Welcome

Harmonic is a specialist delivery and business winning partner to organisations operating in complex and transformational environments.

The Harmonic Difference

For many organisations the business environment is becoming increasingly challenging; with end-customer expectations and level of competition increasing whilst budgets and delivery timelines are shrinking. In these circumstances, conventional approaches to accessing external support are no longer able to provide good value, particularly in complex areas such as new business capture and the early stages of delivery.

To help clients meet this challenge, Harmonic has established an engagement model that we call insourcingPlus™.

See Our Clients

A wide range of large multinational organisations and Government agencies are benefiting from insourcingPlus™. Many choose to work with us on their critical activities as a long term managed service provider - we are often the only company to be contracted in this way. Current examples of this include:

Under a multi-year contract, we are helping the UK Ministry of Defence deliver a major enterprise compliance and cost mitigation programme
As a long term growth partner we are helping a leading US Aerospace and Defence company substantially grow their UK defence footprint and diversify in to new markets
We are securing a multinational services organisation delivery performance reputation by delivering a range of critical projects

focus on winning and early stage delivery

focus on winning and early stage delivery

Winning profitable business requires an integrated solution closely aligned to both a compelling win strategy and an organisations business strategy. Additionally, many of the challenges in delivery often have their origin in the highly competitive nature of the bidding process and that these challenges are felt most acutely in the earlier stages of delivery.

We have therefore chosen to specialise in and operate seamlessly across the capture and early stage delivery phase of the business cycle. We are one a very small number of organisations to do this and the only one with the scale to support multiple large concurrent activities.
impactful solutions to intractable business issues

impactful solutions to intractable business issues

Most large organisations who win and deliver large complex projects and programmes routinely face a small number of inevitable and difficult to resolve challenges that limit their success no matter how well they are structured and managed.

We specialise in mitigating the impact of these ‘intractable issues’.
integrate our expertise with that of our client

integrate our expertise with that of our client

Winning and delivering the early phases of large complex contracts are critical and dynamic activities for all organisations, requiring the seamless co-operation of many different corporate functions and solution partners to be successful.

We integrate seamlessly into this environment, ensuring that we fully understand the culture, values and processes of the client organisation, and are typically indistinguishable from client staff to others in their organisation and to their customers and partners. We typically work at our client’s offices, but can run tasks or whole projects at our own offices if necessary.

We are a service provider not a consultancy, so we focus on the delivery of outputs and benefits and not simply on advising clients what to do. That’s not to say we are a passive partner - clients expect and value our sharing of experience of what works best gained from engagements with many different clients across multiple markets. We provide this in a consistent and supportive way that has been pre-agreed with key client stakeholders to ensure maximum benefit.
alignment of our reward to client outcomes

alignment of our reward to client outcomes

Many organisations say they have their client’s best interests at heart. We go one step further by wherever possible directly linking our reward to what our clients value most. At its simplest this means that we give a fixed price for a defined output, so taking risk for its delivery. At the other end of the spectrum our reward is linked to a share of the additional profit we help generate for our clients through, for example, increasing the amount of business won for every £ spent bidding, reducing the cost of delivering projects or delivering benefits earlier.

What We Do

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06 fixing major issues on running programmes

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05 avoiding shortfalls of critical capabilities
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01 investing in capabilities that drive growth

intractable business issues

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04 mobilising fast and effectively
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02 gaining real competitive advantage

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03 making the win strategy count

We help you achieve the right to win consistently within your chosen markets, aligning your capability to that required

Find out more

Harmonic has a structured and objective approach that ensures you always know how you are going to win

Find out more

Good win strategies are often wasted. We have a proven, practical approach that ensures the win strategy actually drives the whole bid effort.

