The Challenge
Two global leaders in traditional and experiential marketing recently merged, doubling annual revenues to $4 billion. Now the company was ready to take the next step in its most ambitious growth strategy to date—capturing the synergistic cost savings and opportunities of the merger as it prepared to go public. The company had plans for the merger to deliver cost savings of $50 million, with a stretch goal of $70 million, all within an aggressive 10-month timeframe. Knowing that Point B Capital had helped optimize previous acquisitions, the company’s CFO asked us to transform those cost-saving plans into actual savings. With a fast-approaching deadline, we engaged our partners from Point B Consulting to work hand-in-hand with our client’s leaders to guide the company through their dynamic M&A process.
Deep and Wide Savings
The broad expertise of our consulting arm allowed us to make the greatest cost-saving impact in the shortest possible time. By executing across all areas of the company, including Operations, HR, IT and Strategic Sourcing we kept the big picture inview to capture synergistic savings.
At the same time, we drilled down to create ten detailed work streams that delivered savings in all functional areas. We:
- Defined a new, more streamlined operating structure across both companies.
- Optimized external spend. We evaluated 2017 expenditures and reviewed all contracts from our client's top 200 vendors to leverage economies of scale and renegotiate better prices.
- Consolidated HR benefits and strengthened communications across the merged companies; this was especially important as the company went through a reduction in forces.
- Optimized the IT infrastructure to support post-merger goals.
Ambiguity Calls for Agility
Point B’s scalable staffing model lets us provide quick infusions of targeted expertise—an agile solution to the fast-moving and ambiguous needs of many post-merger environments. For this client, we brought in our retail principals to provide interim leadership support, and our real estate specialists to help consolidate cost efficiencies across its expanded market area.
Structured for Healthy Growth
Point B’s ability to assimilate into the client's culture was key to finding and delivering on additional cost savings. Together, we identified $30 million in additional savings. Within 5 months, we had delivered on the original goal, with another $50 million of savings in sight. Going forward, the company has a healthy cost structure for growth and is well positioned to make the most of its plans to go public.
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