The experience of several hundred successful projects conducted by Débrouillage is embodied today in the very loyal and stable workforce. Project references not only exist on paper, conducted by long-gone employees, but the individuals who gathered these experiences and their memories are still on board.
Typical project types include M&A buy-side or sell-side, strategy and benchmarking projects, finding and pre-qualifying suppliers, retrieving unfiltered voices from customers independent of own sales & service organization and tailor-made market studies.
At any given time, the Débrouillage portfolio closely resembles what our client’s top management has on its agenda. Technology and market trends alternate with geopolitical and macroeconomic events deciding what is important and urgent. Cost cutting may alter with business development and sales push etc.
The broad portfolio, yet with very deep questions, show that even much larger consultancies cannot possibly have subject matter experts in their ranks. Therefore, it is our aim to argue with the authority of the true experts which we identify and discuss with. We limit our scope to topics where we can at least understand our client’s questions, as well as have meaningful discussions with people with true deep expertise in those subjects.
M&A
M&A Buy-side
Technical and Market Due Diligence for the sale of a power- and distribution transformers maker to a tier-1 private equity.
Débrouillage analyzed the market, competitive landscape and technology, talking to transformer makers, utilities and industrial transformer customers. Initially being tasked with verification of sales projections, we discovered previously unknown risks for the projected growth in the supply chain, and helped to challenge sales side top management and advisors.
M&A Buy-side
On behalf of world-leading manufacturer of electrical motors, Débrouillage filtered down long- and short-lists of takeover targets and paved the way up to assessing possible willingness to sell and the reasoning behind.
M&A Sell-side
Débrouillage found potential strategic buyers in China for a German machine tool manufacturer in financial distress and moderated the cross-border negotiations.
Investment strategy
Strategy development for fonds manager of major Swiss bank to identify a small subset of niches within the MSCI World Industrial Index or similar to invest into for a 5 year horizon. Quantified assessment according to sustainable growth and profitability driver trees, as well as identification and vetting of global top experts in each niche to follow up with in the future.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking of offerings
Benchmarking of digitalization offerings by dozens of companies offering machine- factory- and process automation (HW, SW, services), requiring deep understanding of the underlying motion control, discrete automation and distributed control systems for process industries.
Benchmarking of technologies
Periodical benchmarking of technological progress by emerging competitors in China in specific high tech niches such as advanced materials and material applications: For example specialty glass and ceramics, or precision casting of super alloys and non-iron metals, including single crystal metallurgy etc.
Benchmarking of Sales strategy and setup
Benchmarking of commercial organisation and go to market strategy of air freight business of world leading airline together with tier1 management consultancy.
Research of suppliers
Identification of suitable alternative suppliers of advanced semiconductors in China, should the decoupling of global supply chains, export bans or restrictions of use in China make it impossible for Western company with China business to continue Western chips.
Large number of strategy and benchmarking projects in the rail industry, focusing on rolling stock from subways to very high speed trains. Focus may lay on regulatory changes such as liberalization, product strategy such as platforms and their limits, technical details such as motors, drives, transformers, but also mechanical parts such as car body, alternative joining techniques etc.