https://www.capesierra.com/contact-us daily 0.75 2020-09-06 https://www.capesierra.com/cape-sierra daily 1.0 2024-07-22 https://www.capesierra.com/technology-strategy daily 0.75 2020-09-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599415582643-NJR34BNFM1VWFJIU0BDI/image-asset.jpeg Technology Strategy - Interim CIO We have developed a track record of success with stepping into the CIO role during periods of dramatic change. Clients call us when the IT function is underserving the business or there is a need for significant IT transformation on many fronts, as is often the case with acquisitions. When the deal is a carve-out we are called upon to stand up an entirely new organization quickly--people, processes and technology. Our private equity clients in particular rely on us in such situations as they move quickly, demand results and need accountability fast. We understand what is required during these critical periods. We execute our carve-out or transform IT playbook, help hire the full-time IT staff, often including the permanent CIO, and turn over the keys when our goals are accomplished. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599422445740-GC1BP10KJGV93BDV7TD6/image-asset.jpeg Technology Strategy - Technology Due Diligence As part of our M&A offering we work with private equity investors and management teams during the diligence phase to help them understand two key data points: what one-time capital investments need to be made in a target business once it is acquired what to expect for annual operating expense of IT in the future steady state Typical investments to mitigate risk include upgrading old hardware, remediating security holes and creating a credible disaster recovery platform. Frequent value creation initiatives entail installing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System and improving Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics for better data and decision making. If the business is in the growth phase we evaluate whether a Cloud Strategy is appropriate to facilitate rapid scale-up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599422431931-XKSTHB1C8RGIMU605OWX/image-asset.jpeg Technology Strategy - CIO Advisory Services Organizations often face new business demands and the challenge often falls on the CIO or IT Director to enable new capabilities. During the Covid 19 pandemic organizations are struggling not only to get all of their employees connected but also to have access to technology tools as though they were in the office. This newly found demand comes with a number of infrastructure, software and security implications. Some IT Organizations have significant internal talent and can answer the call on their own. Many others can benefit from advise, knowledge we possess, an introduction to best practices and sometimes just need a sounding board before making a strategic IT decision. We provide such a sounding board for many senior IT leaders across industries. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599422470712-QJ95RAZF8UYVVOQVQG1Y/image-asset.jpeg Technology Strategy - IT Program Management When a major transformative IT initiative is at hand it tends to be the case that there needs to be a temporary ramp up of IT capabilities to execute. We have professionals with expertise in software, hardware, security and change management skills that we can bring to an engagement to extend your IT team. Effective program management is important and because of the depth of our talent we are often called upon to manage key initiatives through to completion. https://www.capesierra.com/mergers-acquisitions daily 0.75 2020-09-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599422699219-NAVVKPVRFN2N2UYV9RIA/image-asset.jpeg Mergers & Acquisitions - Pre-Deal Operational Due Diligence We work with investors and management teams during the diligence phase to determine the need for one-time capital investments in operations and IT, to understand what the operational run rate expenses will be once the business achieves the Target Operating Model (TOM) in the future state, and to outline the steps required to mitigate operational risks. We focus on back office function consolidation, namely IT, HR, Finance and Shared Services as these are central to every business and often present opportunities for synergy in an integration. We then present a plan to accomplish these synergies and implement the changes required post acquisition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599423035495-SMEYQ3MDVDWQLQW5DOWU/image-asset.jpeg Mergers & Acquisitions - Carve-out Playbook Many transactions are carve-outs where a segment of the business is being sold but not the whole enterprise. This presents its own unique challenges. Cape Sierra has developed a proven and successful playbook. 1. When the carve-out is to become its own stand-alone entity (NewCo) there is a need to build a greenfield infrastructure for this business from the ground up. New systems, processes and often people across all functions are required. We excel at this because of our strong Technology practice. Cape Sierra is often brought in to put in an ERP system which enables the whole business--Order to Cash, Plan to Make, Field Service, Record to Report, Hire to Retire. The new standalone company needs to make decisions about which systems to use, whether to put them in the cloud or on premise, whether to have a simple bare-bones web presence or build a state of the art e-commerce platform. Often we serve as interim CIO to help get these initiatives off the ground and advise the new management team. 2. When the carve-out is to be integrated into an existing platform business the questions unique to a carve-out addressed above remain but are often directionally answered by the people, processes and systems of the existing platform business. Sometimes we the need to revamp systems and processes altogether. Other times we help integrate the businesses. Our clients know that we execute quickly, thoughtfully, deliver results and provide accountability. