M&A Benefits Realisation: Capturing Value Beyond the Transaction

The success of a merger or acquisition hinges on the ability to capture value swiftly. Our M&A Benefits Realisation service is designed to help you identify, plan, and execute procurement and supply chain synergies. With our private equity heritage, we act as a strategic partner to ensure your transaction delivers maximum profitability and a clear return on investment.

I required a partner that could provide cost effective augmented Procurement expertise and resource on demand. 7SS ticked all the boxes. What is also great about 7SS is I feel they really understand my sector, care about my business and deliver real outcomes. Their reputation as commercial and procurement experts is well deserved.

Principal, Value Creation

7 Step Solutions significant reputation in Private Equity is a testament to their commercial and procurement expertise, white glove service, working at pace and delivering tangible results consistently. It is easy to understand how these key qualities I have witnessed for many years have transferred in their services to multi-sector industries.

Director - Global Investment Firm

If you are looking for a partner that can integrate seamlessly into your organisation, reduce costs, improve business profits and Procurement performance, I would highly recommend 7 Step Solutions.

Chief Financial Officer for a £1bil private sector organisation

7 Step Solutions are my go-to partner for Procurement support. Whether a cost out project, M&A support or a strategic procurement transformation initiative, 7SS white glove service and commercial acumen has consistently delivered a high return on investment.

Partner - global investment firm focusing on acquiring and transforming companies across diverse industries worldwide

7 Step Solutions bring a real laser like focus and commercial aptitude, considering not just Procurement supply side activity like some advisories, but business wide efficiencies, savings and improvements along with first class change management.

Director - global investment firm overseeing £20b portfolio

7 Step Solutions have delivered a step change improvement in our Procurement culture and performance, aligning Procurement activity to business goals alongside rapid delivery of cost, process and technology improvements.

Chief Procurement Officer for a £600mil private sector organisation

7 Step Solutions have supported our business at pace to deliver rapid savings and sustained profit improvement. Having an expert, flexible and scalable partner for projects and peaks in demand has been invaluable to our success.

Operating Partner - leading alternative investment firm focused on Private Equity, Private Credit, and Real Estate

Their speed and agility were remarkable. They quickly integrated with our team and delivered a tangible, positive impact on our bottom line.

COO, Global Logistics Company

They truly understood our business and delivered a solution that was not only commercially robust but also perfectly aligned with our strategic objectives.

Head of Finance, European Private Equity Firm

7 Step Solutions helped us redesign our marketing procurement, which led to a 20% reduction in agency costs and a £1.8M annual saving.

Marketing Director, American Manufacturer

A Commercial Lens for M&A and Divestments

In the world of M&A, the procurement workstream is often the largest source of value creation. Our team specialises in applying a commercial lens to every phase of a transaction—from initial due diligence to post-merger integration. We provide the expertise and agility needed to quickly identify synergies, mitigate risks, and build a future-proof operating model for the new business.

What M&A Benefits Realisation Delivers

Rapid Synergy Identification
Our data-driven diagnostics quickly identify potential savings and value levers across the merged entities, providing a clear business case for every opportunity.
Accelerated Value Capture
We don't just find synergies; we help you capture them. Our team can be embedded within your business to accelerate the realisation of benefits, ensuring a fast and effective return.
Enhanced Business Valuation
Our approach to building robust procurement processes and governance enhances the overall business valuation, which is critical for future exit strategies or fundraising efforts.

Our M&A & Divestment Services

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Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence

We provide a comprehensive assessment of a target company's procurement function, identifying potential synergies, risks, and red flags before a deal closes.
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Procurement Workstream Leadership

We can lead or support the procurement and supply chain workstream during post-merger integration, ensuring a seamless transition and the rapid capture of identified synergies.
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Target Operating Model Design

We design and implement a new, unified procurement operating model for the combined business, optimising people, processes, and technology for future success.
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Divestment Support

We help businesses prepare for divestment by ensuring all procurement processes are robust, assets are correctly valued, and a clear, standalone plan is in place for the separated entity.

Our proven process

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Data Collection & Analysis
We begin by examining all relevant spend and contract data to build a clear baseline of your current situation.
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Interview
We engage with key business buyers and stakeholders to understand your buying processes and requirements, filling in the crucial details that data alone cannot provide.
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Baseline & Opportunity Development
We benchmark your current state against industry best practice to identify tangible opportunities for savings and value creation.
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Validation & Recommendation
We validate our findings with your team and present a clear, prioritised delivery roadmap based on value versus ease of implementation.

Case Studies

Analysed $440m in global spend to identify procurement value opportunities

Business Challenge

Operating 427 restaurants across four Nordic countries under separate agreements led to inefficiencies and limited scalability. 7SS was engaged to unify operations through a supply chain optimisation workstream within a wider business transformation.

