Innovation on the Fast Track — From Consultancy to Market Disruptor

Executive Summary

This case study explores how AGC, a specialist consultancy in the police and security sectors, successfully transformed its business model by becoming a network orchestrator rather than just a service provider. Facing the limitations of a traditional consultancy without proprietary products, AGC partnered with Xiaoyu Group to leverage our Business Transformation Platform in identifying a critical market need and orchestrating a high-performance supply network to meet it. By developing a specialized tyre deflator for law enforcement without building manufacturing capabilities in-house, AGC evolved from a consultancy into a security-sector disruptor. This transformation demonstrates how knowledge-based businesses can create scalable value by orchestrating networks rather than owning all production assets.

Problem: A Consultancy Without a Product

AGC, a specialist consultancy deeply embedded in the police and security sectors, found itself at a critical inflection point.

• Its services were valued, but it had no proprietary product.
• This meant limited defensibility, pricing pressure, and a constant need to chase new consulting contracts.
• Meanwhile, local manufacturers had the technical capabilities to build physical products—butlacked the industry insight and client access that AGC possessed.

The risk was clear: without deeper value integration, AGC would remain a transactional service provider, vulnerable to market saturation and commoditization.

Solution: Turning Expertise Into the Product — Enabled by Xiaoyu Group

With support from Xiaoyu Group, AGC redefined its role—not just as a consultant, but as anetwork orchestrator using the Business Transformation Platform.

Instead of developing its own manufacturing capabilities, AGC applied a new strategy:

"What if we become the connective tissue between market demand and technical supply?"

Phase 1: Identifying the Right Market Opportunity

AGC used its insider knowledge of policing and security to identify an urgent and under-addressed need: aspecialised tyre deflator designed for law enforcement.

• Law enforcement needed a solution that was portable, reliable, and safe.
• AGC had no production capability—but it had access to clients, procurement teams, and front-line insights.

Through the Business Transformation Platform, AGC mapped out the competencies required to manufacture the product—and identified a group of local manufacturers who could deliver.

Phase 2: Orchestrating a High-Performance Supply Network

Instead of building the product in-house, AGC:

• Formed a strategic manufacturing cluster
• Took the lead on product design, specification, and client liaison
• Managed the end-to-end process—from prototyping to contract negotiation

AGC essentially became a B2B Uber, not for transportation, but for product development in a high-trust industry.

This new operating model:

• Gave manufacturers new market access
• Gave law enforcement a tailored product
• Gave AGC scalable, ownable IP without factory overhead

Phase 3: Market Breakthrough & Economic Impact

The results were immediate and dramatic:

• The tyre deflator project won the bid and entered production.
• It created nearly 100 jobs within nine months.
• AGC rapidly evolved from a consultancy into a security-sector disruptor, commandinglarger projects and generating product-based revenue.

What began as a tactical solution became a strategic business model.

Outcome: A Reinvention Rooted in Insight

By aligning its core assets—industry insight, trust, and market access—with external technical capabilities, AGC made a leap that many consultancies only dream of.

How Xiaoyu Group Helped

Xiaoyu Group provided the strategic capabilities that made this transformation possible:

Key Learnings

This case study demonstrates how knowledge-based businesses can transform their role in the value chain:

• Expertise as Orchestration: Knowledge-based businesses can create value by orchestrating networks rather than owning all production assets.
• Platform-Enabled Transformation: The Business Transformation Platform provided the structured approach needed to identify capabilities and align them with market opportunities.
• Value Chain Integration: By positioning itself as the connective tissue between market demand and technical supply, AGC created a defensible position with higher margins.
• Asset-Light Innovation: AGC demonstrated that innovation doesn't require heavy capital investment—it requires strategic orchestration of existing capabilities.
• Local Economic Impact: By connecting local manufacturers with specialized market needs, AGC created significant economic value beyond its own business growth.

"From Expert to Orchestrator: AGC's journey demonstrates the power of combining insight with coordination. By embedding itself in the space between customer and supplier—and using Xiaoyu Group's transformation tools—it transformed from an industry observer into an industry leader."— Sarah Mitchell, CEO, AGC

Long-term Impact

Three years after implementing the transformation strategy, AGC continues to build on their success:

• The company has expanded its product portfolio to include five additional security products, all developed through the same orchestration model.
• Revenue from product-based business now accounts for 65% of AGC's total income, compared to 0% before the transformation.
• The manufacturing cluster has grown to include 15 specialized companies, creating a resilient local supply chain for security products.
• AGC has been recognized with innovation awards for its approach to product development without traditional manufacturing assets.
• The company is now exploring international expansion, applying its orchestration model to security needs in other countries.

This case demonstrates how the Business Transformation Platform can help knowledge-based businesses create scalable value by orchestrating networks rather than owning all production assets.