THE
MAY 2016
CARABINER
Keeping The Tenzing Community Connected
IN THIS ISSUE
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT >>
3 Founders’ Forum
“Co-op”eration in Texas
Aims to End Food Insecurity
4 Company News
4 Giving Back
Last year, the North Texas Food Bank
(NTFB) served roughly 63 million
meals to hungry children, senior citizens
and families. Although this is quite an
accomplishment, this number isn’t enough
to fully address the problem of hunger in
the organization’s 13-county service area,
which includes the Dallas metropolitan
area. Knowing the growing need for its
services, the NTFB recently set a goal to
increase its number of meals served to 92
million by 2025.
5 2
016 Key Initiatives
6 Contact Information
6 Call To A
ction
The NTFB’s programs include Food For
Kids, which fills backpacks with nutritious
foods school children can take home
to their families on the weekend; and
Nourishing Neighbors, which delivers
meals of whole foods to people over the age of 50. In addition to distributing food, the NTFB
administers the county’s Supplemental Nutritional Food Assistance Program (SNAP). To
reach the goal for 2025, the NTFB will need to ensure it has access to the cornerstone of
any healthy meal: fresh produce. Although the NTFB frequently receives shipments of fresh
produce from sources such as the statewide Feeding Texas organization, receiving a diverse
variety of items that it can ship to its clients can be challenging.
(continued)
WHAT IS A CARABINER?
A carabiner is a coupling link used by
mountain climbers to stay connected
to the mountain and each other.
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT (continued) >>
The NTFB faces numerous obstacles in acquiring surplus
produce. First, they have to compete with other food banks,
the US military, colleges, and other organizations. Also, surplus
produce is typically available only in full truckloads of a single
type of produce, which is too large a quantity for a single food
bank to handle. “There’s only so many onions or so much
grapefruit or watermelon you can give out at one time,” Chief
Operating Officer Simon Powell says. Then, once you get the
produce, which is often late in its shelf life, it is a challenge to
get it to a food bank in time.
These concerns led one of the NTFB’s board members, a
Tenzing client, to contact Tenzing Consulting. Tenzing’s task was
two-fold: to determine the amount of surplus produce available
to the NTFB, then design a supply chain to deliver that surplus.
Tenzing formed a joint team with NTFB and Feeding Texas to
accomplish the task.
Developing a Strategy
The first phase of Tenzing’s work included determining just how
much produce is grown by Texas farms annually, in what variety,
and where. The problem was that no one had this information.
Tenzing had to take a hands-on approach by
visiting distribution centers to talk to growers, and
looking at USDA and Texas DA data. This pointed
to a handful of locations in the state including
the lower Rio Grande Valley, where most of the
production takes place. Tenzing also determined
the variety and quantity of produce being
imported into the state from Mexico by examining
data and interviewing large importing companies.
In addition to researching imported produce,
Tenzing spoke with major grocery retailers to
determine how much produce is available to the
NTFB from the retail channel.
Texas but across the entire country,” Tenzing’s project team
notes. “The strategy we’ve come up with is a total gamechanger for how food banks traditionally operate around
produce.”
The new supply chain designed by the joint NTFB Feeding Texas
Tenzing Team was introduced to the NTFB board and includes
establishing a mixed-produce cooperative (co-op) that would
receive truckloads of bulk produce at a mixing center, where
they can fill trucks with a variety of produce more suitable for
individual food banks. The co-op would then ship truckloads of
mixed produce directly to the food banks.
This new supply chain will greatly improve NTFB’s ability to
meet its goal of ending food insecurity in its region. The majority
of the people served by the food bank are working adults who,
while having shelter, are unable to pay for food in addition to
their other expenses. “The fruit of Tenzing’s work will lead to
millions of pounds of produce being available across the state of
Texas, which will directly help the hungry,” the NTFB says. “The
Tenzing team has demonstrated a true passion and commitment
to wanting to feed those who are in the most need.”
The team determined that nearly 600 million
pounds of surplus is available in the lower Rio
Grande Valley and elsewhere, and could now begin
solving how to get that produce to the NTFB
and other Texas food banks. In fact, the surplus
identified was large enough that Texas may have
the capacity to export produce to other states.
“What we’ve been working to do is helping the
North Texas Food Bank, Feeding Texas and other
banks in the state develop a strategy to better
capture and move produce not only throughout
In addition to its consulting and research efforts, Tenzing also made a donation
to the NTFB and is assisting the nonprofit’s fundraising efforts by setting up a
crowdfunding website among its nearly 600 consultants worldwide.
JOIN THE
EFFORT!