Find out more

Mobilising large complex programmes is extremely difficult since no company can carry the necessary spare capacity. We structure mobilisation, allowing you to concentrate your core team in the right areas and identifying where we will take responsibility

Find out more

All large programmes suffer from unforeseen activity peaks that neither a traditional resourcing model nor offloading can address. We have a pre-emptive approach that not only allows us to respond rapidly but also take responsibility for delivery outcomes

Find out more

When a programme has difficulties, it is extremely hard to gain sufficient headroom to address them. We have an objective and practical approach to identifying what needs to be done and then act as a catalyst to help you get your programme back on track.

Find out more

investing in capabilities that drive growth

Problem

Companies need to grow profitably to be successful. However, there is often a disconnect between their growth ambitions, the market needs, their opportunity pipeline and their business strategy and exciting/planned capabilities. This issue is exacerbated by the dynamic nature of the market that quickly renders long term capability acquisition and development plans, based on annual business planning rounds, ineffective.

Solution

Harmonic helps our clients to generate market focused capability acquisition plans aligned across their opportunity pipeline to optimise potential for profitable growth.

gaining real competitive advantage

Problem

Creating a genuinely competitive edge, especially in mature markets, is challenging and it is almost impossible for a company to dispassionately review their own competitive position.

Solution

Harmonic supports our clients' win strategy thinking throughout the pursuit lifecycle, using a structured and sometimes painfully objective approach; challenging the client to align to their customers' driving issues with a solution that is clearly differentiated to enhance competitive advantage.

making the win strategy count

Problem

Translating a good win strategy into a high quality, coherent and compelling proposal requires skill and discipline. Companies in growth are not able to run as many first class bids as they would like, as the relatively small number of real in-house experts are inevitable stretched. Too frequently, money is poorly spent on bids that fail to match the promise of the win strategy.

Solution

We ensure that good win strategies are not wasted. We understand that the inevitable capability gap cannot be effectively resolved by simply reallocating labour from around the business – availability is not a skill. We deploy highly experienced and skilled people and a range of proven tools to make the most impact on your ability to win.

mobilising fast and effectively

Problem

The start-up phase of any programme is critical; setting the tone for the whole undertaking both inside the organisation and outside across the supplier network and with the customer. Mobilising programmes invariably face significant challenges. These include the retention of corporate knowledge from the pursuit phase and the high risk and high cost of deploying the delivery team in advance. This leads to pressure on delivering early milestones, exacerbated by the need for key staff to focus on the resourcing effort.

Solution

We work proactively with clients to ‘plan in’ an effective joint mobilisation solution that provides clients with the right capabilities at the right time to deliver the plan. This allows them to concentrate their core team in the right areas and identify where we will take responsibility so that between us, we ensure early delivery performance.

avoiding shortfalls of critical capabilities

Problem

Large complex are always subject to some level of volatility in capability demand that is difficult to plan for and support, especially when other programs are suffering similar pressure. This volatility results from a whole range of events including customer internally driven change, risk mitigation, changes in regulation etc. The typical response to this is the hiring of temporary agency staff at short notice that eats time and typically results in a sub-optimal solution: the extra resource usually arriving too late, with high cost and often low loyalty.

Solution

We invest in the necessary capabilities to provide clients with cost effective on-demand access to the expertise required to maintain a very high standard of delivery across all their programmes.

fixing major issues on running programmes

Problem

Complex programmes, particularly those won in fierce competition, invariably contain a significant level of risk and a proportion of these will face challenges that are beyond the capacity and potentially experience of the existing team to resolve. Typical responses to this situation, such as a more frequent reporting or throwing in additional resources places even greater demands on the existing team and are often counter-productive.

Solution

We have an objective and practical approach to identifying what needs to be done which supports the existing team in solving their problems, without placing additional burdens on them.

We work collaboratively with key stakeholders in the organisation, their supply network and often their customer to identify the issues and establish and embed practical measures for recovery and to avoid re-occurrence.

We help you achieve the right to win consistently within your chosen markets, aligning your capability to that required

Problem

Companies need to grow profitably to be successful. However, there is often a disconnect between their growth ambitions, the market needs, their opportunity pipeline and their business strategy and exciting/planned capabilities. This issue is exacerbated by the dynamic nature of the market that quickly renders long term capability acquisition and development plans, based on annual business planning rounds, ineffective.

