ODD

Operational Due Diligence
Is what they're showing you real?

Before you commit capital, we verify what's actually happening on the shop floor. Not what the dashboard says — what's real. For investors, private equity, and owners
The valuation gap

Financial audits are not enough.

Standard due diligence looks at historical EBITDA. It assumes the machine producing that EBITDA is healthy. But industrial value is often eroded before it hits the balance sheet.
▸ Deferred maintenance. Short-term profit at the cost of asset lifespan. The plant looks profitable today, but the bill is coming.
▸ "Heroic" operations. Targets met through overtime and chaos. It works until it doesn't — and it never scales.
▸ Hidden capacity. Assets running at 40% of potential. Nobody knows because nobody measured it properly.
The ODD framework

Three questions that protect your capital.

Every capital allocation decision risks failure when one of these remains unanswered.
01 — Ground Truth Are reported KPIs real? We bypass the dashboard and verify the shop floor physics — yield, speed, scrap. The real numbers, not the reported ones. "Is performance real?"
02 — Real Upside Can the gap be closed? We quantify potential EBITDA upside through operational improvements — without relying on massive CAPEX. "Is it executable?"
03 — Capital Efficiency Will the CAPEX deliver? We validate if the asset base justifies the investment or if exits are required. "Is it scalable?"
How we do it

From the shop floor to the decision memo.

Governance & Framing We align with stakeholders on scope, timeline, data access, and success criteria before touching a machine.
Operational Ground Truth Shop-floor verification. We go to the line, talk to the operators, measure what matters. Yield, speed, energy, scrap — the real numbers, not the reported ones.
Remaining Operational Upside We quantify what can be recovered through OPEX improvements. The gap between current and potential.
Decision Synthesis An investor-grade executive summary. Adjusted EBITDA bridge, stop-loss factors, red flags, and a clear verdict: improve, maintain, or exit.
What you get

A decision memo, not a report.

At the end of an ODD engagement, you don't get a binder of recommendations. You get a clear answer.
Investment Verdict GO / NO-GO / CONDITIONAL — based on operational capacity and financial baseline, not assumptions.
Valuation Impact Adjusted EBITDA bridge showing current vs. potential. The real upside from OPEX improvements and the stop-loss factors you need to know.
Risk Assessment Critical red flags identified during the audit. What could go wrong, how likely, and what it would cost.
Simulated scenario

The "Acquisition Operation"

A mid-sized packaging plant. Financials showed steady EBITDA, but CAPEX requests were rising. Everything looked fine on paper.
What ODD found To meet production targets, the site had cut preventative maintenance by 60% over 2 years. Reported OEE: 82% (filtered data). Real asset health: critical. The plant was cannibalizing itself to hit short-term numbers.
Exposed a €2.5M deferred maintenance liability invisible on the balance sheet. Client renegotiated the acquisition price.

Is your capital safe?

Let's verify the operational reality before you commit. Book a free session Download Service Deck →