Insights

A deeper dive into what drives middle market success in Family and Private Equity owned companies.

Our team of experienced, multi-industry veterans at FortéOne have assisted hundreds of middle market businesses, just like yours. We hope you find their insights interesting and valuable for your company.

 

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Article

7 lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in the food manufacturing industry

In recent years, there has been a focus in the food industry on lean practices, eliminating operational waste and redundancies, …

Article

6 Steps to Professionalize Your Sales Organization

As a sales organization grows, there often comes a breaking point where individual team members can no longer move the …

Article

7 signs profits are dipping because of poor supply chain management

When it comes to increasing profits, most middle market companies focus on sales. While certainly important, the fastest way to …

Article

The Position of Choice

The Founder’s Trap occurs when a leader is so essential to a company’s day-to-day operations that the business requires their continued daily involvement to sustain and grow. Until they escape that role, the Position of Choice will remain out of reach. …

Article

Successfully Increase Prices During a Time of Hyperinflation

It’s all over the news. INFLATION! JPMorgan’s recent Business Leaders Outlook Pulse survey results stated 100% of respondents were facing business challenges …

Article

Seven Signs Your Company Performance Is a Real Problem

Every business experiences dips in profits and stalled growth throughout its lifecycle. Though nerve-racking, these natural ebbs and flows in …

Article

3 Ways Middle Market Construction Companies Can Improve Financial Performance

In the construction industry, the finance and accounting functions of middle market companies often operate in a way that results …

Article

Six Signs Your Portfolio Company Needs Leadership Assistance

In a perfect world, private equity investors are able to sit back after purchasing a promising portfolio company and wait …

Article

The End of Globalization: Creating Value in a Storm

The fourth piece in our “End of Globalization” series discusses the challenges (and ways forward) for creating enterprise value in uncertain times. …

Article

Why leadership alignment is so important and how to achieve it

The global marketplace is incredibly competitive, and it is getting harder and harder for middle market businesses to compete. While …

Article

Recruiting in the Great Resignation

The pandemic has created a significant shift in the relationship between employee and employer. During the height of the pandemic, …

Article

How to grow your business by growing your base of loyal customers

  When most middle market business owners think of growth, they think of sales or profit growth. But in reality, …

Article

“Air Cover” for the Poor Performers and Uninformed

Fortunately for all the mediocre performers out there, there’s a sea of excuses coming for you to hide behind. I …

Article

The End of Globalization: Leadership in a Perfect Storm of Disruption

The third piece in our “End of Globalization” series discusses the tough road ahead for Middle Market business leaders. …

Article

Are you still trying to beat the competition? Snap out of it!

19% of the Fortune 100 Fastest Growing Companies scaled through category creation – and they captured 51% of the cumulative …

Article

The End of Globalization: Information and the Middle Market

The second piece in our “End of Globalization” series highlights the need for quality Information for Middle Market business leaders. …

Article

How to become a Market Disruptor with the FortéOne Accelerator

Historically, it was thought that competitive advantage came from having superior products, faster delivery times or cheaper pricing. For decades, that business strategy proved to be effective, but today businesses can no longer survive using these tactics. …

Article

The End of Globalization: What the Invasion of Ukraine Signals to Your Middle Market Business and How to Prepare

The first piece in our “End of Globalization” series highlights specifically the impact the Ukraine-Russian conflict will have on Middle Market business leaders. …

Article

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, But the Category Leader Consumes All

We’ve all heard the famous Peter Drucker saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This means that the Culture of your company …

Article

Why Some Leaders Fail to Scale Their Business

Most leaders today strive to scale their business. And why not? Bringing in more revenue and increasing the value of …

Article

Demystify Change Management in the Middle Market Before you go Extinct

It is a full-time job to lead a company and a full-time job to change it. Seeking outside help for Change Management initiatives means that you are ready to take your Middle Market business to the next level. …

