Over a period of a few years we helped a business grow more profitable and eventually to be sold to the satisfaction of the owners.
A self adhesive label printer had produced a variety of similar labels on a number of different machines and stocks inconsistently. Time did not permit comparisons. A large number of items were reprinted for customers. There was considerable waste of paper.
We examined the methods used and produced suggested changes.
The result was a reduction in the number of skips leaving the premises from three in a period to one in a period. This increased in gross margin of 3 percentage points which falls straight through from increased gross profit to net profit without any investment.
The next thing we approached was the blockage caused by the owner having to prepare estimates and review invoicing. This restricted the business to a certain size of no more than 17 people. In addition, this resulted in a three week delay in invoicing affecting cash flow.
We helped them find a supplier who produced a bespoke computer system who overcame these restrictions. This was a fixed price deal as the company would be free to sell the software on to others at the end. It could have been done another way with restrictions on the sale or commissions but this route was chosen by the printer to give certainty to the company.
The company grew profitably to more than double in size within 2 years.
The company then successfully arranged succession and transitioned to be owned by the next generation.
Later we helped the company acquire ISO 9001.
The business continued to grow for the next 10 years becoming 7 times the size with over 100 people.