Revenue Operations: The strategic advantage for contract manufacturers?

Revenue Operations is not a common objective in the contract manufacturing industry right now. But implementing a RevOps approach could promise the strategic advantage you're looking for.

Imagine if every team in your business was tasked with a single objective - to increase revenue for your organisation. How would that actually work? And what strategic advantage would it actually bring?  

Would all your teams’ efforts naturally support each other? 

Or would your sales team be so driven by their targets that they’d be converting every potential lead regardless of their fit? Would operations teams be cut to the bone to inflate revenue? Would management teams continually cut corners and put up prices? Would procurement become a race to the bottom?

Without planning and co-operation there’s always a danger teams will end up pulling in different directions to achieve their own discrete goals.

And that’s the point of Revenue Operations

That’s why Revenue Operations (aka RevOps) exists. It was developed as a framework for organizing a company’s collective ability to grow revenue in a sustainable and strategic way.

Who is RevOps for?

The term RevOps began to be used 20 years ago in the SaaS market, as tech companies like HubSpot saw how siloed teams working on uncoordinated revenue missions could frustrate their companies’ overall growth targets.

To guard against this, they began using systems and software to organise, automate and integrate every element of their delivery process. 

This approach was designed to ensure the end-to-end nurturing of leads and customers to improve levels of service, while securing more and ever larger deals.

How does RevOps work?

Nowadays, dedicated RevOps teams work within companies to formalise their process for streamlining revenue generation. Often working with a CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) they ensure that:

• Sales and marketing work together to target and close more right-fit leads using digital marketing tools. 
• Customer service and account management work together to find more efficient delivery methods and more ways to respond to client needs 
• Account Management teams gather and share business insight with sales to drive new cross-sell and upsell opportunities  

At every stage, they ensure data is used to drive decision-making for critical revenue-generating actions.

But does RevOps really work?

It’s a model for business growth that has delivered spectacular results for many operations:

In a study by Boston Consulting Group, RevOps was found to deliver 10-20% increases in sales productivity (BCG)

According to Paddle,  RevOps regularly delivers a 100-200% increase in digital marketing ROI​

Other studies show that companies that align their departments with RevOps outperform those that don't, with higher growth rates and profitability​ (Custify)​.

What’s in it for contract manufacturers?

Right now many manufacturing businesses structure their teams in a way that can lead to unhelpful, internal competition and conflict rather than collaboration. 

This is often an unintended consequence of fragmented digital systems. 

For example, unintegrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems can result in poor planning and missed revenue opportunities. It can deprive business development teams of valuable sales information and cause inefficiencies in tracking customer interactions, as well as managing relationships.

Traditional vs Revenue Operations

Working in silos like these holds back many manufacturing businesses from realising their full revenue potential.  

Instead, RevOps breaks down the walls that traditionally exist between different teams:

7 Ways RevOps can give you the competitive edge

1. Enhanced alignment and collaboration

RevOps aims to break down silos between departments, fostering better communication and collaboration across your organisation. For contract manufacturers, this means aligning marketing, sales, and operations teams using appropriate software and workflows. This alignment ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals, reducing inefficiencies and enhancing overall performance. Platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot provide integrated data and workflow automation to streamline processes.

2. Data-driven decision making

By integrating data from various sources, RevOps provides a holistic view of the entire revenue cycle. This comprehensive data approach enables better forecasting, more accurate budgeting, and insightful performance analysis. For contract manufacturers, having a clear understanding of market trends, customer behaviour, and operational performance can inform strategic decisions and drive growth. 

3. Optimised customer experience

A key benefit of RevOps is the ability to deliver a seamless customer journey from initial contact through to post-sale support. For contract manufacturers, this means ensuring that potential and existing clients receive consistent, high-quality interactions at every touchpoint. This consistency builds trust and strengthens relationships, which are crucial in maintaining long-term contracts and securing repeat business. 

4. Scalability and growth

RevOps creates scalable processes that can grow with you. By standardising and automating key workflows, contract manufacturers can handle increased demand without compromising on quality or efficiency. This scalability is essential for managing growth sustainably, particularly in a competitive landscape. Automation tools like Zapier and marketing automation platforms like HubSpot enable businesses to scale their operations efficiently.

5. Improved forecasting and performance tracking

With a unified RevOps framework, contract manufacturers can implement robust performance tracking mechanisms. This allows for real-time monitoring of key metrics and immediate adjustments to strategies as needed. Improved forecasting helps in anticipating market changes and adapting proactively, ensuring sustained growth and resilience. Tools like Anaplan for forecasting and analytics platforms like Tableau provide the necessary capabilities to track and adjust performance metrics effectively.

6. Strategic resource allocation

RevOps enables better resource allocation by identifying the most effective areas for investment. Whether it’s marketing campaigns that yield the highest ROI or sales strategies that convert the most leads, RevOps ensures that resources are used efficiently to maximize revenue growth. Marketing analytics tools like Google Analytics and sales enablement platforms like Seismic help identify and optimise high-ROI activities.

7. Increased transparency and accountability

With clear metrics and shared goals, RevOps fosters a culture of transparency and accountability. Teams are more likely to take ownership of their roles in the revenue cycle, leading to improved performance and a stronger focus on achieving business objectives. 

Why contract manufacturers really need RevOps

RevOps streamlines processes, enhances data-driven decision-making, and ensures every department works towards shared goals. By implementing RevOps, contract manufacturers can optimise resource allocation, improve customer experiences, and drive sustained growth. This integrated approach allows for agile responses to market changes, fostering innovation and continuous improvement.

However, the need to implement these kinds of collaborative measures is moving beyond the search for a competitive edge. As the Boston Consulting Group point out, it may soon become imperative for survival in a hyper-competitive world:

“The price of not changing can be vast. B2B companies that do not cooperate closely across their organisations may suffer because of poorly executed cus­tomer buying journeys, misaligned objectives, misallocated resources, and poor team ­morale. They can find themselves ­unable to learn from performance. ­Customer alienation, loss of market share, and slowed or no growth will follow.”