A profitable manufacturer with persistent cash pressure. Orders were growing, margins were intact and the bank balance told a different story every month.
The engagement mapped the working capital cycle end to end, established where cash was actually being consumed, and put a rolling forecast in place so the position could be seen weeks ahead rather than discovered.
The business had grown steadily for several years without a corresponding change in how it managed cash. Customer credit terms had been extended informally over time, inventory was held against forecast rather than demand, and supplier payments were made on an ad-hoc basis. Each decision was individually reasonable. Together they consumed more working capital every month than the business generated.
The first phase was diagnostic: mapping the operating cycle from order to collection, quantifying how many days of cash sat in each stage, and identifying which customers and which product lines carried the longest cycles. Nothing was recommended until that picture was agreed with the promoter.
From there the work was sequenced. Receivable discipline came first because it was the largest and most immediately recoverable pool. Inventory policy followed, tied to actual consumption rather than forecast. A weekly cash forecast was introduced so that the position could be seen in advance, and a monthly review cycle established to keep it honest.
The operational change was a shorter and more predictable cash cycle. The more important change was behavioural: cash stopped being a month-end surprise and became a planned number that the management team reviewed together, with enough notice to act on it.
Specific figures and outcomes are not published here. Where a client approves publication, we present the actual numbers rather than a range.
