Associations and Organizations
We stay active in the associations, chambers of commerce and industry organizations that business owners and manufacturers rely on.
A Hands-On Approach to M&A Integration
We help business owners, private equity firms and mid-market manufacturers turn acquisitions into increasing enterprise value. We improve operations and the supply chain, and optimize manufacturing and warehousing.
M&A Integration Consulting
M&A integration is the work of turning two businesses into one operating company after a deal closes. It covers the integration plan, the first day of combined ownership, the consolidation of suppliers, systems and sites, and the tracking of the savings the deal was built on.
We lead that work hands-on for business owners, private equity firms and mid-market manufacturers, on the plant floor and with your accounting, operations and commercial teams. See how we run a post-merger integration.
Integration Planning Before the Deal Closes
The strongest integrations are designed before the paperwork is signed. We use operational due diligence to understand the real condition of the target and build the integration plan against the assumptions in the deal model.
Day One Readiness
On the first day of combined ownership, production, shipping, purchasing and payroll all have to keep working. We build the Day One plan, confirm who owns each decision, and prepare answers to the questions employees and customers will ask.
Synergy Capture and Cost Consolidation
Two companies arrive with two of everything: freight agreements, utility accounts, software licenses, insurance and supplier contracts. We identify the duplicates, compare terms and consolidate onto the better agreement.
Operational Integration
Two ERP systems, two sets of standard work, two quality systems and two production cultures have to become one without stopping output. We build the plan around what the plant can actually absorb.
Leadership, Communication and Retention
Integrations are executed by the people already doing the work. We help leadership communicate clearly through the transition and retain the experienced employees who hold institutional knowledge.
Planning an Acquisition or Just Closed One?
A short first conversation is usually enough to see where the risk sits and what should happen first.
How We Run an Integration
Every deal is different, but the sequence is consistent. Each engagement follows four phases, so you can see exactly where the work stands at any point.
Understand the Operation
We walk the operation and review how it actually runs: capacity, constraints, suppliers, systems, quality history and the people carrying the process.
Build the Integration Plan
We turn the deal thesis into a sequenced plan with owners, dependencies and dates, prioritized by risk to continuity first and value second.
Execute Through the First 100 Days
We work alongside your leadership team through Day One and the first hundred days, running the cadence and clearing what blocks progress.
Hold the Gains
We put the measures, ownership and standard work in place so consolidated contracts and combined processes stay in the business after we leave.
Integration and Operational Excellence Services
Integration work is operations work performed under deal pressure. The capabilities below make an integration succeed, and each is also available on its own. For healthcare organizations, we also offer revenue cycle management and corporate wellness programs through specialist partners.
Who We Work With
Our work suits companies where operations decide the outcome. Most engagements start with one of these four situations.
Private Equity Operating Partners
You have an acquisition closing, a bolt-on to integrate, or a portfolio company whose operations are not keeping pace with the investment thesis. We provide the operating capability to execute.
Manufacturers Making an Acquisition
You have bought a business and now have two of everything, including two ways of working. We plan and run the integration so the combined company reaches one operating standard without losing customers.
COOs and VPs of Operations
Demand, capacity, supply or quality has moved faster than the operation can respond. We work on the floor with your team to find the constraint and remove it through hands-on operational excellence.
Owners Preparing for a Sale
You are two or three years from a transaction and want the operation to hold up under diligence. We help put the systems, data and process discipline in place before a buyer asks, through our M&A exit readiness work.
Problems We Are Usually Called In To Solve
These are the sentences we hear most often in a first conversation.
“We closed the deal and now nobody owns the integration.”
We step in as the operating lead, build the plan and run it with your management team.
“The savings in the deal model are not showing up in the numbers.”
We trace each assumed synergy back to a specific contract, process or site and establish what is achievable.
“Two sites are doing the same job two different ways.”
We bring both onto one standard, choosing the better process rather than the louder one.
“Our costs have grown and we cannot see where.”
We review the recurring expense base category by category and separate price problems from process problems.
“We cannot ship what we have sold.”
