revenue decline had been read internally as an execution problem, when the real issue was the operating model
➤ A retail-first structure that could no longer carry the business’s cost base
➤ No clear, evidence-based view of which products or channels were actually profitable
Our Approach
The ZER Growth Architecture
ZER transformed a complex set of operational and commercial challenges into a clear growth architecture.
Rather than pursuing every available opportunity, we helped the business make more deliberate growth choices—balancing capacity, product profitability, cash flow and targeted B2B expansion.
The Result
4 Weeks
to a decision
GO
verdict, backed by financial and operational analysis
5
verdicts delivered through the SKU prioritisation framework
B2B
new revenue channel unlocked, via contract and private-label manufacturing
Our Impact
The founder no longer had to guess whether the business was worth saving, they had a verdict, and a specific, financially grounded direction to take it in. Instead of continuing to lose ground in a retail model that no longer worked, the business now had a repositioning plan toward contract and private-label manufacturing, plus a framework it can reuse for the next hard call without needing to bring in outside help again.
