Operational Transformation
Doubling Sales & Tripling Profits
One of Secantor’s clients has recently doubled sales and tripled profits as a result of a very successful acquisition and ongoing organic growth. Their decision to simultaneously invest in improving business processes and financial planning & reporting helped to achieve maximum success.
Excellent Reputation
Our client is a successful engineering services business with an excellent reputation for customer service. When Secantor was introduced to the business in 2017 they were well-established with a strong customer base that included numerous blue-chip multi-nationals and were ambitious to continue growing beyond the £3m turnover they had already achieved. As is the case with many SMEs, the directors were self-taught and were looking to enhance their business with independent management support and expertise to help them grow more profitably. The directors had already identified several areas that they wanted to improve. This included gaining a clearer view of their finances, as well as transforming their business processes to allow future growth to be delivered effectively and profitably. Two Secantor Executives joined the team on a part-time basis to help identify and deliver improvements.
Financial Clarity
The in-house FD was very capable and ambitious but like so many others in her position, had learned her role through experience rather than formal training and qualification. As the business grew she realised that greater financial scrutiny and clarity was required. Working in partnership with the in-house FD, Secantor undertook a thorough review before introducing a financial forecasting model and monthly management accounting practices. Having established the new financial regime, the Secantor Executive trained the in-house FD who has now fully taken on these tasks unaided. This has brought significant financial insight to the business without ongoing external costs. The FD is now able to scrutinise margin and costs in great detail to ensure the business achieves its financial targets.
Exceptional Team with Manual Systems
The second area of management support involved improving business processes which began with an operational review. Secantor found that the head office team was exceptional, with staff motivated and passionate about delivering excellent customer service, as well as possessing industry-leading technical skills. Their sales approach was second-to-none and customers were delighted with the friendly, professional service they received. However there was a clear need for business process improvement as the administrative procedures had been outgrown by the rest of the business. The operation was characterised by manual systems including handwritten quotes that were totalled using a calculator and then typed into a document before being sent to the customer. The workflow system consisted of a series of lever-arch files containing handwritten job records. As a job progressed through the process it was moved to the next file. The team worked wonders with the out-dated system but unsurprisingly sometimes things would drop through the cracks resulting in items not being charged for, and additional cost being incurred to plug gaps and correct errors and omissions. All this was eroding margin and frustrating the staff and directors. It was clear that the system was not sustainable and that further profitable growth was almost impossible without improved operational efficiency.
Business Process Improvements
Secantor’ outsourced Operations Director set about a full process redesign from the ground up.
A new quote engine was designed and built which allowed staff to create quotations within minutes at the click of a few buttons. By including a profit achieved % field in the quote calculator, staff could see how much margin their quote would generate. The result was graded red / amber / green and staff were challenged to ensure every quote was green before being issued. This improved overall profitability and was achieved without a single customer questioning the price because the quality of service was so high. The quote engine improved accuracy and dramatically cut down the time taken to produce quotes which greatly improved the customer experience. It is now common for quotes to be issued within 15 minutes of the surveyor leaving the customer’s site. This speed of responses always impresses the customer and wins business.
To centralise coordination, Secantor specified and delivered an order processing system that manages jobs through every stage of the process from new enquiries to invoicing. This digitised workflow system has delivered substantial operational efficiency. The entire team has full visibility of every job and automated alerts prompt follow up actions. On completion of the job the system moves the case to the finance team for immediate invoicing resulting in cash being collected more quickly.
Working closely with the Transport Manager, Secantor supported the process of digitising the physical diary. This greatly improved visibility, planning accuracy and optimisation of staff and assets. Data from the diary is now used to analyse utilisation which improves business decision making in areas such as recruitment and the purchase of new equipment.
At every stage, Secantor involved the staff and directors to ensure the new system was a good fit for the business and that staff were on-board with the changes and happy to embrace the new processes and systems. Their ideas, suggestions and subject matter knowledge were vital to the success of the project. Secantor provided full training and support to ensure the new system and processes were successfully embedded.
Turning Costs into Profit Opportunities
The combined effect of the business process improvements has been significant. The re-designed processes and systems have improved operational efficiency enabling the business to successfully support the growth in sales and profitability with only a small increase in head office staff.
The Managing Director is delighted with the impact: “Previously I only saw the cost of administrators but the results of the improvements have completely changed my mind. I now see that each person's contribution creates the opportunity to make more profit”, he said.
Since this case study was originally written, the company has gone from strength to strength. Below are further updates on the company’s success.
Update September 2023
Sales and profits have continued to increase and the improved operations system and processes have supported further significant growth. The computerised processing system supported working from home allowing the company to continue growing throughout periods of lockdown. The system implemented by Secantor was done so on a budget using spreadsheets, but with their eyes opened to benefits of systemising processes, the directors opted to purchase an off-the-shelf IT system. Secantor was asked to project manage the process and the new system was implemented in March 2023. The transition was very smooth and the new system has taken the operations team to the next level of efficient planning, communicating and reporting.
Update March 2025
With a strong reputation in the industry coupled with impressive and sustained growth in sales and profits over a number of years, the company was an attractive acquisition target. In Q1 2025 the business was successfully sold to a larger engineering group allowing the family owners to exit and realise the benefits of decades of hard work and ambition. The new owners have been particularly impressed with the strength of the company’s operations and processes. As a result, they have invited Secantor to help them replicate similar operational improvements across the wider group. The story continues.
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