making a difference
KEYSTONE
SERVICE LINES
WHAT WE DO
WHAT
IT IS
A clear direction is essential for the long-term survival and growth of a company. From understanding what it takes to win, to ensuring that your organization is positioned for success, we can help you strengthen the foundation on which your company can grow.
​​
-
Growth Strategy Development
-
Strategic Planning Facilitation
-
Strategy Audit
-
Go-To-Market Strategy
-
Market Assessment & Segmentation
-
New Product Development
-
Make vs. Buy Strategy
-
Key Account Management Strategy
-
Organizational Design
-
Sales Force Compensation
-
Voice of the Customer
-
Culture Assessment
-
Customer Service Improvement
-
Manufacturing Strategy
HOW WE
DO IT
By gathering input from key stakeholders and leveraging industry insights, we will help to clarify your long-term mission and objectives by identifying the best opportunities for success. We'll help define short, medium, and long-term goals toward reaching those objectives, and then create detailed, actionable plans that can be implemented immediately.
CASE
STUDIES
Identified markets for entry with potential to generate
2X
current
annual revenue
Increased
sales by
24%
with key account
management strategy
Industry: Plastics
​
Situation: Highly concentrated customer base was underserved and all accounts were treated the same regardless of potential value
​
Impact: Keystone implemented Key Account Management strategy, resulting in sales growth of 24% for those customers and overall margin improvement of 4.2%
Achieved targeted five-year
sales goals by year
three
​
Industry: Apparel
​
Situation: Slowing sales growth required revival, but differing stakeholder opinions prevented internal agreement on action plan
​
Impact: Keystone worked closely with management to implement market development and process improvement initiatives, generating desired five-year sales in three years
Increased
revenue by
15%
by shifting to direct-to-consumer model
Discovered
​
four
potential markets
suitable for acquisition
Industry: Steel
​
Situation: Industry-wide market diversification prompted the company to hire Keystone to identify additional revenue streams
​
Impact: Four potential markets and target companies within each were identified for a potential acquisition, providing the company options on where to take the business
WHAT
IT IS
Even successful companies have opportunities for improvement. From planning and sourcing to production and delivery, we can help identify and address gaps in excellence.
​​
-
Footprint Optimization / Consolidation
-
Rapid Plant Assessment (RPA)
-
Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP/SIOP)
-
Inventory Management
-
Product / SKU Profitability & Rationalization
-
Plant Layout
-
Capacity Planning
-
Warehousing & Logistics Optimization
-
Overhead Cost Reduction
-
Throughput Improvement
-
Quality & Yield Improvement
-
Shop Floor Efficiency
-
Sourcing Savings
HOW WE
DO IT
Using detailed data analysis, hands-on observation, and years of experience, we will determine and quantify improvement opportunities across the company. Most importantly, our professionals are ready to roll-up their sleeves and work side-by-side with you to implement the recommendations.
CASE
STUDIES
Cut setup
times in
half
increasing productive
time by one full crew
Rationalized
29%
of SKUs to improve margins in price sensitive environment
Industry: Agricultural Products
​
Situation: Freight costs (as a percentage of sales) were rising as new customers came from parts of country far removed from facilities
​
Impact: Keystone determined location for new facility, rationalized 29% of SKUs, and increased margins by 1.5% in price sensitive market
Restored service
levels to
95%
by successfully
decreasing lead times
Industry: Electronic Toys
​
Situation: Service levels dropped to 83% and management sought to implement supply chain improvement initiatives
​
Impact: Service levels were restored to 95%, SKUs were rationalized by 25%, value stream mapping led to lead time reduction, and inventory decreased by 12%
Reduced maintenance
service times by
40%
​
Reduced annual
costs by
$2.5M
through 1% yield
improvement
Industry: Beverage
​
Situation: Company-wide waste reduction effort included identifying sources of liquid loss in production
​
Impact: Keystone outlined recommendations for improving bottle sampling, decreasing likelihood of large-scale losses, and three other yield improvement initiatives; 1% of total product was recuperated.
WHAT
IT IS
Whether it has been a tough year as a result of external conditions or there is a more systemic issue, we can help. We work closely with management to quickly assess the situation and options, identify sources of cash, improve short-term financial performance, and structure the company for sustained growth and profitability. ​
​
-
Business Plan Assessment
-
13-Week Cash Flow Forecasting
-
Liquidity Management
-
Working Capital Improvement
-
Operational Improvement
-
Revenue Improvement
-
Lender Negotiation
-
Supplier Negotiation
-
Refinancing / Debt Restructuring
-
Interim Management (CRO, CEO, CFO, COO)
-
Sell-side Advisory / Asset Sale
-
Restructuring (Chapter 11, 363 Sale)
HOW WE
DO IT
Our approach is built around rigorous data analysis, analytically-driven recommendations, and execution of improvements. We work quickly to understand your business and take immediate action to generate cash to extend the runway for long-term improvements to take hold.