Solution

Harmonic helps our clients to generate market focused capability acquisition plans aligned across their opportunity pipeline to optimise potential for profitable growth.

Harmonic has a structured and objective approach that ensures you always know how you are going to win

Problem

Creating a genuinely competitive edge, especially in mature markets, is challenging and it is almost impossible for a company to dispassionately review their own competitive position.

Solution

Harmonic supports our clients' win strategy thinking throughout the pursuit lifecycle, using a structured and sometimes painfully objective approach; challenging the client to align to their customers' driving issues with a solution that is clearly differentiated to enhance competitive advantage.

Good win strategies are often wasted. We have a proven, practical approach that ensures the win strategy actually drives the whole bid effort.

Problem

Translating a good win strategy into a high quality, coherent and compelling proposal requires skill and discipline. Companies in growth are not able to run as many first class bids as they would like, as the relatively small number of real in-house experts are inevitable stretched. Too frequently, money is poorly spent on bids that fail to match the promise of the win strategy.

Solution

We ensure that good win strategies are not wasted. We understand that the inevitable capability gap cannot be effectively resolved by simply reallocating labour from around the business – availability is not a skill. We deploy highly experienced and skilled people and a range of proven tools to make the most impact on your ability to win.

Mobilising large complex programmes is extremely difficult since no company can carry the necessary spare capacity. We structure mobilisation, allowing you to concentrate your core team in the right areas and identifying where we will take responsibility

Problem

The start-up phase of any programme is critical; setting the tone for the whole undertaking both inside the organisation and outside across the supplier network and with the customer. Mobilising programmes invariably face significant challenges. These include the retention of corporate knowledge from the pursuit phase and the high risk and high cost of deploying the delivery team in advance. This leads to pressure on delivering early milestones, exacerbated by the need for key staff to focus on the resourcing effort.

Solution

We work proactively with clients to ‘plan in’ an effective joint mobilisation solution that provides clients with the right capabilities at the right time to deliver the plan. This allows them to concentrate their core team in the right areas and identify where we will take responsibility so that between us, we ensure early delivery performance.

All large programmes suffer from unforeseen activity peaks that neither a traditional resourcing model nor offloading can address. We have a pre-emptive approach that not only allows us to respond rapidly but also take responsibility for delivery outcomes

Problem

Large complex are always subject to some level of volatility in capability demand that is difficult to plan for and support, especially when other programs are suffering similar pressure. This volatility results from a whole range of events including customer internally driven change, risk mitigation, changes in regulation etc. The typical response to this is the hiring of temporary agency staff at short notice that eats time and typically results in a sub-optimal solution: the extra resource usually arriving too late, with high cost and often low loyalty.

Solution

We invest in the necessary capabilities to provide clients with cost effective on-demand access to the expertise required to maintain a very high standard of delivery across all their programmes.

When a programme has difficulties, it is extremely hard to gain sufficient headroom to address them. We have an objective and practical approach to identifying what needs to be done and then act as a catalyst to help you get your programme back on track.

Problem

Complex programmes, particularly those won in fierce competition, invariably contain a significant level of risk and a proportion of these will face challenges that are beyond the capacity and potentially experience of the existing team to resolve. Typical responses to this situation, such as a more frequent reporting or throwing in additional resources places even greater demands on the existing team and are often counter-productive.

Solution

We have an objective and practical approach to identifying what needs to be done which supports the existing team in solving their problems, without placing additional burdens on them.

We work collaboratively with key stakeholders in the organisation, their supply network and often their customer to identify the issues and establish and embed practical measures for recovery and to avoid re-occurrence.

Our Core Capabilities

Harmonic has developed seven core capabilities that are deployed individually or integrated as necessary to resolve client intractable business issues and improve business performance.

