Measured Success by Cebon Peter;

Author:Cebon, Peter;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melbourne University Publishing

The next phase

In the early years Williams and his team had a clear vision for the range of instruments that needed to be developed and were focussed on completing and commercialising the technology. By October 2003, however, with the first-generation products established, the technology development work had slowed down and Proteome was now focussing on selling and marketing those products. The growth of the company, its changing priorities and increased commercial focus created internal challenges and tensions that required resolution in order for Proteome to flourish.

The demands of commercialisation required a specific set of skills and capabilities that were not inherent in the original team of research scientists. As Proteome began to manufacture instruments, processes had to be put in place for quality control, testing and the documentation of products. At the same time, it became clear that the US operation needed a stronger commercialisation team. The original role of the Boston team was not meeting expectations, and so between late 2002 and early 2003 Proteome enforced significant change in its US operation. All discovery efforts were relocated and consolidated at the company’s Sydney headquarters, senior members of the US team who had proven ineffective at communicating with head office and maximising commercial opportunities were let go, and a member of the Australian team was sent to take over North American operations.

Following the opening of the CRL joint venture facility in Worcester, Massachusetts, in April 2003, the pressure on Proteome to deliver in the US market increased markedly. This pressure, to listen to new customers, respond quickly to emerging issues and fix problems repeatedly until they ceased to recur, forced Proteome to adopt a highly responsive and innovative approach to product development and customer management, which was unusual in a fledgling company within a nascent industry sector.

Proteome also created a clear market advantage by retaining R&D scientists to carry out equipment installation, support and quality control, rather than handing these functions over to installation engineers. In this way, Proteome was able to offer customers answers to complex problems, rather than short-term practical engineering solutions, and to learn from the performance of its instruments and equipment on real-life applications, taking this knowledge back to R&D and product development.

While this focus on sales and installation took resources away from R&D in the short term, staff members were exposed to all aspects of the business chain, and the tight structure and limited resources of the company forced management and research staff to be innovative and to prioritise key projects to meet emerging opportunities. At the same time, though, staff members were unsure of their roles within the organisation, and were often stressed by the competing demands created by changing business priorities.

To respond to these organisational challenges, and prepare for international expansion, Proteome engaged in an organisational restructure in 2002. Through a consultative process, ‘communities of practice’ or ‘home groups’ with specific areas of technical expertise, and to which each employee would henceforth belong, were identified and designated. As a forum for disseminating corporate

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