FOUNDERS’ FORUM >> The Speed of Trust
To All of Our Tenzing Colleagues,
This month is the fourteenth anniversary of Tenzing Consulting’s founding. As founders, it is an
opportune time to reflect on the sources of success. We believe our success is attributable to
our strategy of giving clients access to the rich capabilities of the best experts in the world—
each and every one of you. But more and more, we find that something lies beneath the
surface that makes our success possible—something very powerful.
Thom McLeod
Bill Angeloni
Like many companies, revenue is a key measure of our success. But, we are starting to
look deeper than revenue growth over time. What is happening now—What is our
velocity? Lead generation gives us a more instantaneous measure of our velocity and we
are experiencing an unprecedented number of new client introductions. Surprisingly, while
many leads still come from our direct marketing efforts, even more new client introductions
are now coming from you! Our colleagues and clients, are calling us proactively to engage on
opportunities together. Last year, 42% of our revenues “walked in the door” like this and the
trend continues—over 80% of our current pipeline and revenues are from external referrals.
What explains this phenomenon?
In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen M. R. Covey, makes the case that organizations
with high levels of trust move faster, are nimbler, and perform better on almost every
metric, including financial. He notes, “…success in business requires two things: a winning
competitive strategy, and superb organizational execution. Distrust is the
enemy of both.” Peter Drucker, the eminent business philosopher, echoed Covey’s idea
when he asserted, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast!”
We are convinced that our business velocity is fueled by extremely high levels of trust across
our community. We trust you to be an honest, fair, and trustworthy business partner. You
trust us to handle your clients the same way you would and to treat you fairly in the process.
Very little formal paperwork is required for us to engage on an opportunity together.
Together we can simply act on our instinct to serve each other and help our clients win. This
trust gives us the velocity, that Covey calls “the speed of trust.”
We believe firmly that trust is part of what makes the Tenzing Community exceptional
among the growing number professional networks. Trust is not planned, but it is not an
accident either. Trust is called out in our values and we have strived to embed Trust in the
culture of our community. We build our network based on a principle we call Circles of Trust.
As a result, those of us who thrive on trust have naturally gravitated toward each other
organically. We all like it when we call a colleague for help, they simply say “Yes!” and we both
trust that we’ll work out the details later.
We, as partners, want to continue harnessing the power of trust in our network. To that end,
we have already launched pilot collaborative marketing programs to enable you as trusted
members of our network to grow business together with us. We will be telling you more
about these program in future editions of The Carabiner. So, stay tuned!
Enthusiastically,
COMPANY NEWS >>
Giving Back
Giving back isn’t just something we do…it’s
who we are. It is a reflection of our character
as a firm and we’re dedicated to doing our
best to make the communities we serve as
strong and vital as possible.
Most of our work is for commercial
enterprises, so it’s not often that we have
a client that is a target for our giving, but
we think North Texas Food Bank is a very
worthy cause!
Tenzing Consulting contributed a generous
donation to the North Texas Food Bank
and Feeding Texas in 2015 to advance their
valuable mission of providing healthy meals
to hungry people in need. And now with a
more efficient produce supply chain and coop to support NTFB’s strategic vision, every
donation dollar will go that much further.
JOIN THE EFFORT!
We are asking all members of the Tenzing Community to
consider giving to this worthy cause. To make a donation
to the NTFB Hunger Relief Effort click here.
Tenzing Consulting to
Sponsor Spring 2016
Marcus Evans CPO &
CFO Summits
In April, Tenzing sponsored the Chief Procurement
Officer Summit – a premium forum for
procurement and supply chain professionals to
exchange ideas and share best practices shaping
the industry. In May, Tenzing is also sponsoring
the Chief Financial Officer Summit, designed to
elevate key aspects and issues related to financial
best practices and bringing procurement functions
to the forefront of finance. Founder and Director
Bill Angeloni and Marketing Lead Dana Smith will
be meeting one-on-one with key industry leaders
to drive awareness about our capabilities and
showcase the Tenzing Expert Network during
both events.
COMPANY NEWS >>
2016 Key Initiatives
Following a successful 2015 with 48% revenue growth and a 60% expansion of our Expert Network,
Tenzing Consulting is well positioned to maintain this momentum in North America and internationally
for the year ahead. As we scale our growing business, we have launched key initiatives to accelerate
market expansion and drive value for both our clients and our consultant community.
Components to Our Growth Strategy Include:
> CLIENT REFERRAL PROGRAM
Our analysis shows that 42% of our revenues in 2015 were referrals
from clients, consultants, and other business partners. We think
this is a clear demonstration of the trust our broad community
has in Tenzing and it shows how much demand there is for our
services that we are not getting to through traditional channels.
