Private Equity · Operating Partners
Supply Chain Value Creation for Portfolio Companies
Cameo Consulting works with private equity operating partners and portfolio company leadership teams on the supply chain side of the value creation plan, which typically means freight, warehousing and network footprint, inventory and working capital, and the data behind all of it. Cameo sizes the savings by P&L line, works with the portfolio company's team to capture them, and builds the dashboards and tools the team keeps running after the engagement ends. At a $400M+ automotive aftermarket supplier, that approach identified roughly $20M in improvement opportunities in about 6 weeks.
Where does supply chain show up in a value creation plan?
At most mid-market manufacturers and distributors, freight, warehousing and inventory carrying cost sit near the top of the controllable cost base, usually right behind labor and materials. However, these costs are often managed by a small team with limited data, freight may not have been bid in a few years, and the warehouse footprint tends to reflect past acquisitions more than current demand.
As such, the supply chain is often one of the faster places to find EBITDA and cash inside the hold period. Cameo Consulting baselines the spend from the portfolio company's own shipment, invoice, inventory and ERP data, sizes each lever as a low and high range, and ties every dollar to the P&L or balance sheet line it should land on, so the numbers can go straight into the operating plan.
When operating partners call about this
When does a portfolio company need outside supply chain help?
These are the situations Cameo Consulting sees most often. When two or more apply, there is typically a savings opportunity worth sizing.
A new platform or add-on in the first 100 days
The deal team has a cost thesis, however the portfolio company has no clean baseline for freight, warehousing or inventory, and the 100-day plan needs real numbers by lever.
Freight and warehousing are eating margin
Logistics cost has grown faster than revenue for a few quarters, the incumbent broker or 3PL has not been market tested, and nobody internally owns the transportation program full time.
The board set a working capital target
Inventory needs to come down by a specific date, and the planning process (forecast, S&OP or SIOP, safety stock) is not set up to get there without hurting service.
A roll-up with no consolidated view
Each acquired company runs its own TMS, ERP and accounting system, so ownership cannot see cost or profitability by customer, lane or site across the platform.
What does Cameo Consulting do for portfolio companies?
The work
- Supply Chain Value Assessment. A Rapid Diagnostic on one area in approximately 2 weeks, or a Full Assessment of the supply chain in roughly 4 to 6 weeks, depending on data access. Both end in a sized and sequenced roadmap of savings opportunities.
- Freight benchmarking and procurement. Lane-level benchmarking against market rates, carrier and broker RFPs, and the routing guide and invoice audit process to hold the new rates. At a rail parts manufacturer with roughly $12M in freight spend, the bid identified up to roughly $385K in annual savings on the broker-managed portion, and the award recommendation was implemented.
- Network, footprint and capex review. Total landed cost modeling for warehouse consolidation, 3PL versus in-house decisions and expansion requests before capital is committed. At a mid-market consumer products manufacturer, the review showed an eight-figure warehouse expansion was not needed, and it did not move forward.
- Inventory, working capital and SIOP. SKU segmentation, safety stock and reorder point resets, slow-moving and end-of-life stock reduction, and a planning cadence the portfolio company can run on its own.
- Roll-up data and AI automation. One data warehouse and BI layer across acquired companies, plus automation of manual work such as invoice processing and GL coding, so savings are tracked monthly against the plan.
What does the operating partner get?
- Savings sized by lever as low and high ranges, tied to the P&L or balance sheet line.
- A roadmap sequenced by value and ease of implementation, with one-time costs estimated.
- Project charters the portfolio company team can own.
- Dashboards that track savings and KPIs against the plan each month.
- Playbooks and tools that stay with the company after the engagement ends.
What results has this work identified?
A supply chain assessment covering SIOP, working capital, technology and logistics capabilities, and procurement effectiveness, with inventory and procurement carrying the largest share of the opportunity.
Read the case → Intermodal Logistics $100M+ Intermodal Logistics ProviderWorking with the private equity operating team, Cameo Consulting built contribution margin by customer lane and worked through repricing and exits, along with automated invoice processing across a fleet of roughly 1,200 containers.
Read the case → Trucking & Logistics Private Equity Platform, $250M+ Combined RevenueA data warehouse across the seven companies' TMS, ERP and accounting systems gave the operating team its first consolidated view of the platform.
Read the case → Industrial Manufacturing North American Rail Components ManufacturerLane-level benchmarking, a competitive bid across roughly 3,000 lanes, and an operating model so the internal team could run the program going forward.
Read the case →Frequently asked questions
What size portfolio companies does Cameo Consulting work with?
Most engagements are with mid-market manufacturers, distributors and logistics companies, typically between roughly $100M and $1B in revenue, including platform companies and roll-ups built through add-on acquisitions.
How quickly can work start at a portfolio company?
Work can typically start within 1 to 2 weeks of a signed agreement, dependent on access to the portfolio company's data and team. A Rapid Diagnostic takes approximately 2 weeks for one area, and a Full Assessment roughly 4 to 6 weeks, so the first sized numbers are usually available inside the first 100 days.
Who does Cameo Consulting report to during an engagement?
Engagements are usually sponsored by the operating partner and run day to day with the portfolio company's CEO, CFO or COO and the operations team. Findings are reported to both, so the sponsor sees the same numbers the management team is working from.
How are savings estimates built?
From the portfolio company's own shipment, invoice, inventory and ERP data, checked against market benchmarks. Each lever is shown as a low and high range with the assumptions written out, and savings are reported as identified until contracts are signed or the process change is in place.
How does Cameo Consulting use AI in this work?
AI shortens the data cleansing and analysis that used to take weeks at the start of an engagement, and it is used to automate manual work at the portfolio company, such as invoice processing and GL coding at an intermodal provider. The tools are handed over so the company's team keeps using them.
Size the supply chain opportunity in a portfolio company
Cameo Consulting works with operating partners from the first look at a portfolio company through capturing the savings. A Supply Chain Value Assessment is the usual starting point, either as an approximately 2-week Rapid Diagnostic on one area or a Full Assessment in roughly 4 to 6 weeks. Both are fixed fee, quoted after a 30-minute scoping call.
Or write directly: nick@cameoconsulting.net