Industry 4.0, electric mobility, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) selling their machines as services rather than products…. The megatrends impacting the lubricant industry are manifold. Our ICP client, Shell, has been the global market leader in the space for more than a decade. We were proud that our ICP supported Shell’s lubricant business in addressing these trends and extending its lead.
We had different reasons for picking Shell for our ICP (International Consulting Project). Some of us wanted to learn about the O&G industry, while others wanted to tackle strategic issues for a large corporation. Everyone agreed, however, that we wanted to work on a real challenge – with Real learning and Real impact.
Today, on the last day of the project, we are happy to report that our expectations were more than fulfilled.
ICP: Shell’s lubricant business
Over the last seven weeks, we have:
- conducted a market analysis (here it was key to define the right “market”!)
- studied Shell’s positioning through a series of internal interviews
- gained an understanding of the end users (more interviews!)
Through this, we were able to discover valuable insights. By putting the different pieces of the puzzle together, we then came up with a set of implementable strategies for Shell.
Our reward, besides the learning experience, was to present our conclusions at the Shell Centre in London to the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Lubricants in EMEA and the Direct Marketing Manager for Europe (both IMD MBA alumni, from 2001 and 2010, respectively), as well as a large group of other senior Shell managers from around the world.
Thanks and recognition
We would like to thank the Shell team for their openness and for giving us the opportunity to work on this exciting project. It was a real pleasure and we have learned much more than we could have hoped for. This ICP project will remain as one of the highlights of our year at IMD.
We would also like to thank our coach, Knut Haanaes (Professor of Strategy and Lundin Sustainability Chair at IMD). Knut’s input was crucial for us as it gave us a clearer direction and insight, especially in the final weeks of the project.
Your IMD Shell ICP team,
Érika, Eseosa, Ihab, Pearce and Rüdiger
