In private equity consulting, value creation has a clock on it.
You don’t have ten years to build operational maturity. You’ve got maybe three. And in that window, you need to scale, stabilize, and often restructure, without losing control.
That’s why operational excellence isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a requirement. And it has to start early.
The Shift: From Financial Management to Operational Excellence
Private equity used to be all about leverage and financial management. That still exists — but today’s winning private equity consulting firms succeed by driving operational maturity: predictable throughput, reliable delivery, and consistent margin growth.
And not just at the top line.
- Throughput
- Margin per hour
- Quality yield
- Delivery performance
These aren’t finance terms — they’re factory-floor terms. But they’re what drive EBITDA.
The Mistake: Waiting Too Long to Build the System
We often get called when things are on fire. Revenue is up but delivery is tanking. Labor costs are climbing. The ERP rollout failed.
But the system didn’t break overnight. It just wasn’t built to scale.
The right time to build operational discipline is at the inflection point, right after acquisition. Not after the cracks show.
What We Look for in a Scalable Operation
When CBS evaluates a business through the lens of operational excellence consulting, we don’t start with what’s broken. We start with what’s missing:
- A production system that defines how work gets done
- Metrics that drive behavior (not just reporting)
- Leaders who coach and solve, not just escalate
- A cadence for problem-solving and performance
Without these, you’re scaling chaos.
The Real World: Turning a Struggling Asset Around
One PE-backed manufacturer we worked with had grown through aggressive M&A. Top-line revenue looked great, but delivery was consistently late, scrap was high, and the frontline team was in firefighting mode.
They had hired big-name consultants. They had spent heavily on technology. But they had no system.
We started small: line-level flow, team-based problem-solving, focused KPIs. Then built up: leadership development, standard work, and daily accountability.
Within nine months, on-time delivery went from 62% to 93%. Scrap dropped by over 40%. EBITDA followed.
That’s operational leverage.
What We Recommend
If you’re managing a portfolio company, or preparing to acquire one, here’s where to focus:
- Build the system early. Don’t wait for fires.
- Invest in frontline leadership. They run the operation.
- Audit your metrics. Align them to flow, not just cost.
- Start with execution. Don’t skip the basics.
- Reinforce behavior. Culture drives sustainability.
Final Thoughts: Execution Is the Exit Strategy
If your operational system can’t scale, your investment won’t either.
Operational excellence isn’t about perfection, it’s about repeatability, visibility, and discipline. And in private equity, it’s the difference between a good story and a real return.
