CONCORD, Mass. (July 21, 2000)—The Gantry Group, LLC, a Concord, Mass.-based team of Internet Business Architects that helps clients create successful, sustainable Internet businesses across a wide range of industries, today launched its Dot-com Repair Practice, designed to transform ailing Dot-com companies.
Dot-com Repair Practice is aimed at e-commerce companies targeting either consumers or businesses. The Gantry Group, armed with experience from working with 85 clients with Internet initiatives, combines in-depth Internet business knowledge with extensive turn-around experience to diagnose, reposition, and – where possible – heal such ailing companies.
“Major market research firms are forecasting that the majority of Dot-com businesses (up to 95 percent) will fail. Without a reassessment of the business model, this prediction may indeed become reality,” said Dale Troppito, a partner at The Gantry Group. “At the root of the problem is the huge amount of cash invested in Dot-coms. Readily available capital has made it possible to fund underdeveloped, ‘cool’ concepts, side-stepping the effort required to craft a compelling, executable and sustainable business model. April’s Internet crash stranded many Dot-coms, who, in the absence of a continuing flow of investment capital, must now rely upon their own cash generation resources, a task that is daunting in light of high payroll liabilities, and sales costs that exceed gross revenues. Where it is feasible, these businesses now must be reevaluated, repackaged and re-launched.”
The Gantry Group’s Dot-com Repair Practice offers a three-step process. First, The Gantry Group conducts a Dot-com Audit, a detailed discovery designed to reveal the underlying impediments to profitability and sustainability. This audit requires a thorough due-diligence evaluation of the company. Infrastructure investments are evaluated for generalization and value to other businesses. Intellectual property is assessed and valued for possible asset transaction such as licensing or outright sale. In addition, corporate marketing, sales statistics and site clickstream data are reviewed with an eye towards repositioning the company.
As a second step, The Gantry Group’s Repair Services applies the audit results to identify new business models, taking into account company assets, core competencies, and opportunities identified through market research. Working closely with the company’s management team, a comprehensive business plan is prepared to chart a detailed execution course for the new business. Plans are developed to generate the highest yield on investment. Realistic business goals and financial forecasts are set. Resources and business functions are evaluated to implement the realigned business, taking into account outsourced opportunities. The company is streamlined with an optimal cash consumption path that leads to profitability.
Thirdly, once implementation of the new business is underway, Success Benchmarking is used to identify and monitor business success metrics specific to the company to closely track incremental improvements. These may include online click-stream analysis, regular communication programs with business partners, supply-chain efficiency analysis, and the establishment of feedback loops to directly tie generated revenues and profits to specific promotional campaigns.
“Everyone, from investors to customers, is now casting a critical eye toward businesses that deal in online retailing or Web-based business-to-business services,” said Ms. Troppito. “The Gantry Group’s Dot-com Repair Practice is designed to reclaim these unfairly condemned sectors by systematically proving that many such businesses can be transformed through the application of proven turn-around techniques, thorough business planning and keen Internet market insight.”
About The Gantry Group
The Gantry Group, a Concord, Mass.-based “hands on” team of e-business architects, helps clients launch sustainable new Internet businesses and initiatives that harness the latest Internet trends, approaches and technologies. Since its foundation in 1997, the Gantry Group has assisted more than 85 clients with emerging Dot-coms and e-marketplaces, enabling Internet technologies and BAM (brick-and-mortar) retailers to integrate e-commerce initiatives. The Gantry Group helps e-commerce companies build value by developing customized e-business blueprints that map strategy to actionable initiatives. The Gantry Group's proven methodologies help clients to digest the total impact of the Internet to maximize revenue, profits and valuation, to efficiently reach their target market, and to clearly differentiate clients companies from their competition. For more information, visit our website: www.gantrygroup.com.
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