PE-Backed Packaging Group needed to scale from a founder-led packaging business to a PE-grade operation. Board reporting was inconsistent, systems were fragmented across sites, and there was no unified operating cadence.
PE-Backed Packaging Group (RLG) was acquired by a PE firm with a clear mandate: scale the business, improve margins, and prepare for a future exit. What the acquirer found was a classic lower-middle-market situation — strong core business, but operational infrastructure built for a founder-led company, not institutional ownership.
28 manufacturing and fulfillment locations across North America. Each site with its own systems, its own reporting cadence, and its own interpretation of "performance." There was no consolidated view of operations. Board reporting was assembled manually every quarter. The ERP landscape was a patchwork of legacy systems that couldn't support the integration the investment thesis required.
Engaged as operational transformation lead in the first 90 days post-close. The first 30 days were diagnostic — mapping the current state across all 28 locations, identifying the highest-leverage intervention points, and building the transformation roadmap with the CEO and PE operating partner.
The core program ran on three parallel tracks. First: ERP standardization. Selected and deployed a unified ERP across all locations within 12 months — building the data infrastructure the business needed for both operational management and board-level reporting. Second: operating cadence. Built the weekly and monthly governance rhythm — standardized KPI definitions, management reporting, and site-level accountability structures. Third: leadership readiness. The team that built the business to its current size needed new muscles for institutional ownership — board preparation, investor communication, and a performance management culture built around leading indicators, not lagging ones.
28 locations on a single operating model within the first year of ownership. Board reporting fully standardized — from manually assembled quarterly packs to automated monthly dashboards. Operational visibility improved by 3× by leadership's own assessment. The business entered Year 2 of PE ownership with the infrastructure needed to execute the growth thesis — not still building the foundation.
Tell me what's happening in your business. I'll tell you what I see and what I'd do first.