From Silos to Synergy: Building Cross-Functional Momentum

Client: Thermax | Leading Indian Manufacturing Company

The Challenge: Internal Competition Was Killing External Results

Despite its strong market position, Thermax’s sales team had hit only 50% of their annual target. At first glance, it seemed like a sales performance issue—but a deeper analysis exposed a breakdown in cross-functional collaboration.

Departments were operating in isolation—worse, in competition.

• Sales blamed Purchase for delays

• Purchase blamed Operations for lack of urgency

• Every team believed they were carrying the load, while others dragged it down

The Result:

✖ Delayed customer responses

✖ Missed opportunities

✖ Slow deal closures

✖ Eroding trust and alignment across functions

Leadership had tried everything—from alignment meetings to external consultants. Nothing shifted.

The Solution: One Simulation. One Choice. Collaborate or Compete?

Bottomline designed a simulation to reflect exactly what the business was experiencing in real time—without telling the teams what to do.

Mixed cross-functional teams were given a live business challenge:Limited resources, complex stakeholders, and a choice—compete or collaborate.

• Some teams hoarded information, duplicated tasks, and fell into old patterns of mistrust

• Others pooled resources, made joint decisions, and responded with speed and strategy

The impact was immediate and measurable:

Collaborative teams outperformed competitive ones by 3–4× in simulated revenue.

The Turning Point: When Data Replaces Opinion

Following the simulation, teams were shown data on how their decisions played out:

• Revenue generated

• Missed opportunities

• Delays caused by poor handoffs

• Inefficiencies caused by siloed thinking

This wasn’t a lecture—it was a mirror. And it landed hard.

For many, it was the first time they saw that internal rivalry was directly impacting client outcomes and business growth.

The Shift: From Finger-Pointing to Shared Ownership

With the data as the baseline, Bottomline introduced cross-functional trust frameworks—giving teams the tools to:

• Share accountability without blame

• Communicate needs upstream and downstream

• Shift from task-first to outcome-first collaboration

The Bottomline Impact

Post-program, the behavioral shift was visible and lasting:

✔ Sales began involving support teams earlier in the cycle

✔ Purchase and Operations adopted a proactive posture

✔ Cross-functional meetings became action-focused, not defensive

✔ Friction dropped, response times improved, and execution velocity increased

“The simulation showed us what we were really doing—and what we could be doing instead.”

When teams stopped competing internally, they started winning externally.