Improving customer satisfaction at a leading retail and commercial bank
The issue
- Continuing declines in NPS and CRI scores across retail and commercial customer bases
- Board’s ambition was to achieve market-leading customer recommendation levels
- Ongoing customer service challenges driving up customer dissatisfaction ― but unclear as to true extent and causes
- Big gaps between customer expectations and delivery
- True extent of customer dissatisfaction not identified or addressed, and NPS surveying not used to mine for triggers. 40% of customers thought they had complained vs 4.5% recorded
- Reality was 45% of customers who’d formally complained were dissatisfied with complaint resolution, making them far more likely to churn (62%)
What we did
Designed & executed a pricing, product and service migration of all policyholders to one new modular product
- Worked across retail and commercial banking operations to understand and map impacts of service failures and complaints response on NPS and CRI scores
- Identified biggest linkages between types of service failure, quality/ timeliness of complaint resolution, and the creation of Detractors
- Surfaced major under-reporting of complaints and inaction where known detractors continued to be detractors
- Developed set of targeted remedial actions to apply at point of service failure or complaints to prevent creation of detractors or convert them into neutral/advocates, minimising risk of eventual lapse
- Defined how to cost-effectively and proactively pinpoints and stop service failures occurring
- Designed operational changes in four customer management areas across Retail & Commercial Banking to reduce service failure and complaints volumes and costs
The results
- Recommendations agreed by both divisions
- Transition plans delivered
- ExCos in implementation
- Reported improved NPS & satisfaction rate scores
- On-target run-rate cost reduction benefits
What our clients say
“As a result of Curzon’s support a strategic and digital leap has been made in how we manage the entire asset lifecycle to transform our Developer Service experience. This is a programme and a product that sets a new benchmark within the industry.”
Jason Tucker
Director of Alliances & Integrated Supply Chain, Anglian Water
An award-winning team
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP
Increased operating profit at glass manufacturer
The issue
- Our client, a manufacturing site for automotive glass had struggled to break-even through four years of plummeting demand
- The site’s future was in doubt unless it could quickly demonstrate growth in efficiency and competitiveness
- Cultural resistance to change
- Strain on production teams
What we did
- Operational analysis identifying where, why & how greater efficiencies were achievable
- Designing & managing transformation pilot, measuring effectiveness
- Prioritised roll-out, training & robust project governance
- Worked with management to embed leadership skills & capabilities
The results
- Our work delivered benefits exceeding €10m annualised operating profit & €20m working capital reduction
- We helped our client become a Group-wide exemplar of best operating practices and re-establish its position as a market leading producer
- The transfer of crucial capabilities to the local team has enabled sustainable change
- San Salvo is now a credible, long term engine of growth
- Our work was awarded “Highly Commended” at the MCA Awards for Change Management in the Private Sector
What our clients say
“As a result of Curzon’s support a strategic and digital leap has been made in how we manage the entire asset lifecycle to transform our Developer Service experience. This is a programme and a product that sets a new benchmark within the industry.”
Jason Tucker
Director of Alliances & Integrated Supply Chain, Anglian Water
An award-winning team
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP
Delivering a step change in operational performance
The issue
- Four factories on one site producing 60% of the company’s European demand for the Automotive market
- Utilisation and performance had been in steady decline for four years and with very poor customer delivery and service performance this was seen to be a failing site
- Local custom and practice was inhibiting opportunities to improve productivity
- Curzon was engaged to help the Site Director achieve control and turn performance around
- The site was achieving less than 60% OEE on its premium integrated lines
- High inventories but of the wrong products due to lack of control of demand and production priorities
- No performance management system in place to drive improvement
- Disconnected Planning and Production functions causing late delivery and high costs
- Limited management capability and lack of proactive supervision
What we did
- Create an overall approach to transform the performance of the site involving all of the management team
- Implement a cross-functional planning process and tools e.g. production wheels to establish a clear view of demand, delivery priorities and factory capability to deliver
- Implement Lean capabilities on the shop floor e.g. SMED techniques, SIC and Kaizen to improve productivity and develop a sense of ownership
- Selective capital investment in facilities (underway)
- Implement visual performance management and supporting proactive supervisory/management processes
- Build the capability of the local team to ensure sustainability
The results
- Achieved in excess of 25% reduction in inventories and a significant uplift in on time delivery to distribution centres
- Improved OEE on key integrated lines by over 20%, increasing capacity and enabling transfer of work from less productive sites
- Built the capability of the client team to be able to complete the programme rollout successfully themselves and to sustain the initial improvements
- Created a blueprint that can be rolled-out to other sites globally
What our clients say
“As a result of Curzon’s support a strategic and digital leap has been made in how we manage the entire asset lifecycle to transform our Developer Service experience. This is a programme and a product that sets a new benchmark within the industry.”
Jason Tucker
Director of Alliances & Integrated Supply Chain, Anglian Water
An award-winning team
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP
Improving yield management at a travel & leisure operator
The issue
- A leading leisure travel group needed to make a change in Yield Management practice to optimise commercial outcomes
- Profitability under strain due to increased competition and uncertain market conditions
- A complex and out of date system eroded trust in Yield Management practice
- Limited understanding of commercial impact of pricing decisions and a lack of operational control
- No alignment behind informed vision to guide the development, deployment and industrialization
- Capability gaps
- Siloed understanding of the potential impact of digital technologies
What we did
- Market analysis
- Developed strategy & analytical model to explore critical aspects of Yield Management Operating Model
- Developed blueprint roadmap to deliver vision & clear programme structure
- Business transformation
- Executive coaching
- People & culture change
- Flexible approach enabled client to retain ownership
The results
- Estimates over next four years indicate cumulative improvements in gross margin, uplift in aircraft utilisation & increase in spend per customer
- Improved cross-functional collaboration
- Uplift in gross margins for last season
- Commercial mindset taking hold in organisation
What our clients say
“As a result of Curzon’s support a strategic and digital leap has been made in how we manage the entire asset lifecycle to transform our Developer Service experience. This is a programme and a product that sets a new benchmark within the industry.”