Article

FortéOne Names Craig Speed New President

October 14, 2021 – FortéOne, a national middle market consulting firm, announced today that Craig Speed has been named its …

Article

How middle market construction companies can unlock millions in cash

It is rare for a middle market construction company to have company-wide visibility into cash flow in a way that …

Article

Financial metrics and reporting best practices in the construction industry

Profit fade has been plaguing the construction industry for years. Companies start the year with high expectations, but as individual …

Article

Middle Market Manufacturing: How to Create Impactful Change

Across the U.S. Midwest from the end of WWII to the 1980s, most towns and cities had multiple middle market …

Article

5 Instances Where Creating a New Business Strategy is Worth the Investment

For some middle market business owners, the thought of creating a new business strategy makes them want to pull their …

Case Study

$85MM Protein Manufacturer

Working with the Family Board to return company to profitable status in order to sell at the highest value. …

Case Study

$80MM MEP Contractor

Working with the President and Family Board to define and implement changes required to enable growth at increase profits …

Article

Why Strategy is Essential to Privately Held Company Success

In our work, we have met owners and management teams at hundreds of privately held middle market companies. Most all …

E-Book

The Art and Science of Acquisition Integration

Successful integration of multiple companies is one of the most complex projects any business leader can undertake. We have worked …

Article

How family-owned, middle market businesses can prepare their business for sale

You may think that running your business and preparing it for sale require different skill sets, and for some companies …

Article

Can a Virtual Middle Market Business Transformation Program be Successful?

Given the reduction or even elimination of brick and mortar presence for middle market businesses during the pandemic, an experienced partner in virtual transformation is the asset you may not have known you need. …

Article

Why You Need a Supplier Relationship Management Program

Despite the many benefits, it’s rare for middle market businesses to have contracts with suppliers or even a supplier relationship …

Article

Middle Market Perspective on Distribution and Transportation

Middle market companies often view distribution operations as an inbound receiving function to support manufacturing—necessary to receive, store, and ship …

Article

Inventory and Obsolescence Management

Middle Market Inventory Management We ask a lot of questions when we begin an engagement. At the start of an …

Article

Order Management and Customer Service Optimization

Middle Market Perspectives Order management and customer service in the middle market has evolved slowly over the past 20 years. …

Article

Manufacturing Optimization

Manufacturing and the Middle Market Across the US Midwest from the end of WWII to the 1980s, most towns and …

Article

The Evolution of Procurement to Spend Management

Companies large and small underestimate the importance of effective procurement management. Over the years, we have seen that most of …

Article

Inventory Planning and Optimization

Inventory and the Middle Market Middle Market companies often have a love/hate relationship with inventory. Inventory provides a feeling of …

Article

Operations Diligence – Assessing the Foundation for Future Performance

Years ago, Fram oil filters had a catchy commercial; “pay me now or pay me later” – which meant you …

E-Book

Middle Market ERP – A Process for Eliminating the Drama

ERP – the Fear of Failure The business battlefield is littered with failed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects, and the …

E-Book

Recruiting Executive Talent for the Middle Market

Challenges Faced in Upgrading Middle Market Leadership The most common issue we encounter when working with Middle Market companies is …

E-Book

Supply Chains Post-Pandemic: Balancing Risk and Cost

Private Equity and Family Business owners as well as their Supply Chain leaders have rarely experienced the supply chain disruptions and failures that have occurred in recent months due to the travel and production breakage resulting from this COVID-19 pandemic. These supply chain challenges are likely to continue for many months, and there is a critical need to react appropriately to minimize the impact and build a more resilient supply chain for the future. …

Article

Survive & Thrive in the COVID Pandemic: Private Equity Investors – Do not Miss This Opportunity

The rapid turn of events brought on by the COVID crisis has dramatically changed priorities for Private Equity groups across all their initiatives. To survive and thrive during the pandemic, company leaders require simultaneous ability to excel during crisis, retain customers & employees, prioritize & forecast clearly, and successfully position & grow sales and profits—NOW. …

