Client story: AERALIS
AERALIS brings innovation to transform the development of British military jets. Its modular system with a common core fuselage is a game-changing design, bringing sustainability and configurability to military aviation. Through this design, AERALIS’ aircraft can perform many missions through one system.
- Opportunity consulting: Pre-mortems and bid strategies
- Opportunity consulting: Tactical support
- Business change
- Bid Management
AERALIS in numbers
Recon
Networking works. As with so many of our clients, we first met AERALIS at a conference. Our core values met across the crowded multipurpose event space. AERALIS: seeking bidding consultants with GSOH for long-term relationship. Us: seeking dynamic clients with interesting stories. Match made.
Targets identified
Our story began with us facilitating a two-day business review and strategy workshop. We started with a pre-mortem to help the AERALIS executive leadership team identify and tackle the major risks to winning business and the risks to the business full-stop. We looked at it from the opportunity pipeline level, but also through the lens of the company as a whole. The workshop enabled the company to review sales-related goals, which we reframed as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The OKRs prompted AERALIS to define the critical path of actions needed to hit their targets. With our support they reviewed their sales pipeline to get clarity on what opportunities were available and how AERALIS could influence customers to ‘join the journey’.
Romeo Foxtrot India
Next, we supported four complex RFIs from military air forces across the globe. Which is exactly as cool as it sounds.
You can’t order a military jet online. Or browse your nearest dealership. So, when an air force needs planes, they ask providers, like AERALIS, to share views on how they can make a concept into reality.
AERALIS then puts together a bespoke proposal showing the art of the possible. They don’t just sell products though. They sell concepts and concept development; the fleets of the future. With our support, they presented the perfect balance between technical information, design capability and impact. We introduced AERALIS to a top graphic design team to make the AERALIS modular concept jump (or rather, fly) off the page.
Return to base
But we weren’t finished yet. The validation of repeat business is always a pleasure, and we were invited back to support AERALIS’ UK Campaign.
We facilitated a one-day workshop to define the Campaign Plan, including goals and value proposition. We turned the outcomes into a Campaign on a Page, so everyone across the AERALIS business knows the direction of flight. So to speak.
Part of our joint strategy was to gather intel on customers, wider stakeholders, competitors, partners, allies, opportunities and channels of influence. Capture analysis, but for the campaign. This intel fed into an action plan.
Mapping coordinates
A goal without a plan is just wishful thinking, so we also created a tailored campaign initiation and delivery process. We included unapologetically nerdy tools such as an interactive MS Excel Campaign Plan to keep everything moving forward as it should. Data is now captured, analysed, and presented smoothly through one central document.
To support this, we also created event plans and briefing packs for two major UK aviation events. This let AERALIS maximise their return on investment and prevented any potential leads slipping through the net. This system helps the sales and marketing teams identify trends in discussions with potential customers, to influence and evidence their sales and marketing strategies.
Aces high
We have an intimate knowledge of AERALIS, their vision, the way they work and how they think. We used this in-depth relationship to define and embed the AERALIS Capture Engine (ACE). As well as having a brilliant name (it’s military jets – codenames are mandatory), ‘ACE’ established business-winning fundamentals.
Specifically tailored for AERALIS, we created ACE as an initial qualification and governance process to match the agile nature of the company and the modularity of its aircraft. With a focus on campaigns, we’ve helped AERALIS embed reusable processes, approaches and tools to define, implement, review, and update their campaigns. Our work has ensured AERALIS only pursues campaigns with the best possible ROI.
Building the plane as we fly
Next, we’ll work with AERALIS to define their capture and bidding practices.
Without these kinds of process, companies can spend thousands trying to enter a market they don’t fully understand. Or they might chase big fat bids that aren’t actually a good fit. They can waste valuable money and resources on opportunities they have a slim chance of winning. By qualifying all potential opportunities early on, companies stay focused on the good stuff.
Our input has helped position AERALIS as the exciting industry innovator, shaping the future of military aviation.