Company & Service Overview
Our Primary Objective: Significantly Increase Profitability
SSA has worked with clients since 1992 with one overall goal: improve profit margins by reducing costs and increasing revenues. We have become experts at accomplishing this objective by specializing in two service areas.
Cost Reduction Services: SSA uses tested and highly effective methodologies to develop and implement strategies that impact direct and indirect expenses as well as capital expenditures. Generally, SSA's cost reduction services fall into two areas:
• Strategic Sourcing
• General Expense ReductionSales Enhancement Services: SSA works in an intensive, "hands-on" fashion in a client's organization to develop customized sales concepts and methods that produce significant and immediate results in the form of increased revenues and market share. SSA's sales effectiveness services include the following areas:
• Sales Effectiveness Assessment
• Sales Process Methodology
• Sales Training
• Recruiting/CompensationWhat Makes SSA Different
Measurable Results
SSA is a unique management consulting organization because our primary and sole focus is to provide measurable and sustainable results quickly and effectively. A cornerstone of our approach lies in forging strong team-based relationships with clients to which we add proprietary, systematic methodologies. The end results are significant cost reductions and improved business processes, or strong sales growth and market share. As we have done for a multitude of Fortune 1000 sized clients, SSA will produce a significant competitive advantage for you by impacting both top and bottom lines, and providing opportunities for continuing growth.
Assessment to Implementation
Assessment to implementation, SSA customizes all solutions to fit the corporate culture and capabilities of each organization by working side-by-side with client personnel. A continual focus of all our work is to maintain and improve current service and quality levels to ensure that a client's core business is always supported and is not negatively impacted. Additionally, SSA focuses on delivering significant, quantifiable improvements; we only consider projects complete when the expected impact is measurable.Our Clients
Our clients are typically global 1000 sized organizations, as well as leading private equity investors and portfolio companies. Historically, we have worked with companies with revenues of roughly $500 million to $80 billion. Over the past 11+ years, SSA has worked in an extremely wide array of industries including:
• Oil Refining
• Government
• Mining
• Transportation
• Chemicals
• Pharmaceutical
• Educational
• Hotel
• Automotive
• Computers
• Consumer Products
• Gaming/Entertainment
• Telecommunications
• Transaction Processing
• Equipment RentalSSA consultants have strategic and executional expertise, developed from experience with leading strategic consulting firms as well as previous roles in operational management with global corporations. This powerful combination means that SSA team members have the ability to ask the right questions and gather relevant information to gain strategic insights quickly. Most importantly, we understand the challenges and realities of transforming recommendations into solid results within a corporate environment.
SSA professionals bring an energy, enthusiasm, and sense of urgency to every assignment we accept. Our team members apply a "can do" intensity that means we are not afraid to roll up our sleeves and do what it takes to generate the value that we guarantee our clients.
SSA President & CEO
Rick Berry is the President and CEO of SSA. Mr. Berry has extensive experience in both strategic cost reduction and sales effectiveness efforts. He has helped many organizations achieve significant cost savings and process improvements through the application of sourcing, supply chain management and eProcurement strategies. Additionally, Mr. Berry has helped numerous organizations improve profitability through increased sales results. Prior to his work in consulting, he held several sales and sales management positions including a top Sales Representative and Sales Trainer at Procter and Gamble, National Sales Trainer at C.R. Bard, Sales Manager at Boston Scientific, Inc., VP of Operations at Avnet Electronics, and Regional General Manager of Otis Elevator Company.
In 1991, Mr. Berry formed PGI, a global strategic sourcing company. Ultimately, Mr. Berry built PGI into a global operation with clients in Europe, North America and South America. In 1999, Mr. Berry expanded the breadth of PGI's cost reduction services by developing an innovative concept that combined technology with strategic sourcing concepts. Ultimately, this solution embodied a wide realm of eProcurement tools including reverse auctions, product exchanges and procurement outsourcing. To help organizations significantly improve business results and growth in the most effective way possible, Mr. Berry re-focused on providing consulting services to the marketplace in 2001. Under a new name, SSA offers Cost Reduction Services and has expanded to include Sales Growth and Effectiveness Services to provide profit-maximizing strategies.
Mr. Berry has successfully sold and led cost reduction and sales efforts to the Global 2000 across numerous industries to customers including TRW, IBM, Schering-Plough, Merck, Kellogg's, Eli Lilly, Asarco, Jacobsen Textron, Navistar, Warner Lambert, Advanta, Sunoco, Laidlaw and many others.
Mr. Berry received a BS from Pennsylvania State University and Master in Business Administration with honors from Harvard University.