ROI Case File No.268 | 'NordicWave Logistics' Why They Hire Us'

Chapter One: Only Price Competition Wins - The Dead End of Feature Competition

The week following the resolution of Silverline Robotics' OODA case, a consultation arrived from the Nordics regarding a logistics company's differentiation strategy. Episode 268 of Volume 21 "Deepening Analysis" tells the story of understanding the "job" customers truly want solved and creating new value propositions.

"Detective, we compete with rivals on delivery speed, price, tracking systems - everything. But no matter how much we improve, customers only say 'make it cheaper.' We can't escape price competition."

NordicWave Logistics' Chief Strategy Officer, Lars Jensen from Copenhagen, visited 221B Baker Street with an exhausted expression. In his hands were substantial service specifications and graphs showing stagnating profit margins in stark contrast.

"We provide corporate logistics services across the Nordic region. We have industry-top delivery speed, cutting-edge tracking systems, and 24/7 customer support. Yet customers only say 'make it 10% cheaper than Company A.'"

NordicWave Logistics' Feature Competition Limits: - Founded: 2016 (Corporate logistics) - Delivery area: 5 Nordic countries - Corporate customers: 850 - Annual revenue: $100M - Operating profit margin: 4% (industry average 8%) - Price competition discounts: Cumulative 18% over past 3 years

Lars's expression showed deep anxiety.

"The problem is we're competing only on 'logistics functions.' Transport fast, transport cheap, transport accurately. But what customers truly seek can't be just 'transportation.'"

Feature Competition Vicious Cycle: - Competitor A: Starts next-day delivery → NordicWave responds - Competitor B: Cuts price 10% → NordicWave cuts price too - Competitor C: Enhances tracking system → NordicWave invests too - Result: All companies have same services, only price competition

"We only provide 'transporting.' But do customers really want only 'transporting'?"

Chapter Two: Verbalizing the "Job" to Be Hired For - Purpose, Not Features

"Mr. Jensen, why do customers use NordicWave? What questions do you ask to understand customer needs?"

To my question, Lars answered.

"Basically we ask 'what kind of service do you want?' Then we get answers like 'faster' or 'cheaper.'"

Current Customer Understanding (Feature Perspective): - Question: "What kind of service do you want?" - Answer: "Next-day delivery," "Tracking function," "Low price" - Result: Only collect feature improvement requests

I proposed a perspective shift.

"Rather than asking 'what service do you want,' ask 'why do you hire a logistics service.' Jobs to be Done - JTBD. Customers don't buy products - they 'hire' products to accomplish their 'jobs.'"

⬜️ ChatGPT | Catalyst of Concepts

"Customers don't buy products. They hire solutions."

🟧 Claude | Alchemist of Narratives

"People who buy drills don't want drills - they want holes. What do people who hire logistics want?"

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"JTBD is a revolution in customer understanding. Look not at features, but at what they want to accomplish."

The three members began their analysis. Gemini deployed the "Logistics Industry-Specific JTBD" framework on the whiteboard.

JTBD (Jobs to be Done) Structure: - Functional Job - What to accomplish practically - Emotional Job - How they want to feel - Social Job - How they want to be perceived - Progress - How they want to change from current state

"Mr. Jensen, let's discover the 'jobs' NordicWave's customers truly want to accomplish."

Chapter Three: Comparison Map with Alternatives - Competitors Aren't Just Logistics Companies

Phase 1: Deep Interviews (1 month)

We asked 20 corporate customer logistics managers different questions than before.

New Questions: "Before using logistics services, how did you solve that challenge?" "If you didn't use logistics services, what would be problematic?" "Ideally, what would be the best state for this situation?"

Customer A: Fashion E-commerce Company

Conventional Understanding (Feature Perspective): "Want next-day delivery"

JTBD Interview Results: - Functional Job: "Deliver ordered clothes to customers quickly in wearable condition" - Emotional Job: "Want relief from stress of social media backlash over delayed deliveries" - Social Job: "Want recognition as 'fast-delivery e-commerce'" - Progress: "Toward worry-free management with zero delivery complaints"

Customer B: Pharmaceutical Wholesaler

Conventional Understanding: "Want temperature-controlled delivery"

JTBD Interview Results: - Functional Job: "Deliver pharmaceuticals to hospitals reliably while maintaining quality" - Emotional Job: "Want relief from fear that delivery mistakes affect patient lives" - Social Job: "Want to be a trustworthy pharmaceutical supplier" - Progress: "Toward medical contribution with zero delivery risk"

Phase 2: Discovering Alternatives

An even more important discovery emerged. Customers weren't comparing only "logistics companies."

