The challenge
A middle-market private equity firm built an automotive aftermarket remanufacturer and distributor through rapid acquisition: 13 locations across North America, selling to locksmiths, dealerships, retailers, fleets and online customers. Every business it bought arrived with its own systems, processes and culture.
Finance ran on several accounting packages consolidated by hand. Warehouses tracked receiving, picking and stock by hand or in disconnected tools. Three ecommerce platforms ran side by side, sales was split across different CRMs, and there was no security or privacy program. The systems had become the constraint on the investment thesis: the platform couldn’t absorb its next acquisition.
Our approach
We assessed the business first, scoring the organization, applications, infrastructure, security and core processes, and built a costed three-year roadmap tied to the investment thesis. We then ran the transformation office that governed every workstream, 25 implementation partners and the business process owners, with weekly reporting to management and the sponsor.
The program put NetSuite at the core, added a warehouse management system, consolidated three storefronts onto one ecommerce platform, rolled out Microsoft 365, a new contact center platform and enterprise reporting, and stood up a security and privacy program.
The engagement was designed to end. We handed knowledge and delivery to the client’s own people throughout, and by the late stages internal hires had replaced all but one of our consultants.
The outcome
The platform saves $1.6M a year on licenses and partner contracts, and cut its contractors from 45 to 8 by month 18. All 13 locations run on one ERP, warehouse, ecommerce and reporting backbone, with manual financial consolidation gone and real-time reporting in place.
The internal team now runs the platform, with a repeatable playbook for bringing new acquisitions on board.
locations on one ERP, warehouse, ecommerce and reporting backbone
contractors by month 18 of the program
systems delivered or governed across 25 partners
