Forged Executive Partners provides fractional and interim operations leadership to private equity portfolio companies and mid market manufacturing and distribution businesses. A fractional COO or interim VP of Operations when the seat is empty. A defined project when the problem is specific. Twenty five years of running plants, distribution networks, and P&Ls that had to get better fast.
Some situations need someone in the chair with authority and a P&L. Others need a scoped piece of work with a deliverable and an end date. We do both, and we will tell you honestly which one your situation calls for.
Step into the role and run it. Fractional COO, interim Chief Operating Officer, VP of Operations, General Manager, or Plant Leader. Full time for six to twelve months, or fractional on a set number of days per month, covering a departure, a turnaround, an integration, or the stretch before a sale process.
A scoped problem with a stated deliverable and a finish line. Useful when the leadership team is capable but stretched, or when the sponsor needs an independent read before committing capital.
Four problems we have solved repeatedly, in union and non union environments, across manufacturing plants and multi site distribution networks.
Operations missing on service, cost, quality, or safety. Diagnose fast, fix the few things that matter, and install the accountability routines that hold the gain after we leave.
Network design and footprint decisions, distribution center startups and consolidations, warehouse management system deployment, and the fill rate, inventory, and cost to serve performance that follows.
Private fleet, brokered capacity, or the hybrid of both. Freight cost, delivery model design, final mile performance, DOT and FMCSA compliance, and driver safety programs that actually move the numbers.
Post close integration of acquired operations, synergy capture, and pre close operational assessment when a sponsor needs an independent view of what they are buying.
Every number below came from a role held, with accountability for the outcome. Most were delivered at a private equity backed distributor through a carve out and four years of growth.
Additional results include post close operational integration of acquired businesses with synergy capture, retention of the largest customer relationship through an execution turnaround that halved time to serve, a 43 percent reduction in customer received damages, an 11 percent reduction in plant operating cost, and a major capital rebuild delivered a week ahead of schedule.
Twenty five years running operations that had to get better. Four distribution centers and a 900 vehicle fleet at a national aftermarket distributor. Shop operations for 400 employees at General Electric's Circleville lamp plant, then full accountability for the Logan glass plant, a 24/7 union operation with a $22M cost center. A flagship distribution center at Scotts Miracle-Gro moving 7,000 outbound truckloads a year. Engineering and plant leadership at Dana Corporation before that.
Private equity is not a foreign language here. Four years inside a sponsor backed portfolio company through a carve out, an acquisition program, and the operational discipline a hold period demands. Board reporting, value creation plans, synergy capture, and the difference between a number that looks good in a deck and one that holds in the field.
The approach is the same every time. Get on the floor in the first week. Find the two or three things actually driving the shortfall, which are rarely the things named in the diagnosis. Fix those with the team you already have, and put in the scorecards and operating routines that keep the gain after the engagement ends. Leave the organization stronger than the day the work started, with a leader ready to run it.
The first conversation is a direct one. Describe the situation and we will tell you whether this is a fit, what the engagement would look like, and what it would cost. If it is not a fit, we will say so and point you somewhere better.