Solution

7SS took a structured, data-led approach to define the as-is state and identify improvement opportunities. Spend, contracts, and policies were analysed to establish a clear baseline, then validated through interviews with key buyers to understand real-world processes and capability. The findings were benchmarked against best practice to develop sourcing strategies by category, and a delivery roadmap was created to prioritise actions by ease and benefit — forming the foundation for implementation.

Outcomes

The project delivered results in two phases. A 12-week diagnostic identified cost-saving and cash-flow opportunities, producing 25 prioritised initiatives. Over the next 18 months, 7SS implemented a new procurement and supply chain model, realising €33m in benefits across key categories and embedding sustainable practices for long-term impact.

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£117M Global Spend: An 8-week assessment identified key P&L value creation opportunities delivering, clear, significant, measurable profitability.

Business Challenge

This global software provider, with over £330 million in turnover, faced critical fragmentation after being acquired by private equity and executing a swift M&A strategy. Third-party spend became highly complex, and the small, tactical procurement team struggled to manage the scattered direct and indirect costs. 7 Step Solutions was engaged to diagnose this fragmented spend across critical areas like IT, HR, and Marketing to identify and unlock immediate optimisation opportunities.

Solution

7 Step Solutions was engaged by the private equity owners to apply its full four-phase diagnostic process—from initial data collection and stakeholder interviews to developing the strategic baseline and validating the delivery roadmap—ensuring the business could unlock significant, measurable value across its fragmented spend profile.

Outcomes

This extensive two-year programme began with an 8-week supply chain diagnostic to identify key cost and cash-flow opportunities across the operation. Over the subsequent 18 months, 7 Step Solutions implemented a full cost-out programme, continuing the transformation across IT, HR, Marketing, Insurance, and Property, resulting in audited annualised savings equal to 4% of the addressable spend.

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£22M Spend: A rapid assessment across 750 veterinary practices identified key value creation opportunities and a clear roadmap.

Business Challenge

Our client is a leading veterinary group that provides care for companion animals, equine, and farm animals across the UK and Europe. Founded in 2015, the group has rapidly grown to encompass over 750 veterinary practices, along with several laboratories, farms, and training facilities.

Solution

7 Step Solutions was hired to provide an aggressive diagnostic that was both data-driven and commercially grounded. The solution involved a systematic four-phase process: rigorous Data Collection and Analysis across three key categories; targeted Stakeholder Engagement to develop the baseline; Opportunity Identification by benchmarking against best practice; and finally, Market Engagement to leverage the client’s scale for optimal pricing and commercial terms.

Outcomes

The opportunity assessment identified potential savings of between 6-9% (£1.3m-£1.9m) of the £22m spend associated with the three spend categories.

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Designed and implemented a new operating model for a £600m business following the divestment of its national business.

Business Challenge

The client was a provider of retail and wholesale local and national telecommunications services with an annual revenue of £600m and 4000 employees. The company’s strategy was to divest its national business, leaving only the wholesale and retail part of the business.

Solution

7SS took a structured, data-led approach to define the as-is state and identify improvement opportunities. Spend, contracts, and policies were analysed to establish a clear baseline, then validated through interviews with key buyers to understand real-world processes and capability. The findings were benchmarked against best practice to develop sourcing strategies by category, and a delivery roadmap was created to prioritise actions by ease and benefit — forming the foundation for implementation.

Outcomes

This comprehensive transformation was executed in three disciplined phases, beginning with a swift 4-week Maturity Assessment to diagnose the client’s existing model and commercial structures. We then moved through a focused 3-week Design Phase to finalise the Target Operating Model. Our team concluded by leading the initial 12-week Implementation, delivering the impact assessment and roadmap for the new, commercially focused structure.

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Why partner with 7 Step Solutions?

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Deep Commercial Expertise
Our team of experts has decades of experience managing and optimising spend, with a mindset honed in the demanding world of private equity.
Global Reach, Boutique Focus
With offices in London, Boston, and Zurich, we offer international capabilities combined with a personal, relationship-driven service.
Guaranteed ROI
We are so confident in our ability to deliver results that we provide minimum ROI guarantees, ensuring you see a clear return on your investment.

FAQs

We recommend engaging with us as early as possible—ideally during the due diligence phase—to ensure a comprehensive view of risks and opportunities before the transaction closes.
We measure success through clear, quantifiable metrics such as cost savings, synergy realisation, and the successful implementation of a new operating model.
Our agile approach is designed to deliver rapid benefits. For example, for a divestment, we can conduct a maturity assessment and design a future-state operating model, providing implementation support and interim leadership.
Yes, our expertise covers both acquisitions and divestments. Our experience in private equity has given us a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in both contexts.

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