KONCEPT Ltd.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Armony Sustentable is an organization that for more than 38 years has been dedicated to the recycling and recovery of organic waste with a triple economic, social and environmental impact. I currently hold the position of CEO with the mission of reporting management and results to the board of directors.

For what projects/services did your company hire KONCEPT Ltd.?

On Nov 02, 2021, the company ARMONY Sustentable s.a. contracted with KONCEPT Ltda. a advisory service and professional consultancy, consisting of generating, together with the general management, a synoptic map showing the situation of the company in terms commercial, financial and organizational, 5 months after taking office of the new manager.

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

KONCEPT is a renowned company that we have known for a long time due to the good results of its work. The selection process considered 2 other consultants who submitted similar proposals. In the end, the decision was made for KONCEPT since it offered a personalized and wide-ranging service covering different company needs.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

The project considered making in the first place a brief analysis of the business figures obtained by the company in the last three years of operation, by type of market, segment, customer and service, based on the company's financial statements. For this, a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the annual financial results of the company. The work was based on the analysis of portfolios of products, services, segments and customers, available in the company. The methodology included conducting a three-year comparative analysis of the structure of income, costs, margins and expenses of the company.

On that basis, a characterization of the company's business was perform, identifying the key results. In parallel with the collection of commercial and financial information, a series of meetings were held with the general manager, with a weekly frequency. The idea was to map the perspectives of the company's business and operations (objectives, processes, operational value chain, technologies, organizational structures and capabilities of the existing crew). A brief review of the possible areas of investment was also made with the general manager, as well as the analysis of the alliances that were being worked by the company.

The operational and financial information was taken to various graphs and charts that allowed to show in a synoptic and concise way the situation of the company, as it is perceived by the general management. Finally, support was given to the general management in the preparation and execution of a session with the board, in which the manager presented the results obtained through the contracted consultancy work.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The CEO and the area managers of Armony worked directly with the Managing Director of Koncept.

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

The work carried out in conjunction with the general management allowed the establishment of a baseline that characterizes the current situation of Armony´s companies. This covered its corporate context, its businesses and products, its operating processes and business, its value chain and its organizational structure, as well as the results obtained both at a consolidated level and by area of ​​activity. The definitions, concepts and schemes developed will allow the management to significantly enrich the conversations and communications with the board of directors, uniting corporate visions, clarifying the guidelines and scope of the business and facilitating decision making.

The generated documentary base will strengthen communications, decisions and coordination within the organization. The higher level of shared knowledge about the business and its main processes and about the organizational structure and its limitations will allow the different work teams to better address the current operation and its future development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had several meetings every week, vitrtually and prescencially, allowing the team to have a successful and very fluent work with Koncept. Also the Board of Directors had a very fluent relationship with the consultant.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were very responsible with the project, producing documents and working materials for every session. They delivered materials that were extensively used throughout the company. Also the Managing Director of Koncept was every atentive to the changes implemented in the project.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I don´t have much to say because the work was done perfectly. If I have to suggest something I would say that the prices were rather high, but the results were worth it.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I´m the managing director of the company. Our company provides pre-elaborated vegetables and fresh fruits for casinos, restaurants and food companies.

For what projects/services did your company hire KONCEPT Ltd.?

The work consisted of characterizing in the first place the current situation of the partners, in terms of the roles and functions performed in the company and in terms of their interpersonal relationships at the level of owners, managers and executives of society. On that basis, a proposal for an action plan was made to strengthen the company's performance based on improved interactions between partners.

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

Restructuring of the company and establishment of a new corporate agreement between partners.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

The proposed work considered to carry out first a brief review of the financial and business situation of the company, to later develop a direct work with the partners, through a series of individual interviews with each one. The objective of the first round of interviews was to determine how each one was seeing the situation of the company today, and how they were viewing their 5-year projections.

The main possibilities and limitations observed were detailed and the current and future role that each one should be playing in the company was also reviewed, both at the management and execution levels. The main aspects collected in the interviews were used to structure the current model of operation and interaction between the partners.

This model was used to make an analysis of possible alternatives of organization and forms of work among the partners for the future operation.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with the main partner of KONCEPT Ltd.

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

The work carried out has made it possible to characterize the main financial and operational results obtained by the company in the last three years. The potentials and limitations of the company were determined at the corporate, operations and processes level. The results of the analysis of administrative and financial management, inventory controls and response times are included here.