Jason Tucker
Director of Alliances & Integrated Supply Chain, Anglian Water
An award-winning team
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP
Capturing a greater share of the general aviation value chain
The issue
- An inherent lack of commerciality where services were being provided to incumbent FBO at no cost
- A lack of understanding of customer requirements
- A high operational cost was carried to manage changing customer needs & poor pilot & broker practices
- Customers transit through the airport was poor & the lounge & facilities provided were outdated
- Other airports were capturing market share by offering a superior service offering
What we did
- Smarter commercials & charging for service identified for revenue growth i.e. Marshalling
- Affiliated 3rd parties identified to provide onward travel & concierge services along with proposing a discrete duty free offering
- Levying cancellation charges when appropriate to drive improved customer behaviour
- A customer journey redesign to address concerns & recapture market share
The results
- Within 4 weeks the project identified growth opportunities to double existing revenue & double the share of the value chain
- The future strategy proposed changes to existing practices and partnerships
- Redefined customer proposition was suggested to maximise revenue & improve customer experience
An award-winning team
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP
Operating model refinement and commercial focus to deliver a step change in business performance
The issue
- A subsidiary of a global defence company, providing technology-based R&D solutions and advisory services to government and defence organisations and private sector companies at the cutting edge of secure communications and cyber warfare
- Despite repeated calls by Group to improve, the business continuously failed to meet performance expectations on revenue growth, profit margin and free cash flow
- The business was suffering from an overly-layered and siloed organisation structure, with burdensome management processes and lacking commercial focus
- The underlying issues were structural and an absence of effective performance management, wrongly being justified because business discipline would stifle creativity and innovation
Solution
- Undertook a business-wide design and business case development stage to anchor the current performance failings and the required changes
- Implemented over a 12-month period working alongside the business unit leadership with a structured plan;
- A new leadership team established, with stronger governance processes, metrics, and proactive staff engagement
- Simplified the operating model and aligned capabilities to market needs
- Re-framed value propositions and initiated the move into critical national infrastructure
- Implemented resource management to drive productivity uplift
- Implemented new mentoring and HR processes to underpin talent management
- Supported post-implementation by refreshing the plan
The results
- 29% revenue uplift (versus budget target)
- 18% Return on Sales achieved versus a 15% target for the financial year
- 90% improvement in business cash flow
- 10% points increase in Engineer productivity, with a continued increase to 74% utilisation in year 2, and climbing
- Transformed the operating model and business culture to be customer and commercially focused
- Established performance management at the business and individual level
- Underpinned changes with disciplines, governance, reward structures and visibility
- The Project won the Management Consultancy Association’s award for “Performance Improvement in the Private Sector” with full sponsorship of the client
An award-winning team
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP
Six Sites, Two Continents, One Coherent Operation: Rationalising a Complex Manufacturing Footprint
Outcomes
The recommended footprint optimisation was accepted in full — structured as a self-funding capital investment with a two-year payback period, removing the need for external capital commitment and making the business case straightforward to approve. The new operations and supply chain configuration directly addressed customers’ requirements for in-country sourcing, protecting existing contracts and unlocking future growth opportunities that the previous setup had put at risk. Implementation was designed around people from the outset — minimising disruption, reducing HR-related risk, and ensuring the retention of the critical capabilities the business depended upon. Key stakeholders across all principal sites were engaged and aligned throughout, giving the new model genuine organisational ownership.
Background
The organisation’s manufacturing and supply chain footprint had evolved organically rather than by design. The result was a web of complex intra-company and external supply chain relationships that drove slow production cycle times, unwieldy planning processes, and a cost base that made competitive pricing increasingly difficult — both for retaining existing customers and winning new ones.
The absence of a clear make-or-buy policy compounded the problem: costly in-house production was being maintained in areas where external sourcing would have delivered better value, while the rationale for what was made where had never been rigorously examined. Meanwhile, an emerging customer requirement for in-country sourcing added a new dimension of urgency — the existing footprint was not just inefficient, it was beginning to create a structural barrier to future contract growth.
The business needed more than a supply chain fix. It needed a fundamental rethink of where it operated, what it made, and how its sites related to one another — one that could be implemented without disrupting the operation or losing the people and capabilities that made it competitive.
Curzon Approach
Curzon applied a comprehensive, fact-based diagnostic across the full breadth of the business — examining product, people, customers, regulation, operations, and supply chain through the Curzon framework. This wide-angle view was essential: footprint decisions of this complexity cannot be made on cost data alone, and understanding the regulatory, commercial, and capability dimensions was as important as the financial analysis.
From this foundation, an options-based operating model was developed to serve as an anchor for scenario evaluation across three primary lenses — providing a structured way to compare meaningfully different futures rather than iterating around a single assumed solution. Each principal scenario was evaluated interactively with key stakeholders from across the business — a deliberate choice to build ownership and test practical feasibility in parallel, rather than presenting conclusions after the fact.
Priority options were then subjected to extensive financial assessment, conducted in close cooperation with the client’s own finance function to ensure the numbers were grounded in the business’s actual cost structure and validated by those who would be held accountable for delivering them. The resulting recommendation balanced profitability, operational resilience, and the commercial imperative of meeting in-country sourcing requirements — structured as a self-funding investment to make implementation as straightforward as possible to sanction.
Throughout, the people dimension was treated as a first-order concern rather than an implementation afterthought — ensuring that the path to a rationalised footprint was one the organisation could walk without losing what made it valuable.