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599422786883-ZKHW1T5UEVIE9TN7IIDJ/image-asset.jpeg Mergers & Acquisitions - Integration Management Office Even before the transaction closes there is a host of activities that need to occur. Both sides have to plan to become one company--Communications Plans need to be created, HR has to be ready to welcome a new workforce and address people's fears about "What happens to us now?" IT has to have a plan to onboard and effectively service the new workforce on one set of integrated technologies--laptops, phones, network access, etc. Functions have to think about unifying business processes. Acquired companies may have different or better HR benefits, vacation policies, IT infrastructure, software and ERP systems than what the Acquirer may have. All of these topics need to be thought through and addressed. We help with this and much more. Once the transaction closes the real work of operating as one company begins. It is best practice to have a third party help the functions from each side work together and be an unbiased unifier with good project management, governance, well defined cadence and escalation to an executive group in charge of making the integration a success. This Integration Management Office (IMO) needs to be sensitive, tactful and able to help teams resolve conflict while not losing sight of the business goals. At Cape Sierra we have played this role countless times with great success. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599423133039-19F3L952TB5ZKHTUC2LP/image-asset.jpeg Mergers & Acquisitions - Transition Services Agreement (TSA) Exit Playbook Many carve-out transactions find themselves in a situation where the Parent of the Carve-out entity is not so neatly organized as to ensure that the Carve-out entity is self-sufficient. This results in the need for the Parent to provide certain services to the Carve-out NewCo post transaction until the NewCo develops such capabilities on its own. These services are codified in a TSA which is time-bound and often expensive to the Acquirer or NewCo. A timely exit of each of these services is necessary and a practical and disciplined partner helps companies to plan for and execute the TSA Exit as expeditiously as possible. Our TSA Exit Playbook was developed based on experience assisting countless clients with Carve-outs. https://www.capesierra.com/process-improvement daily 0.75 2020-09-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599426586560-U0USW8Y9J0AY1ELF2XNW/image-asset.jpeg Process Improvement - Site Location Analysis and Site Transition Frameworks Having completed a number of site location studies for clients and advised and helped execute a number of site transitions it is not surprising that our experienced team gets called upon to assist with these very critical projects. In site analyses we determine which variables of the local geography would have the highest impact on client needs. We then score each of these variables to produce a qualitative scorecard that helps our clients clearly see what decisions they need to make. In site transitions we utilize a methodical approach and disciplined project management to enable change including dependency tracking, workstream monitoring, facilities readiness and knowledge transfer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599426429173-VJQDRPAWONTA4O14WNM6/image-asset.jpeg Process Improvement - Strategic Process Review Framework This methodology, developed over many years, approaches the business from a functional process perspective. We dissect all the major parts of how you do work from order entry through planning, making and finally to delivering goods and services and sending out invoices. Areas we typically look at include Product & Services Development, Product & Services Delivery, Operations, Supply Chain, Business Systems, Finance, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing and Change Management. Each process is reviewed from a few different perspectives such as i. how can this process be simplified? ii. how can this process be made foolproof? iii. how can we improve the enterprise through making this process strategically better? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599426342871-RI33JQ88D0Y80IEW1VYZ/image-asset.jpeg Process Improvement - Enterprise Profitability Framework One of the key offerings that we execute for businesses across industries is to look at their Income Statement with a perspective of where the client stands relative to their industry peers. Our process engineers have over time developed a number of benchmarks that help us zero in on where the Client processes could benefit from further study based on % of Revenue and % of COGS benchmarks. We perform a comprehensive study of the P&L to determine why certain costs are higher than they should be and do a detailed process review to determine what can be done differently to improve enterprise profitability. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f550928150736732576750a/1599426494363-PLLXV2ZQN71GHJQM8SSG/image-asset.jpeg Process Improvement - Knowledge Capture Framework Often we find ourselves advising clients on major transformative change initiatives. To execute such initiatives properly it is of paramount importance to capture and improve on the tribal and often undocumented knowledge which resides with the veterans of the business. Our Knowledge Capture Framework starts with in depth study of processes, followed by detailed interviews with subject matter experts. We wrap it up with detailed process mapping, knowledge documentation and verification back with the subject matter experts to ensure we do not miss important details. Everything is presented to the client in an agreed upon format. Due to our roots in engineering and software we borrow heavily from Unified Modeling Language (UML) which is widely adaptable and generally understood.