Personal communications between partners and how to clarify their roles and functions were also analyzed, visualizing the visions and objectives of each party. A methodological framework was offered to address the required conversations between the partners, which was complemented with a workshop to strengthen the partners' communication capacity, in order to reach agreements more quickly and reach a consensus on the perception of the current situation and possible development paths.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The interaction with KONCEPT included showing different paths to the problem and several alternative solutions were opened. The interaction was very fluid and positive.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I was impressed by their ability to generate trust with partners and their fluidity to solve problems.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Have left more time to accompany the closing of the process with the partners.

Please describe your company and your position there.

The ENAC Technical Training Center is a higher (tertiary) education institution that trains more than 9,000 students, with a staff of 400 teachers and 250 administrative officials. It is currently located in the metropolitan region (Santiago) of Chile. Currently, my role is director of innovation, with responsibility at the transversal and institutional level.

For what projects/services did your company hire KONCEPT Ltd.?

As part of the strategic definitions of the technical training center, innovation takes on a priority relevance. In this context, the project to train the teaching staff in innovation was carried out with the consulting firm Koncept, where different topics were addressed such as: state of the art of innovation, business models, processes, entrepreneurship and design techniques.

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

Trajectory, knowledge in the topics addressed, teaching experience and positioning at a national and international level on the subject (as a reference)

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

The Workshop was held in 2 days. The basic distinctions of concepts such as technology, product, project, company and innovation were reviewed and worked on. Next, the paths that lead from an intuition to a product (selection of ideas, benefits and value propositions, products and services, risks).

Subsequently, the step from an undertaking to a company or organization (innovation processes, projects, project portfolios, value chains and companies) was addressed, to finally examine the transition from an entrepreneur to company owner (entrepreneurship and innovation environments, characteristics and motivations of the entrepreneur, the process creative and idea generation, leadership and teamwork).

Various concepts, models, tools and processes used in the development of new ventures, innovations and companies were delivered at the Workshop. The didactic material was accompanied by numerous practical examples, based on the professional experience of the rapporteur (more than 30 years working in various scientific, educational, trade union, military and industrial organizations).

The presentations were accompanied by practical exercises and discussions among the participants, in order to enrich the learning and take immediate advantage of the presented material.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The project was led and carried out by Koncept's main consultant

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

This project and training in innovation issues and related topics, allowed to establish a baseline in knowledge, learning and skills of the teaching staff and directors that were part of the program. Subsequently, the internal challenge of the training center was to permeate this experience to the teams, other teachers and students.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

excellent bonding, interaction and level of participation. Facilitator with vast experience as a teacher, consultant and recognized national and international trajectory

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Impeccability from the negotiation process to the implementation of the program. Concern to receive permanent feedback and flexibility to incorporate improvements. They were professional and willing to innovate.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Incorporate into the program hours of visits to incubators, innovation centers, innovation ecosystems, in order to incorporate new experiential knowledge to the world of higher education, as a way of connecting with reality, of the productive and entrepreneurial sectors.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work at a personal small- scale fabrication laboratory, providing 3D added manufacturing, laser cutting and fast prototyping services, that operates within a university, one of the biggest of the country. The fabrication lab provides design & manufacturing services to faculty, students and outside private companies operating in the ecosystem of the university. I am a faculty professor of the Department of Physics of the university, and the Executive Director of the lab since its creation in year 2013.

For what projects/services did your company hire KONCEPT Ltd.?

• Definition of corporate strategy.
• Definition organizational structure.
• Modeling of basic business processes.
• Review of corporate governance issues.

What were your goals for this project?

• To formulate a strategic definitions for the fablab.
• Strengthen team building capabilities.
• To streamline the basic operational procedures.
• To implement cost and revenue accounting.

How did you select KONCEPT Ltd.?

We have close ties through the University liaisons taking part in mentorship initiatives. We shared a visit to USA fablab facilities. We. realized that Koncept could offer us solutions in our management challenges.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The work included:

• Establishing a framework with the vice-provost of the University.
• Performing regular work at the facilities designing the organizational structure and basic procedures of the fablab.
• Workshop for corporate strategic definitions.
• Monitoring advancement in the implementation of the strategic plan.
• Implementing the marketing activities, within the university and third parties.

What was the team composition?