Fashion E-commerce Company's Alternatives: 1. Logistics Company A (NordicWave) 2. Logistics Company B (competitor) 3. Increase inventory for immediate in-store pickup 4. Move manufacturing domestic to shorten delivery times 5. Use reservation system to distribute delivery load

True competitors weren't other logistics companies - they were "other ways to avoid delivery problems."

Phase 3: Structuring Customer Jobs

From 20 company interviews, three major job clusters emerged.

Job 1: "Relief from Anxiety" (40%) - "Fear of losing customers to delivery delays" - "Anxiety of losing trust to delivery mistakes" - "Urgency of losing opportunities to stockouts"

Job 2: "Creating Time" (35%) - "Don't want time consumed by logistics management" - "Want relief from delivery trouble response" - "Want environment to focus on core business"

Job 3: "Accelerating Growth" (25%) - "Want to entrust logistics when entering new markets" - "Anxiety that logistics can't keep up with sales expansion" - "Don't want logistics to become growth bottleneck"

Chapter Four: Designing Function, Emotion, Progress - Birth of New Value Proposition

Phase 4: Job-Based Service Redesign (3 months)

Based on discovered jobs, we developed three new service packages.

Service 1: "Peace of Mind Logistics" - Target: Job 1 "Relief from Anxiety" - Price: +30% vs conventional - Contents: - Automatic alternative arrangement for delivery delays (no additional cost) - 24-hour advance delivery confirmation notice - Customer response proxy during troubles - 100% delivery quality guarantee (full refund if problems)

Value Provided: "Zero logistics worries, focus on core business"

Service 2: "Time Creation Logistics" - Target: Job 2 "Creating Time" - Price: +25% vs conventional - Contents: - Complete inventory management proxy - Automated ordering/receiving operations - Full return/exchange process proxy - Automatic monthly report creation

Value Provided: "Entrust entire logistics operation, zero management workload"

Service 3: "Growth Acceleration Logistics" - Target: Job 3 "Accelerating Growth" - Price: +40% vs conventional - Contents: - Logistics strategy design when entering new markets - Inventory optimization based on demand forecasting - Flexible expansion response at peak times - Phased investment design aligned with growth

Value Provided: "Transform logistics into growth engine"

Results After 6 Months:

Business Transformation: - New package adoption rate: 52% of existing customers migrated - New customers: +85 companies acquired through "job-type sales" - Average contract value: +28% vs conventional - Operating profit margin: 4% → 14% (3.5x)

Customer Voices:

Fashion E-commerce Company (Peace of Mind adopter): "Before, I was stressed daily by delivery troubles. Now NordicWave handles everything, so I can focus on product development. Price is 30% higher, but value exceeds that."

Pharmaceutical Wholesaler (Time Creation adopter): "I spent 15 hours weekly on logistics management. Now it's zero. With that time I can do sales activities, and revenue grew 20%."

Chapter Five: The Detective's JTBD Diagnosis - Creating Moments of Being Chosen

Holmes compiled the comprehensive analysis.

"Mr. Jensen, the essence of JTBD is 'understanding customer purpose.' Customers don't buy products - they hire products to accomplish their 'jobs.' Understanding that job and providing the best way to accomplish it - that's true differentiation."

Final Report After 12 Months:

NordicWave Logistics transformed into the Nordics' high-value-added logistics company.

Final Results: - Annual revenue: $100M → $137M (+37%) - Operating profit margin: 4% → 18% (4.5x) - Customer satisfaction: 3.5 → 4.8 - Customer value: +32% vs conventional

Lars's letter contained profound insights:

"Through JTBD, we transformed from 'a transporting company' to 'a company accomplishing customer jobs.' What mattered most was understanding purpose, not features. Now our sales team asks customers 'what job do you want to accomplish?' From that answer, we design optimal proposals. We've been freed from price competition and shifted to value competition."

The Detective's Perspective - Creating Reasons to Be Hired

That evening, I contemplated the essence of value propositions.

The true value of JTBD lies in shifting customer understanding perspective. Purpose, not features. Progress, not products. Looking from that perspective reveals true competitors and true value.

Customers don't buy products. They hire products to become better versions of themselves.

"The reason for being chosen isn't feature excellence. It's the power to move customers' lives forward."

The next case will also depict the moment when deep customer understanding opens a company's future.

"What customers want isn't a quarter-inch drill. It's a quarter-inch hole. And actually, it's the picture they'll hang on the wall." - From the Detective's Notes