20
30%
30%the lift in annual profit available from the recurring improvement identified, in under two weeks
01
Case study · the first review
What one review found in a healthy business, in under two weeks.
An established, founder-led services business, around eighteen years old, profitable and well-run, one of the larger names in its market. Not broken, just carrying more admin, more disconnected tools, and more dependence on a few people than it needed. Here's what the review surfaced.
02
What the review uncovered
3×
the same job typed out by hand, by three people, across nine tools that don't talk
-80%
of a core, offshore task found to be mechanical, and automatable, leaving the judgment to people
The same finding, three honest ways of saying it: recurring improvement worth around five to seven percent of annual revenue, roughly one dollar in every ten of operating cost, and with healthy margins a 20 to 30 percent lift in profit, because almost all of it drops straight to the bottom line.
Shown as percentages because that's how it scales: on a $30M business the same review maths runs well past a million a year. And to be clear, this is value found, not yet implemented, the point is how much a proper review surfaces, and how fast, before a dollar is spent building anything.
03
What we found
The same story most growing businesses would recognise.
- One job, typed three times. The same job was re-entered by hand by three different people across nine tools that don't talk to each other. One shared job record removes the lot. (Operational · Technology & Data)
- A core task that’s 80% mechanical. A major offshore document-processing task was about 80% reformatting, re-branding and clean up, and only 20% real judgment. The mechanical part automates; the judgment stays with a person. (Operational · Technology & Data)
- Senior people doing data entry. The most valuable people were losing hours a day to work software should do, time far better spent on the client relationships that keep the business booked. (Operational · Commercial)
- Too much in too few heads. The business leaned heavily on one or two people. Putting what's in their heads into systems the company owns removes the risk and gives the founder real flexibility. (People & Culture · Risk)
- A supplier relationship worth renegotiating. A key channel partner was quietly having the business do unpaid work. Reframing that relationship is a major lever, and it sits on top of the recurring improvement above. (Commercial)
04
Where it starts
Quick wins first, this week, at little or no cost.
- A written capture standard so every job is recorded the same way, cutting rework downstream.
- A simple feedback loop and recognition for the team: better work, fewer resignations.
- Tighter scheduling and routing, so less time is lost between jobs.
- Better field tools, so what comes back is usable the first time.
- A short safety protocol for the people out on the road.
- Then the build: one job record end-to-end, with the biggest money in automating the mechanical work.
Because it’s AI-built, the build is weeks, not the multi-month project a traditional firm would quote. And the diagnostic that surfaced all of this cost a fraction of what the improvement is worth in a single year.
05
Why it matters for an acquirer
This is exactly what a buyer wants to see, before and after a deal.
The same review that shows a founder where to get leaner shows an acquirer where the value and the risk really sit, in weeks, not months. Then it becomes the value-creation plan for after the deal. More on how we work with private equity
Note: this case study is anonymised. The client's identity, and the third parties named in the underlying work, are deliberately removed. Naming the client, using a logo, or quoting them directly requires their written consent, worth asking for once results are implemented and measured.