Declining cash balances. Increases in borrowings due to reductions in revenue or gross margins. Bumping up against your banking compliance covenants. If you’re seeing any signs of operational deterioration at your company, it’s time to take quick action. Most people go into savings mode—but not every business can cut and save their way out of a bad situation. Increasing sales is also a key component to turning around a [...]
Your company has matured to the point where you have a significant number of outside suppliers of materials and services. If they are not meeting cost goals or contributing to your strategic intent, it may be time to navigate to new suppliers and/or supply arrangements. With thoughtful analysis and execution, you can take advantage of valuable opportunities.
Do you trust your supply chain is working for you instead of against you? Your supply chain has never been more at risk due to health and safety issues, trade conflict, extreme weather, social unrest, and other disruptions. Outsourcing supply chain functions can reduce risk and save costs, but avoiding pitfalls can be challenging. An experienced advisor can guide you through these very complex decisions.
Is your current role serving the company’s best interests? Family business owners tend to take on multiple responsibilities, including top leadership. But when the business needs to evolve because of changing markets, customers, or other circumstances, they may need to reassess whether they are still in the best roles to successfully accomplish the transition.
Does your family-owned business need to professionalize its practices? Many family-owned businesses are built on a lot of passion. But passion alone may not be enough to sustain your business for the long term.
Are you using customer service as a value-adding tool? Whether you have an automated system for online order tracking or a full-blown customer call center, customer satisfaction will be an important factor for companies of any size in building your reputation and brand.
Are you using the optimum cost structure to build value? Understanding the relative costs of different parts of your business can inform your margin targets, pricing strategy, and marketing plans to drive overall net margins to your desired goal.
Are problems in your operations contributing to a “leaky P&L”? Is your company struggling to fulfill orders? Do you have quality control problems? These and other indicators of unsatisfied customers may be signs of operational deficiencies and come with hidden costs that show up in your gross margin or flagging sales.
Are your marketing efforts building value? When was the last time you did a critical review of your marketing strategy and plan? Prior assumptions can rapidly become outmoded, especially in markets affected by rapidly changing technology and new entrants.
What do you do when your company is in dire straits? Your company is running out of cash, in danger of missing payroll, and besieged by banks and trade creditors. If you don’t act quickly, there won’t be a company left to serve owners, customers, employees and other stakeholders.