Win Strategy Development

win strategy development - understanding what it takes to win

We ensure client win strategies are both compelling and executable by leveraging the best available customer and competitor intelligence, addressing price and scoring to win challenges and articulating value propositions and theme statements that express the real value in our clients’ solutions.

Bid & Proposal Management

bid & proposal management - realising the win strategy

We deliver winning proposals through pragmatically deploying specialists and best practice tools and techniques to ensure effective execution of the win strategy. We can provide support to single bids through to providing a turnkey bidding operation for the entire enterprise.

Capability Development

capability development - leaving clients better equipped

We leave our clients better equipped to win and deliver key contracts. In addition to delivering capability improvement initiatives we also seek to provide targeted upskilling of the client team via a range of mechanisms including shadowing, mentoring, coaching or training throughout an engagement.

Integrated Solution Development

integrated solution development - the right solution at the right time

We ensure that client solutions are both competitive and deliverable by bringing together programmatic and engineering capabilities into an integrated whole that addresses the wide range of stakeholder drivers and interests. Once defined, we can either provide the entire integrated delivery team or lead / operate in an integrated team that typically includes the client, the supply chain and other specialists.

Diagnostics, Reviews & Assurance

diagnostics, reviews & assurance - ensuring repeated success

We deliver rapid, significant and sustainable improvements in client performance through independent diagnostics and assurance of their capture, bid, delivery and associated business level enabling processes. We do not ‘clipboard’, or prescribe regimented solutions – we work with our clients to ensure that recommendations work effectively within their specific environments.

Performance Management & Control

performance management & control - optimising outcomes

We help our clients make better decisions and achieve outcomes fully aligned to their strategic objectives. We do this by providing a consistent governance capability at portfolio, programme or project level that provides high quality management information founded on planning, risk and opportunity management, change control and reporting.

Project and Programme Delivery

project and programme delivery - effective and efficient delivery of outputs and outcomes

We deliver client outputs and outcomes. We do this by combining project and programme management, systems engineering and specialist expertise to help shape the delivery response on major bids, manage the delivery of projects and programmes and advising on the shape and scope of portfolios. We combine industry best practice with experience of what works well in particular cultures and contexts to ensure that our engagements always provide maximum return on our client’s investment.

Our Expertise

Harmonic has the range and depth of expertise necessary to deliver on our promises.

All critical roles filled by our in-house experts. The overall performance of our engagements is overseen by a Value Manager to ensure that our team is fully aligned to client objectives as well as meeting contract obligations. Within Harmonic, engagement success is formally measured by client satisfaction as a lead measure.

Our in-house team is supplemented as required by known and trusted associates or partners selected for their expertise and a belief and behaviour set that aligns to those of Harmonic. We invest heavily in our associates such that they become indistinguishable from our own staff. The blended Harmonic led, Associate supported model enables us to deploy the right expertise at the right time to meet specific client needs.

Business Winning

Harmonic is uniquely placed to address every aspect of business winning and has the scale to support multiple large concurrent capture and bid activities.
Find out more
Project, Programme and Portfolio Management

We blend recognised best practice with practical experience of what really works to deliver required outputs and benefits at minimal cost.
Find out more
Business & Solution Architecting

We ensure that organisations and technical solutions are developed and fully aligned to meet strategic and operational objectives
Find out more
Specialists

Our market, business function and technical specialists provide invalueable insights to drive client winning and delivery success
Find out more
Project, Programme and Portfolio Office

We ensure that the right projects are undertaken in the right way and in the right order to achieve the required outputs and benefits
Find out more

Harmonic is uniquely placed to address every aspect of business winning and has the scale to support multiple large concurrent capture and bid activities.

Consulting
Business Acquisition Facility Deployment & Operation
PQQ Response Management
Full end-to-end Capture Process Management
Gate/Colour Reviews
Bid Management
Bid Writing and Co-ordination
Stakeholder Management and Interventions
Innovative Commercial Model Design
Client Capability Growth
Coaching and Training
Bid Graphics and Visuals Development

We blend recognised best practice with practical experience of what really works to deliver required outputs and benefits at minimal cost.

