DSD/ Route-Based Distribution
Operational Due Diligence of National Coffee Roaster and Distributor: Establishing Quick Read On Cost Savings to Support Early Stage Go/No-go Decision
Conducted 2-week operations assessment of target to establish initial read on cost reduction opportunities. Despite limited access to the target’s management, plants, and operations data, Gotham was able to create a clear picture of the target’s cost structure in both operations and its DSD network. While the cost reduction opportunities needed to achieve our client’s financial target did exist, capturing those savings posed significant culture and business strategy challenges. Given the high valuation of the target and the significant hurdles standing in the way of savings, the client leveraged our work to make a fact-based decision at the early stage of the process to exit the auction process.
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Operational Due Diligence of Leading Dry Ice Manufacturer: Rapidly Pinning Down Capacity/CapEx, Manufacturing Cost, and Distribution Situation and Opportunities
Conducted 2-week operational due diligence to pin down capacity and CapEx situation, and to identify margin improvement opportunities in manufacturing, distribution, and branch operations ahead of a competitive auction bid. Created plant-specific profiles of 150+ pieces of production equipment and determined target had ample capacity for growth with minimal replacement CapEx risk. Analyzed and reconciled financial data from the target’s ~100 P&Ls and reallocated costs to establish true operational costs and production and distribution cost benchmarks across plants, branches, and routes and identified up to $6MM in margin improvement opportunities through disciplined distribution and pricing practices. Gotham’s due diligence enabled our client to move forward with a competitive bid.
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Logistics Strategy at Premium Baked Goods Company: Improving Cost-to-serve
Created a new logistics strategy, including implementing a new DSD network and delivery process, developing a new transportation and warehousing strategy, and re-balancing production among plants. Over 75% of the $2.5MM in savings (from a cost base of $12MM) highlighted in the strategy was saved in the first year of implementation.
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Customer & Market Due Diligence Of Salty Snack Manufacturer: Understanding Market Performance And Opportunities In Value Tier And Private Label
Conducted a customer & market due diligence of a salty snack manufacturer to provide clarity on the salty snacks market outlook and the target’s positioning and growth opportunities in its categories. Gotham: conducted 33 anonymous interviews with salty snack retail category buyers to establish category and private label strategy and the target’s positioning; analyzed Nielsen data to understand the salty snack market; conducted secondary research to understand the impact of macroeconomic factors and healthy eating trends; and profiled salty snack manufacturers to establish competitive dynamics. By addressing concerns over recent market underperformance and future outlook, Gotham was able to give the client confidence to move forward in the bid process.
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Market Study For Foodservice Fresh Produce Distributor: Establishing Customer Buying Behavior And Competitive Positioning
Developed a fact-based market study for a foodservice fresh produce distribution company to provide clarity on market and competitive dynamics. Gotham: conducted 55 anonymous interviews with and collected 134 survey responses from foodservice buyers to determine the company’s competitive positioning and the customer buying behavior; and developed bottom-up market sizing models to pin down the addressable market size for each foodservice end-market. By identifying executional areas where the company was underperforming its competitors, Gotham guided management’s focus on sales and operational execution improvement opportunities to improve the company’s competitive positioning, reduce customer attrition, and drive growth.
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Sales Optimization At Foodservice Fresh Produce Distributor: Assessing Salesforce Effectiveness and Developing A Commercial Operations Turnaround Plan
Conducted a 6-week commercial assessment for an entrepreneurial regional foodservice fresh produce distributor recently acquired by a PE firm, with the objectives of diagnosing financial underperformance and designing a commercial operations turnaround plan. To this end, Gotham: conducted a robust customer attrition analysis; interviewed salesforce and customers; mapped and assessed current processes; and reviewed performance measurement tools and KPIs. Gotham identified customer attrition drivers, sales process gaps, and organizational challenges, and redesigned the sales model to a hunter-maintainer structure with inside sales and improved service coordination. New KPIs, reporting dashboards, and a structured meeting cadence were implemented, unlocking 6–8% revenue and 10–12% EBITDA improvement opportunities.
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