Consulting

Process Diligence™

Project Detail

Implementation Partners provides operational Process Diligence™ services for Venture Capitalists, investment firms, and corporations who are acquiring other organizations through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). These investors benefit from our expertise in evaluating the current state and future potential of their intended acquisition’s business processes. The Process Diligence™ effort delivers a neutral assessment of the potential acquisition’s processes and value, with objectives of:

  • Providing input on the potential value of the acquisition by validating key statements and assessing risks
  • Identifying issues that may provide negotiating leverage
  • Delivering constructive proposals for integration priorities and process improvements that would strengthen those business processes to drive future performance in the event of a “go” decision

The Process Diligence Approach

  1. Pre-assessment: interviews with the acquiring organization’s team to identify key assumptions and assess initial information that the potential acquisition has already provided, tailoring the on-site assessment plan (below) to the situation
  2. On-Site Assessment(s): tour of key processes and interviews of key leaders at the potential acquisition’s site(s), to include:
    • General condition, processes, practices, and morale in facilities
    • Assessment of process capability (performance v. customer requirements) data to demonstrate a history of sustainable process performance
    • Validation of positive control of supplier and process quality, including appropriate business process measures (dashboards/scorecards) and written procedures
    • Cross-reference of perceived operational capacity with commitments and projections that have been included in due-diligence financial calculations (i.e., the “sniff-test” to ensure the projected volume is reasonable), including high-level validation of reported Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
    • Identification of opportunities, process changes, and/or initiatives that would be prudent to execute during and/or after acquisition to ensure maximum return on investment
    • Quantification of financial impact of identified issues (e.g., impaired inventory and potential improvements to COGS), to create negotiation leverage
  3. Integration of results with the financial, market, legal, and other assessment functions (typically these are in-house expertise within the Venture Capital firm)
  4. Post-Assessment Report: formal delivery of the recommendations for next steps, including both “go/no-go” and integration process improvement proposals

With unparalleled expertise in evaluating and improving processes both in manufacturing and in transactional environments, Implementation Partners is the right choice to help investors ensure that they get the most out of their potential acquisitions.

Implementation Partners also leverages our Process Diligence™ expertise to offer a similar approach for companies who are seeking to be acquired, enabling them to improve their operations and “package their story” for the optimum sale outcome.