Historically, our client has not included operational due-diligence as part of their pre-acquisition process, however in the case of this particular opportunity, our client felt that doing so would strengthen their negotiating position and enable them to challenge CAPEX and Business plans included in the information memorandum.

In particular, CAPEX plans indicated a sudden drop in expenditure in the coming year, which our client believed required investigation.

Due to the speed with which the acquisition process was moving, access to each of three sites (2 in Europe and 1 in Eastern Europe) was limited to one-day ‘walk-throughs’.

• To provide expert opinion on the state of manufacturing facilities and maturity of operations.

• Assess the quality and completeness of operational data made available through the data-room.

• Identify any potential ‘Red-flags’

• The brief required us to organise and mobilise our team at short notice. As part of this exercise, experts were needed who could provide deep knowledge of the specialised manufacturing process. Using our extensive network, we were able to identify and engage the necessary expertise within days.

• One day ‘walk-throughs’ were conducted at each of three locations. Knowing that we had very limited time available, our study plan had been configured to maximise the available time on-site. Using a range of methodologies and assessment tools, we were able to build a good picture of each of the operations, identifying a range of issues and potential opportunities.

• Observational data was combined with the assessments made by our experts which gave our client a comprehensive view of potential issues and opportunities for improvement.

• In parallel, a separate team focussed on the data room and the review of operational performance data. The analysis identified many gaps and weaknesses, some of which were aligned to what was observed during our site visits.

• Findings and conclusions were summarised into a final client report

• In addition, our client was provide with a 100-day improvement plan

• Sales & Operational Planning

• LEAN / VSM

• ABCx Analysis