We find the real constraint in the operation, which is often scheduling or changeover rather than equipment.
“An investor is asking whether we can scale.”
We assess the operation the way a buyer will and give you a defensible answer with evidence behind it.
Why Companies Bring Us In
Our mission is to deliver M&A integration, operational excellence, cost savings, engineering consulting and leadership coaching that leave every operation we touch stronger than we found it.
We Are Hands-On and Focused on Results
We work on the plant floor with your leadership team, and we measure every plan in operating profit and cash flow.
We Work Where Value Is Actually Lost
Synergy is lost in a changeover that takes longer at one site than the other, a supplier agreement nobody consolidated, or a quality system two plants interpret differently. That is the level we work at.
We Scope to What You Need
An engagement can be a single operational assessment, a full integration program or targeted support alongside your own team.
What Clients and Colleagues Say
References from executives, plant leaders and colleagues we have worked alongside.
As the Operations Manager for OpSec, Joe was responsible for the transition of a newly acquired acquisition moving the entire operation to another state. The extremely complicated logistics of relocating all of the production equipment to another site involved very complex allocation of material assets and reassignment of personnel into a totally different environment.
Brad Hilbert
Crown Roll Leaf Inc. V. P. Security Products
Joe has been a dynamic manager setting aggressive goals and hiring a good team. I appreciate his enthusiasm and trust him to drive results including consolidation of facilities, growing the business and technical product transfers.
Rich Cremona
Board of Directors
Joe has made a tremendous impact since joining York a couple years ago. He has added systems and best practices to our quality program, and significantly expanded our R&D capabilities.
As Vice President, US Operations Joe has expanded the capacity of our facilities through process improvements, new technologies, and improved morale in the facilities.
Brian Golden
CEO at American Leather
Insights on M&A and Operational Execution
Commentary on reshoring, capacity, deal flow and the operational execution that decides whether a deal delivers its value.
Manufacturing Integration Is the Key to Post Deal Success
Why post-acquisition execution decides which manufacturing deals deliver their value.
The Next M&A Wave Will Be Operational, Not Financial
How the focus in manufacturing M&A is shifting from financial engineering to operational integration.
Private Equity Eyes American Manufacturers: Here's What They're Looking For
The operational readiness private equity buyers now look for in mid-market manufacturers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions private equity firms and manufacturing leaders ask us most often.
What does an M&A integration consultant do?
An M&A integration consultant leads the work of combining two businesses into one operating company after a deal closes. That includes building the integration plan, preparing both organizations for the first day of combined ownership, consolidating suppliers, systems and processes, and tracking whether the value assumed in the deal is actually delivered.
Should integration planning start before or after the deal closes?
Before. The strongest integrations are planned during diligence, while there is still time to understand the real operating condition of the target and design the first hundred days around it. We are also brought in after a close, and in that case the first step is establishing what is already at risk.
What is Day One readiness?
Day One readiness means production, shipping, purchasing, payroll and customer service all continue without interruption on the first day of combined ownership. It covers who holds each decision, which systems are live, what employees are told, and what customers and suppliers hear.
Do you work with private equity portfolio companies?
Yes. We work with operating partners and portfolio operations leads on acquisitions, bolt-ons and portfolio companies whose operational performance is behind the investment thesis. Engagements range from a pre-close operational assessment to leading a full integration.
What size of company do you work with?
Our work suits mid-market manufacturers and industrial businesses, along with the private equity firms that own them.
Are cost savings or synergy targets guaranteed?
No. What a business can recover depends on its existing contracts, processes and systems, and on the condition of both operations at close. An assessment establishes whether a meaningful opportunity exists and gives you the information to decide what to do next.
Do you work with healthcare organizations?
Yes. Most of our M&A integration and operational excellence work is with manufacturers. For hospitals, health systems and employers, we also offer healthcare revenue cycle management and corporate wellness and preventive care programs, delivered with specialist partners.
Planning an Acquisition or Fixing an Operation? Let's Talk.
The first conversation is short and specific. We will tell you what we would look at first and whether we are the right team for it.