E-Book

The Value and Characteristics of a Competent CFO in Middle Market Companies

Having worked with hundreds of middle market companies over the past 20 years, FortéOne has learned that a competent Chief …

E-Book

Private Equity as a Maturing Asset Class

In the last 20 years, the world in which private equity firms acquire, build, and sell businesses has changed drastically. …

E-Book

A Guide to Effective Sales Leadership

What does it take to increase a company’s top line? There are a number of steps you can take, but …

E-Book

Preparing Your Private Business for Sale

Once you officially begin the process, selling your business can take between six and nine months, on average, to complete. …

E-Book

Voice of the Customer

Studies show that acquiring a new customer can be anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining and …

E-Book

Maximizing Manufacturing Margins with Value Engineering

Manufacturers large and small all hope to achieve the same thing: manufacture more products, with higher margins. Of course, in …

Article

Why you Need to Conduct a Supplier Risk Assessment

An unreliable supplier can cause irreparable damage to middle market businesses. Economic growth or decline, newly imposed tariffs, or issues …

Article

The impact of a slowed global economy on Middle Market U.S. supply chains

Despite the fact that the U.S. economy is strong, farmers, manufacturers, and U.S. companies are experiencing serious distress because other …

Article

How to Achieve Position of Choice

As a business owner, you want to develop options for how you position your business as it grows. Will you …

Article

Optimizing your supply chain to avoid distributor chargebacks

To reach the largest market possible, many middle market businesses use distributors to take their goods from a warehouse or …

Article

How the 2018 Transportation Crisis Affected Middle Market Businesses

The economic boom in America over the last several years has created jobs, boosted consumer spending, and driven up profits …

Article

How to avoid these 4 common accessorial fees

Up until very recently, middle market companies contacted carriers on an as-needed basis and paid the spot pricing determined at …

E-Book

The FortéOne Way: Delivering Value, Knowledge, & Strategic Decision

Lessons learned & Finding Solutions for the Middle Market. …

Case Study

Private Equity-Owned Tool Distributor

Improved performance through enhanced operations, process, and leadership. …

Case Study

Privately Held National Technology Distribution Company

Revised Strategy with new Client Targeting, Pricing, and Sales Approach. Revenues up by 2.5X in 4 years, and Profits improved over 300%. …

Case Study

$30MM Business Services Provider

Keeping up with the demands of a large customer was taxing production capability and created concern about losing the customer if delivery expectations were not met. …

Case Study

Private Manufacturing Firm with Seasonal Demand

Revised Strategy with new Financial Controls, Internal Processes, Pricing Approach, and Sales Targets. Margins up over 20% in first 6 months. …

Case Study

$180MM Industrial Components Manufacturer

Keeping up with the demands of a large customer was taxing production capability and created concern about losing the customer if delivery expectations were not met. …

Case Study

$280MM Industrial Building Manufacturing & Construction

Understanding how to manage the complex relationship and decision-making structures inherent in multiply family ownership businesses. …

Case Study

Privately Held Consumer Product Company

Taking immediate control to stabilize a chaotic organization and turn around issues with cash flow, profit projections, and supply chain in China. …

Case Study

$260MM Snack Food Manufacturer

Working alongside business owners and Investment Bankers to implement change and demonstrate improvements that add value. …

Case Study

$200MM Food Manufacturer and Co-Packer

Effective solutions and rapid implementation to turn around declining performance and train management on how to sustain long-term improvements. …

Case Study

$85MM Protein Manufacturer

Working with the Family Board to return company to profitable status in order to sell at the highest value. …

Case Study

$35MM Sugar-free Bakery that Ships Frozen Products Nationally

Partnering with ownership and management to rapidly improve sales and operating results to maximize company value. …

Case Study

$30MM Frozen Baked Goods Manufacturer

Focusing on opportunities for material improvements in profitability and enterprise value. …