Changing, Growing, Being Better
Vala helps organisations to identify, articulate, prioritise and address the customer and commercial challenges they face, and the opportunities available to them.
From the provision of advice through to end-to-end programme delivery, we enable businesses to achieve their visions by building and redefining their strategies, their business and operating models, their brands, their offerings, the experiences they provide, their people - and the organisations themselves.
Underpinning everything Vala does is a firm focus on the customer and the need to for enterprises to provide them with real value, and relevant and differentiated experiences.
Services
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Customer Experience
Helping organisations to define, implement and improve differentiated customer experiences that add value, reduce costs and make good on the brand promises.
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Commercial Strategy
Development of comprehensive plans that specify how organisations will achieve their vision and goals, specifically related to revenue generation, market share, profit and customer engagement.
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Market Entry
Identifying, understanding and quantifying market opportunities in the UK and overseas, and determining and planning the optimum means of accessing them. May include raising funds and full programme execution.
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Innovation Management
End to end innovation management - from insight and ideation to launch via business case, development and market testing. Building the internal processes, disciplines and capabilities.
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Organisational Design & Change
Reshaping organisations to better meet the challenges thrown up by the evolving markets and environments in which they operate. Identifying the gaps in skills and resources that may exist.
Sample Projects
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![Oranssi project: studio shed]()
Built a new commercial strategy for Timorous Beasties - a leading design studio - that enabled their goal of doubling the size of the business. Defined a new organisational structure to facilitate this in addition to crystallising their Customer Experience, and establishing a formal New Product Development programme.
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Built and implemented a new operating model and organisational structure for IKEA KSA’s Service Centre and stores. Worked with their key partners to establish as coherent and consistent Customer Experience. Enabled their goal of becoming the best omni-channel retailer in Saudi Arabia.
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Worked with Candle Shack - a luxury candle manufacturer and supplier of candle making supplies and equipment - to define and implement a Customer Experience strategy based on a quantified customer segmentation.
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Co-founded Vaela - a sustainable and innovative women’s cycle clothing business. Secured angel investment, SEIS and ‘B-Corp’ statuses. Defined the brand, established the supply chain, and brought the the first products to market.
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Helped Saffron Frameworks - a supplier of exceptionally high quality, bespoke bicycle frames – to put a business case together with which to successfully raise funding to enable the development of new products and new channels.
Reading
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Customer Experience: The Direct Costs Of Failure
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![Oranssi project: roof expansion]()
“Customer Experience is not a strategic issue…” 🤦♂️
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![Oranssi project: wraparound deck]()
Digital Transformation: An Emerged Consensus?
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![Oranssi project: passive house]()
9 lessons we learned (or remembered) whilst launching a sustainable women’s cyclewear business
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7 ways of improving the Customer Experience to grow customer spend and reduce costs
About me, Huw Watkins
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I have spent half my career working as a consultant and the other half working on the client side.
All of it has been spent helping organisations to address the customer and market challenges they face, and the opportunities available to them.
I’ve worked across a huge range of sectors from Hospitality to Health Care, and from Bread to Banking.