03. Preparing a 10 million company for growth

Scope and size of the project:

75 FTE
Revenue EUR 11 million
Duration around six months

75 FTE

Scope of project

EUR 11 MILLION

Revenue

6 MONTHS

Project Duration

PREPARING FOR GROWTH

Project Type

Challenge

The assignment focused on rightsizing and integrating three production and installation companies into a single structure. The objective was to prepare the business for growth through forward integration with acquired resellers in Sweden and Norway.

The starting point was fragmented. Functions were duplicated. Cost structures had grown without coordination. Several roles were no longer required in the combined organisation and had to be addressed through negotiation and exit processes.

Operationally, material flows and work processes were not aligned. There was limited visibility across purchasing, production and installation. Health and safety required reinforcement through structured collaboration with external resources.

At the same time, the company needed a clear direction. A new operating model had to be defined. Facilities needed to be redesigned to support efficient flow. Working capital was tied up in receivables, while supplier terms were not actively managed.

This was not a turnaround. It was a realignment under time pressure, where the business had to be stabilised and prepared for the next phase at the same time.

Lesson

With a clear mandate, significant structural change can be executed in a short period of time.

An interim leadership position creates distance to legacy decisions. It allows the business to be rebuilt based on how it should operate, not how it has evolved over time. Decisions can be anchored in facts, observed behaviour, and operational logic.

The sequence of alignment matters. The leadership team must move first. Middle management follows. The organisation comes after. Without that order, execution slows and resistance increases.

Presence in the operation is necessary. Decisions improve when they are based on direct observation. Time spent on the floor provides a clearer view of flow, bottlenecks and actual behaviour than reports alone.

Understanding a business starts with the numbers, but not with summaries. Reviewing invoices, cost structures, quotes, orders and contracts creates a direct link between cost and revenue. From there, the right questions can be asked across sales, production and delivery.

Final reflection

Growth requires structure before scale.

When the operating model is clear and the organisation is aligned, expansion becomes a controlled step rather than a risk.