Bridging a vacancy after acquisition by an international PE consortium and increasing value and efficiency
Client:
Group of companies (holding structure) for interdisciplinary laboratory services with 90 locations in Germany, Belgium, Austria and Dubai
Turnover approx. 550 Mio.€ and approx. 4200 employees
Order:
At the start: filling the management vacuum following the short-term departure of the CFO, securing personnel stability following the entry of new investors
After the start of the project: Increase in value and efficiency due to the new shareholders, increased cost management due to the changed macroeconomic conditions
Deployment / Role:
CFO (Interim Executive), reporting to the CEO, the international Shareholder Advisory Board and the German Supervisory Board
Area of responsibility: Accounting & Reporting, Controlling, Lender Communication, Treasury, Supply Chain, Logistics, Real Estate Management
Initial situation:
- Previous sale of the group of companies by a PE company to an international PE consortium (including Goldman Sachs)
- as part of the acquisition, the CFO left the company at short notice
- strong organic and inorganic growth in recent years, the Corona pandemic has led to further organizational strain
- Clear growth strategy of the new shareholders
Measures / levers to improve results:
- Development of the growth and M&A strategy for the next 5 years with the support of an American consulting firm
- Revision and detailing of the entire internal and external reporting system (central divisions, business units) with KPIs and inclusion of shareholder requirements
- Monthly performance calls with shareholders on the Group’s earnings situation
- Management of the entire and more complex budget process (new shareholder requirements, economic conditions)
- Increased performance measurement of individual sites and business units
- Solving implementation barriers
- Trustful cooperation with all stakeholders
- Consolidation of all project activities of the group and professionalization of project management
- “Celonis deployment” for process analysis in purchasing and its interfaces
- With the support of a consultant, process optimization in purchasing (P2P process)
- Identification of cost saving potentials in purchasing
- Revision and realignment of the target operating model in purchasing
- Clearer goal orientation and mindset change of the divisions
- Support in the planning of a new central administration and laboratory location
- More consistent coordination and prioritization of construction measures at the laboratory sites
Success / Results:
- Successful filling of management vacuum following short-term departure of CFO
- Successful corporate management through the phase of complex projects and profound changes
- Increased target and process orientation of the commercial areas
- Consistent integration of controlling in the investment planning and project management of the business units
- New positioning and mindset change in purchasing
- Improvement of the strategic planning of the entire real estate projects
- Realization of the 9% increase in sales