In response to this trend, we are piloting our new Client Referral
Program. Under this program, we will enable and support a
select group of qualified consultants in our network to represent
Tenzing in the market and earn attractive compensation for doing
so. To learn more about the program contact Dana Smith:
[email protected]
> DIRECT & TARGET MARKETING
Our blended direct and targeted marketing approach
is designed to increase performance for our overall
marketing strategy. To further drive brand awareness, we are
deploying a mix of lead generation programs including direct outreach
to clients, conference sponsorship, features in key industry publications, and an enhanced content marketing strategy to
engage prospects and clients. In addition to communicating our broad capability to C-level executives across industries,
we are selectively targeting new and innovative offerings that appeal to narrower audiences. We have launched this “target
marketing” approach in exciting new areas. Supplier Innovation is targeting Product Development Execs and CPOs, and
Minerals Sourcing will focus in on specific industries such as paper, refractory, and glass. As we see success, we will launch
more programs like these. If you have a new, innovative service offering that you think complements Tenzing’s business
model, contact Dana Smith: [email protected].
> GLOBAL EXPANSION
Since 2002, our firm has served clients globally, and already in 2016, we have served or are in discussions with clients
in Europe, India, South America, Canada, and Australia. In 2015, we expanded our operations in Europe to improve our
services for clients in the region. Today our European team is nearly 60 strong and growing. We have representation from
12 European countries, across 30 industries, and speak 15 languages. Our potential in Europe is significant, and we will
continue to grow our Expert Network and broaden international client development efforts.
>
ENHANCED STAFFING TECHNOLOGY
In 2015, we implemented Bullhorn, which is a cloud-based staffing system that streamlines the recruitment process, enables
global expert search, and improves workflow management. With the successful implementation of the staffing application
complete, we have expanded our use of Bullhorn to include automated onboarding of new consultants. We expect this to
enhance your experience working with us by smoothing out the workflow and enabling us to process and electronically
sign all documents, CSAs, NDAs, W-9s, etc. without shuttling them back and forth on email. We welcome your feedback on
the system as you get familiar with it. Bullhorn also offers Email Marketing capabilities that we plan to deploy later in 2016
thereby delivering an integrated end-to-end system for all Tenzing operations.
CALL TO ACTION
CONTACT INFORMATION >>
Thom McLeod
Founder, Managing Director [email protected]
(412) 337-7432
Bill Angeloni
Founder, Director [email protected]
(412) 607-2165
Karen Reid
Expert Network Manager
[email protected]
(724) 940-4068
Dana Smith
Marketing Lead
[email protected]
(412) 805-7846
Cindy Gruca Expert Network Development Leader
[email protected]
(724) 940-4073
Erin McClymonds
Finance Lead
[email protected]
(724) 940-4060
Rikke Hannestad
Network Development Lead – EMEA
[email protected]
0033 681 83 1017
Global Headquarters
Waterfront Corporate Park II,
Suite 302
2100 Georgetowne Drive
Sewickley, PA 15143
California Satellite Office
19337 Kenleigh Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476
European Satellite Office
159 Impasse des Granières,
maison 5
13600 La Ciotat, France
877-980-5300 Toll-Free
724-940-4060 Office
[email protected]
tenzingconsulting.com
1. Wanted: Interim Executives
Another strong trend in our business is the growing demand
for Interim Executives. As our clients “fight the war
for talent,” increasingly, they are choosing not to let key
positions remain unfilled for the six to nine months it can
take to find the right executive.
so we are especially interested in executives with diverse
language skills, who are willing to live abroad for short
periods, and who have a track record in multiple industries.
If you are an independent professional with executive
experience or know others who are please contact
Karen Reid at [email protected].
The interim executive market is not as well organized in the
US as it is in Europe where Interim Service Providers (ISPs)
are common. Tenzing’s Expert Network includes many of
you who have been executives, CPOs, heads of supply chain,
or operations, so we are well positioned to meet this need.
2. Wanted: Independent Consultants in
Latin America
Tenzing is building the world’s most powerful network of
Operations, Procurement, and Supply Chain Experts and
we need your help! If you or anyone you can refer to us
lives in or is willing to work in South America and have
strong Spanish or Portuguese language skills, please contact
Cindy Gruca at [email protected].
This is proving true as we are being asked to fill positions like
these continuously. Tenzing is fully dedicated to finding and
engaging qualified interim executives to help our clients “fill
the gap.” These requests come to us from around the world,