The main partner of Koncept performed solo consulting work. He made the the very good working relations with the fablab team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• We conformed an editorial board for the FabLab with five faculty members.
• We reorganized the main streamflows of operations and work procedures.
• We reorganiza the yearly budget control.
• We established a balanced scorecard for monitoring financial results and productions performance.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There was a seamless relation between the fablab team and the consultant. Bi-weekly meetings were held, registering the commitments, which were regularly monitored and adjusted. Overall it was a very helpful learning experience for the team!.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was prepared with highly structured methodologies and had a very professional attitude. He has a good presentation capabilities as we as negociation resources. Very structured methodologies and very profesional attitude.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We would like to see Koncept hiring additional consulting staff in order to address smaller problems and reserve senior consultant work for the most challenging issues!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide electronic signature services for any system that uses them, such as document signing — from simple signatures to more complex ones that require ID-card and fingerprint validation. We also provide solutions for document workflows and storage.

What challenge were you trying to address with KONCEPT Ltd.?

We wanted to have a better understanding and communication of processes. We had no formal documentation at the time, so we had to obtain information on how different systems work and how to improve them, with the aim of automating a system that had been mainly manual.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We created an automatic system to deliver signatures, identify persons, and offer signatures on special USB sticks for use on computers. KONCEPT devised a complete strategy during the first few months of the project, and they helped us implement it.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with around 10 people from KONCEPT throughout the project, and we had one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with KONCEPT Ltd.?

We knew them from other jobs in other companies. I’d known KONCEPT for almost 10 years.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost was $60,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with KONCEPT between July 2019 and June 2020.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

KONCEPT was very helpful for us. They knew exactly how to transform our processes into documentation that could be used to improve those processes. They worked as though the processes were their own processes, and they did a very good job helping us transform our company. Signature issuing and documentation are completely automated now.

How did KONCEPT Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked with them face to face at the beginning of the project, and we began using videoconferencing tools and email after the pandemic. All documentation was kept in our system, and KONCEPT was integrated into our regular remote meetings.

KONCEPT performed as expected, and they worked closely with different people in our company. They had a strict methodology, and everything was planned and delivered formally.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their industry knowledge and formal way of working that stand out. We always had a log of the work that had been done and how it had been done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The methodology they used could be faster in some areas.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients have to be prepared to work hard and plan in advance. KONCEPT will not do the job for us, and they can’t help if we don’t do our share of the work.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pacific Hydro Chile is a renewable energy company owned by SPIC (China state organization). It has 500 MW of insalled capacity and 700 mw on project development.

For what projects/services did your company hire KONCEPT Ltd.?

To asses and help to the relation between management and the Board, including the board papers to be summited.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a lean board pack. to focus the board pack on to the key business matters To provide information to the board that heñlps in the decision making process.

How did you select KONCEPT Ltd.?

It was recomended by an HR Professional

Describe the project in detail.

The project consists on an assesment to the General Manager and the Executive team in order to provide lean an efficcient board papers to the board.

What was the team composition?

There is a General Manager with 7 direct reports form the different business areas. The Executive team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The assesment provided was on time and acomplished the goals of the process. This includes recomendations for the BOard pack submition and a training session with all the Executive team on this matters.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were very effective, always on time, and professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The focus on the key business issues and the understanding of the relation between a Board and the Management.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at all.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of KOLFF, a Chilean company that manufactures emergency lighting and UPS in a B2C and a B2B sales strategy. KOLFF has been on the market for almost 40 years and has a presence in several countries like Peru, Brazil, Argentina, the USA, and Spain.

For what projects/services did your company hire KONCEPT Ltd.?

KOLFF hired KONCEPT Ltd. for a process redesign on one of the business lines, technical services.

What were your goals for this project?

Improving efficiency, availability, and reliability of the entire production and services process.

How did you select KONCEPT Ltd.?

They defined a new way to measure every stage of the process that let us reach a 7% improvement in efficiency.

Describe the project in detail.

The first approach of KONCEPT Ltd. was an initial stage of meetings for understanding the current situation of the company. Those meetings led the entire team to a common idea of where the problems were and invited them to brainstorm different options for the future.

What was the team composition?

The team was compounded by KONCEPT Ltd. people, Mr. Manterola in particular, and KOLFF workers.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

A 7% increase in efficiency for technical services

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The joined work between the advisory company and KOLFF was very fluid and concrete, letting us move forward in a faster way

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ability to understand the process that needed a quick solution for starting the entire redesign

Are there any areas for improvement?

It is a little expensive