PBC - Economic Diversification Strategic Options Paper - Shire of Ashburton

Client: Gumala Enterprises Pty Ltd

Year: 2026

Project Overview

Gumala Enterprises engaged Wander to deliver a Strategic Options Paper to support executive and Board-level consideration of future growth and diversification opportunities across Western Australia.

Working within a focused two-week timeframe aligned to Board reporting deadlines, Wander undertook a broad strategic and commercial opportunity scan exploring both acquisition and development pathways across multiple sectors. The work considered opportunities aligned to existing operational capabilities, alongside diversification options extending into new markets and industries.

The Challenge

Gumala Enterprises needed a rigorous, governance-ready analysis of economic diversification opportunities - fast. With a Board reporting deadline driving a two-week timeframe, the work had to rapidly synthesise complex economic, commercial, operational and governance considerations into a clear decision-support tool.

Rather than advocating for a single direction, it needed to give executive and Board-level stakeholders honest visibility across a broad opportunity landscape so they could make informed decisions with confidence.

Wander’s Approach

Wander developed a structured comparative analysis framework to assess each opportunity consistently across a range of strategic and operational criteria, including:

• capital intensity

• operational complexity

• capability alignment

• revenue diversification potential

• staffing requirements

• regulatory considerations

• future flexibility

• long-term strategic fit

  
  

The analysis also incorporated due diligence and risk considerations to support practical evaluation of each pathway.

The Outcome

The final report translated detailed market analysis and strategic evaluation into a clear, accessible and governance-ready format, supporting confident discussion around investment direction, diversification and long-term organisational growth.

Rather than narrowing leadership toward a predetermined outcome, the paper enabled executive and Board-level stakeholders to compare diverse opportunities through a consistent strategic lens while maintaining flexibility around future decision-making.

The report received positive feedback from both the CEO and Board and informed the organisation's next steps.