Cost, Pricing, and Operational Improvement after closing?

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April 09, 2025

by a searcher from IMD in London, UK

I'm coming from a corporate (P&L owner) background in services and manufacturing. Gradually learning about the search fund space and considering to build an AI tool to support searching and improvement activities in my target(s).

I'm wondering how acquirers are actioning cost improvement, pricing, and general operational efficiency improvements (via processes like Time Driven Activity Based Costing). Is this top of mind after closing the deal? Where does this rank in the post-acquizition priority list?

Generally, how is this sort of improvement done today? (ERP plugins, excel, something more clever?)

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Reply by a professional
from Texas State University in Sidney, NE 69162, USA
Thanks ^redacted‌!

^redacted‌ Great question—this is absolutely top of mind post-close, but the key differentiator between a good acquisition and a great one is how prepared the business is before the ink dries.

We work on both sides of the table—helping owners prepare for a profitable, regret-free exit and helping buyers (especially searchers and first-time CEOs) hit the ground running post-acquisition.

For sellers, we optimize cost structure, pricing strategy, and operational scalability well before going to market—so the business attracts premium buyers and transitions smoothly.

For buyers—especially those that acquired businesses at a discount because of lack of preparedness—we help:

- Identify immediate and mid-term improvement levers (pricing, process, org structure)
- Hire and/or develop the right operator (when the founder is stepping out)
- Design a 100-day and 12-month plan focused on growth and systematization

We’ve also seen more sophisticated buyers layer in tools like TDABC, but most value creation still comes down to execution—clarity on priorities, team capability, and speed.

Happy to share more if you’re thinking of building tooling in this space—there’s definitely room for innovation, especially for new acquirers.
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Reply by a searcher
from Stanford University in North Carolina, USA
^redacted‌ Thanks for the tag. ^redacted‌ Excellent, thorough response—I completely agree. With any operational improvement plan, it’s crucial to balance complexity, speed, and cost. For example, time-based activity mapping may make a lot of sense for manufacturing, but it may not be the highest priority item to nail after closing if it’s highly disruptive and/or costly to properly define. You have to get comfortable knowing you won’t get everything right, so focus on the big value levers and, as Jen emphasized, execution. The planning is the easy part—it’s execution where things often fall apart. So keep it simple and actionable.
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