CASE
STUDIES
Generated
​
2.75x
projected liquidation value through company sale
Industry: Stone
​
Situation: Quality issues led to customer discounts and worsening EBITDA / cash flow for an already highly levered company
​
Impact: Keystone managed cash until bankruptcy sale, the sale generated 2.75x the projected liquidation value, and the bank fully recovered its outstanding debt
Reached
breakeven within
four
months of implementing turnaround initiatives
Increased
EBITDA by
>8x
as interim CEO,
CFO, and COO
Industry: Steel
​
Situation: An inventory adjustment exposed need for EBITDA improvements and cash forecasting
​
Impact: Keystone took on roles of Interim CEO, CFO, and COO; Availability increased by 8x, direct labor efficiency increased by 12%, DIOH decreased 17%, management relations stabilized, and EBITDA increased by >8X at project close
Realized operational
cost reductions
25%
greater than
expectation
Reduced
inventory by
60%
to improve
working capital
CLIENT
REVIEW
"We engaged the Keystone Group to help us walk through a difficult season of our business. They took the time to really get to know our business along with our people. Their breadth of knowledge, steady calming influence and professionalism helped us to navigate through to a successful outcome. The Keystone Group truly partnered with us to implement sustainable operational improvements to our business. We would give them our highest recommendation to any clients wishing to partner with them."
​
--Client Interim CFO
WHAT
IT IS
The success or failure of a deal is often a function of the ability to mitigate risk and accelerate integration. We provide Operational Due Diligence, Integration Planning and Integration Execution services that help you identify and overcome challenges like channel conflict, culture integration, footprint rationalization, procurement and back office integration, as well as other issues that can make or break a deal. Meanwhile, your business never stops running.
​​
-
Due Diligence (pre-close)​​
-
Project Mgmt Office (PMO)
-
Operational DD
-
Commercial DD
-
Management Assessment
-
Deal Killers (Go/No Go)
-
Synergies & Cost-To-Achieve
-
Risks / Dis-synergies
-
Purchase Model / Valuation Review
-
​​
-
Integration Planning (pre-close)​
-
Integration Mgmt Office (IMO)
-
Day One Readiness
-
Business Continuity
-
100 Day Plans
-
Synergy Realization Plans
-
Risk Mitigation
-
Organization Structure
-
Culture & Communications
-
​​
-
Integration Execution (post-close)
-
Day One, Day 30, Day 90
-
Core Business Integration
-
Customer-Facing &
-
Go-To-Market Model
-
Process Alignment / Best Practices
-
Organization & Culture
-
Accelerated Synergy Capture
-
100 Day Issue Mgmt / Resolution
-
HOW WE
DO IT
Keystone’s unique, collaborative style is complemented by a proven approach, a rapid decision-making model, and an easy-to-use tool-set. Our teams are scalable and designed to supplement your integration team in order to accelerate results and create a smooth transition. We focus on Day 1 planning, synergy planning and execution, risk mitigation and project management.
CASE
STUDIES
Created integration
playbook for merging
three
companies
simultaneously
Seamless
Day One with
zero
disruptions to
customer orders
Industry: Garage Doors
​
Situation: Company sought to achieve top line strategic objective through acquisition, engaging Keystone for integration help and synergy capture
​
Impact: Integration went flawlessly; no disruption to order processing, synergies were captured/exceeded on schedule, no unplanned turnover
Identified procurement synergy opportunities
4x
greater than
initial targets
Improved facility
utilization by
25%
through footprint consolidation
Industry: Electronics
​
Situation: Numerous acquisitions left the company with a sub-optimal collection of facilities and redundant capabilities
​
Impact: Shrinking of footprint through plant reconfiguration and facility sales led to facility utilization improvement of 25% and decreased annual operating costs
Delivered
2.7x
Year One
synergy target
Industry: Steel
​
Situation: Tubular Division acquired a competitor to diversify into other markets, engaging Keystone for a fair value assessment, operation continuity, and synergy capture
​
Impact: Synergy targets were exceeded, Day One operations ensued with no disruptions, and key resources were retained
