Securitas

Securitas AB, the Sweden-headquartered global security services company, generated approximately SEK 110 billion ($10.7 billion) in annual revenue in 2018 with over 370,000 employees across 47 countries. The company's sales process was heavily manual and relationship-driven: branch managers doubled as salespeople, client data lived in disconnected local systems, and there was no standardized sales methodology across markets. Technology and solutions — higher-margin electronic security, monitoring, and integrated security systems — represented only 20% of total revenue, with the remaining 80% coming from lower-margin guarding services. The sales force lacked the tools and data to effectively cross-sell technology solutions to existing guarding clients, leaving significant revenue on the table.

Between 2018 and 2023, Securitas executed a comprehensive digital transformation of its sales operations as part of its five-year strategy:

• Client Excellence Platform: Deployed a global Client Excellence Platform that combined CRM, service delivery, and client lifecycle management into a single digital system. This standardized how sales teams qualified prospects, managed pipelines, and tracked client health scores across all markets, replacing dozens of local tools.
• Freedom transformation program (North America): Invested over SEK 2 billion between 2018 and 2022 in the Freedom program, which digitalized operations and sales processes across North America. The program connected field sales with real-time operational data, enabling account managers to demonstrate ROI and upsell technology solutions using actual performance metrics rather than generic presentations.
• Technology-led selling: Trained the sales force to lead with technology assessments rather than guard labor proposals. Sales teams could now offer integrated security assessments combining electronic surveillance, access control, and remote monitoring alongside traditional guarding — increasing average deal value and reducing the number of prospects needed to hit revenue targets.
• Data-driven territory management: Implemented analytics-driven territory design that matched sales resources to opportunity density, reducing windshield time and ensuring high-value prospects received appropriate coverage.
• STANLEY Security acquisition (2022): Acquired STANLEY Security for $3.2 billion, adding 13,700+ technology-focused sales and installation professionals, dramatically expanding the company's technology sales capacity.

• Sales productivity: Sales per employee increased by more than 37% over the five-year strategy period (2018-2023), driven by digital tools, better targeting, and higher average deal values.
• Technology and solutions mix: Technology and solutions revenue grew from 20% of total Group sales in 2018 to 32% in 2023, reflecting the sales force's improved ability to sell higher-value offerings.
• North America margin: The Freedom program contributed to North American operating margin increasing from 6.8% in 2021 to 7.5% in 2022, a 70 basis point improvement driven by operational efficiency and improved sales mix.
• Technology sales growth: Technology and solutions had real sales growth of 80% in Q4 2022 (15% excluding the STANLEY Security acquisition), demonstrating organic sales force effectiveness.
• Revenue growth: Total Group sales reached SEK 133 billion in 2023, up from SEK 110 billion in 2018, a 21% increase.
• Timeframe: Five-year transformation executed 2018-2023.

• SEK 2 billion+ investment in Freedom IT transformation program provided the data infrastructure necessary for digital selling
• STANLEY Security acquisition brought 13,700+ technology-specialized sales professionals who accelerated the shift to solutions selling
• CEO Magnus Ahlqvist's commitment to a five-year strategy provided the time horizon needed for organizational transformation rather than demanding immediate results
• Global standardization of the Client Excellence Platform created consistent sales processes that enabled best-practice sharing across 47 countries