P3M

Portfolio Management
Programme Management
Project Management
Risk & Opportunity Management
Requirements & Scope Change Management
Maturity Assessment & Improvement
Project & Programme Health Check
Project & Programme Recovery

P3M Support

Business Change
Business Case Development
Commercial Architecting
Financial Control

We ensure that organisations and technical solutions are developed and fully aligned to meet strategic and operational objectives

Business Architecting

Enterprise Architecture Development
Business Architecture Development
Business Change and Transition Management

Solution Architecting

Systems Architecting (TOGAF, MODAF etc)
Systems Engineering
Technical Leadership & Governance
Solution Assurance
Solution Design
Service Design
Service Integration & Management (SIAM)
Systems Integration & Test
Requirements Management
Through Life Support Solution Design
Client Maturity Growth

Our market, business function and technical specialists provide invalueable insights to drive client winning and delivery success

Market Specialists:

Defence & Security
Emergency Services
Transport
Immigration & Justice
Energy
Healthcare

Business Specialists:

Supply Chain
Finance
Business Development

Technical Specialists:

Logistics
Communications
Cyber
Safety
Human Factors

We ensure that the right projects are undertaken in the right way and in the right order to achieve the required outputs and benefits

P3O Planning, Mobilisation and Support/ Provision
Earned Value Management
Scheduling and Technical Planning
Benefits Management (Strategy, Planning and Realisation)
Risk Management (Assessment and Mitigation)
Opportunity Management (Identification & Realisation)
Reporting (Dashboards and Management Information)
Governance and Assurance
Client Capability Growth

Business Winning

Consulting
Business Acquisition Facility Deployment & Operation
PQQ Response Management
Full end-to-end Capture Process Management
Gate/Colour Reviews
Bid Management
Bid Writing and Co-ordination
Stakeholder Management and Interventions
Innovative Commercial Model Design
Client Capability Growth
Coaching and Training
Bid Graphics and Visuals Development

Project, Programme and Portfolio Management

P3M

Portfolio Management
Programme Management
Project Management
Risk & Opportunity Management
Requirements & Scope Change Management
Maturity Assessment & Improvement
Project & Programme Health Check
Project & Programme Recovery

P3M Support

Business Change
Business Case Development
Commercial Architecting
Financial Control

Business & Solution Architecting

Business Architecting

Enterprise Architecture Development
Business Architecture Development
Business Change and Transition Management

Solution Architecting

Systems Architecting (TOGAF, MODAF etc)
Systems Engineering
Technical Leadership & Governance
Solution Assurance
Solution Design
Service Design
Service Integration & Management (SIAM)
Systems Integration & Test
Requirements Management
Through Life Support Solution Design
Client Maturity Growth

Specialists

Market Specialists:

Defence & Security
Emergency Services
Transport
Immigration & Justice
Energy
Healthcare

Business Specialists:

Supply Chain
Finance
Business Development

Technical Specialists:

Logistics
Communications
Cyber
Safety
Human Factors

Project, Programme and Portfolio Office

P3O Planning, Mobilisation and Support/ Provision
Earned Value Management
Scheduling and Technical Planning
Benefits Management (Strategy, Planning and Realisation)
Risk Management (Assessment and Mitigation)
Opportunity Management (Identification & Realisation)
Reporting (Dashboards and Management Information)
Governance and Assurance
Client Capability Growth

Our Experience

We help many of the leading organisations operating in markets such as Defence, Transport, Construction & Facilities Management, Emergency Services, Immigration & Justice and Healthcare to win and deliver their key contracts.

Within those markets, we focus on four sectors where the combination of our capabilities and experience is proven to be of greatest value to our clients.

View Our Engineering Sector Experience

View Our Critical Infrastructure Sector Experience

View Our Digital Sector Experience

View Our Services Sector Experience

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