Value Creation: Cost Cutting & Business Turnaround
Holistic approach to profitable growth
How our Cost Reduction & Turnaround Services add value
Market dynamics and competitive response sometimes can be overwhelming for the most robust of the businesses. Over the years we have witnessed how unexpected profit warnings and recurring profitability challenges rocked publicly listed and privately-owned businesses alike. Corporate players under the watchful public eye are especially sensitive to managing uncertainty, competitive pressures and industry dynamics which affect value creation. Companies that can defend and grow profitably their portfolio businesses enjoy rewards and favour of investors.
DD Consulting was established to meet the growth and turnaround challenges of privately owned and publicly listed businesses, and we are your trusted partner in value creation to ensure sustainable and profitable growth for your portfolio companies and business units. We go beyond the call of duty to deliver effective, yet competitive services and business turnaround strategies, to help minimize downside risk exposure and meet investment return objectives.
Our team of seasoned value creation practitioners has benefited owners, investors and management teams on turnaround or growth path supporting your team through the sustainability cycle:
We drive unrelenting focus on drivers of value creation such as margin expansion or asset turnover improvement in ROA metrics. In so doing, we get on the ground and employ superior analytics, comprehensive solutioning and bespoke implementation of comprehensive profitability enhancing strategies. These include:
Costs of Goods Sold (COGS):
- Process redesign using Lean Six Sigma methodology (to reduce time-to-market, eliminate defects and cut down on waste)
- Supply chain transformation (by driving fact-based supplier rationalisation, price negotiation and aligning service specifications)
- Functional and Organisational Target Operating Model design and implementation (to enable step change in performance and reduce unit costs of products or services)
- Technology enablement (to remove complexity and link business drivers to resource planning and allocation)
Indirect / Sales, General and Administrative (SG&A) costs
- Implementing Zero-Based Budgeting approach focusing on dual ownership and targets for every category of SG&A costs
- Designing targeted cost reduction approaches for specific cost categories
- Developing prioritisation tools (bottom line benefits vs. reinvestment opportunities, e.g. in Marketing, Procurement, HR, Finance)
- Deploying ad-hoc projects (profitability assessment, activity-based costing, etc.)
Data driven approach is vital to success of Value Creation:
We are priming our services for the successful and immediate impact on the business operations. While our cost containment strategies reduce the downside risk exposure and focus on margins, we also bring rigour to rationalising the existing businesses, explore growth opportunities and employ new financial levers. With the above in mind, DD Consulting will be keen to help clarify and address the specific cost challenges of your businesses in a confidential discussion at the time of your convenience.
Stakeholder management and communication: transactions involve a diverse group of stakeholders, including executives, legal and financial advisors, employees, customers, and sometimes regulatory bodies. Effective stakeholder management is critical to maintain alignment, manage expectations, and ensure smooth communication across all parties. We establish a robust communication plan to keep everyone informed, engaged, and focused
Risk management and issue resolution: Business transactions are inherently risky. We apply risk management processes to identify, assess, and prioritize risks throughout the business cycle. Proactive risk management enables the team to develop mitigation strategies and contingency plans, ensuring that risks are managed before they become issues. Additionally, our project managers are skilled in issue resolution, facilitating quick and effective decision-making to keep the deal on track.
Value creation planning and execution: Businesses are more likely to falter during integration where the operations, cultures, systems and processes are operating in silos. Our project managers play a pivotal role in value creation planning and execution. A comprehensive and well thought through business recovery plan ensures a smoother transition and helps realize intended growth trajectory. We establish programme governance to coordinate cross-functional teams and oversee delivery to ensure that objectives are being met on time and within budget.
Monitoring, reporting, and continuous improvement: Value creation requires continuous monitoring to ensure they are progressing according to plan. We set up reporting mechanisms to provide regular updates on the status of our impact on business operations to enable informed decision-making and maintain transparency among stakeholders. We promote a culture of continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and best practices that can be applied to future deals, enhancing overall M&A capabilities and business alignment.
We bring the cross-sector experience, skills and best practice from publicly listed corporates and Consulting, amalgamating these into powerful and impactful combination of agility and effectiveness. With the above in mind, we will be keen to help clarify and address the specific performance challenges of your firm in a confidential discussion at the earliest convenience