Case study — Growing at Scale
CADA Design / Aldi
Growing a major client relationship by improving delivery first.
Strengthening client experience, delivery and multidisciplinary working before expanding the relationship.
CADA Design / Aldi — earlier commercial experience
The business
A major retail relationship covering brand experience, large-format graphics, wayfinding, merchandising and customer-facing environments.
What changed
We improved briefing, workflows, delivery visibility and multidisciplinary coordination before expanding the relationship.
Outcome
+28% account growth over two years, 99% delivery accuracy and a 15% reduction in management cost without added headcount.
About the business
At CADA Design, the work combined retail design, brand experience and the way customers navigate physical environments.
For Aldi, that included large-format graphics, external communication, signage, wayfinding, merchandising and visual elements throughout the customer journey.
Long before digital customer journeys became part of my work, many of the same principles were already relevant in physical spaces: helping people notice, understand, navigate and act.
The commercial challenge was to deliver that work consistently at scale while strengthening an already important client relationship.
The situation
Aldi was already a major strategic client.
This was therefore not a new-business challenge.
The opportunity was to strengthen an important existing relationship, improve the way the work was delivered and create the confidence for that relationship to expand.
The challenge
Growth and retention were closely connected.
Before more work could credibly be won, the client needed confidence in day-to-day delivery.
The starting point was therefore not:
“How do we sell more?”
It was:
“How do we make the existing relationship work better?”
The approach
I led the client relationship at a senior level, working with a multidisciplinary team across account management, project management, design, artwork, implementation and specialist suppliers.
We got closer to the client’s operation, improved briefing, clarified workflows and created better visibility across increasingly complex programmes.
Projects could move from early concept and creative thinking through design, technical development, production and rollout.
The work also included larger store and sustainability programmes involving UK and Irish client teams, studios, production partners and specialist suppliers.
As delivery became stronger and the relationship deepened, additional project streams and services followed.
The results
The account grew by 28% over two years.
Delivery accuracy reached 99%.
Management cost was reduced by 15% without increasing headcount.
Why this matters to you
Not every growth problem is an acquisition problem.
Sometimes the biggest opportunity is already inside the business — in existing customers, relationships, expertise, processes or activity that could work considerably harder.
Growth can start by fixing friction first.