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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Best Practices That Don't Fit
At Goodyear, I learned "Best Practices."
Working with PE taught me something different.
Early in my PE work, a $120M portfolio company brought me in 15 months post-acquisition. Service levels were declining. The Operating Partner wanted S&OP implemented fast.
I walked in with my Goodyear playbook. The same process that worked for a team of 50+ people.
Six weeks later, their five-person ops team hadn't made any progress. Too many steps. Too much data gathering. The process was drowning them.
The CEO pulled me aside: "This might work at Goodyear. It doesn't work here."
He was right.
Here's what I learned: With 2-4 years until exit, you don't have time for over-engineered solutions. The right process isn't the most impressive one. It's the one your team can actually execute.
We made the process fit the business. We stripped it down to five steps and focused on decisions instead of debates. This enabled the team to implement a process in 60 days instead of 12 months.
The result: 12% improvement in fill rate with an 8% reduction in inventory, AND the team hit their EBITDA targets for exit.
Now, when I work with $50M-$350M portfolio companies, I ask first: "What can your team actually execute with the people, resources, and time you have?"
Look at your current initiatives and ask yourself whether the solution is sized for YOUR business or someone else's.
Masquerading Productivity
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵.
In ’96, I was a rookie ceramic engineer in Brazil.
That’s me, on a Saturday, checking on production.
What looked like productivity was really trapped working capital. Raw material, labor, and overhead literally gathering dust.
🔎 Lesson that still pays dividends today:
A process is definable, predictable, repeatable, and trainable. If you’re missing one of those elements…
You do 𝗡𝗢𝗧 have a process!
Fast forward to 2025. Same movie, different plant:
• Forecast optimism > reality = excess inventory
• “Just-in-case” safety stock = EBITDA drag
• Misaligned Sales/Ops = board-level headaches
Quick test: Pull last month’s WIP & FG aging. If >15 % is >120 days old, you’re tying up 4-7 pts of working capital.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻?
Need help making sense of your inventory and where your cash is frozen?
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Best Practices That Don't Fit
Best Practices That Don't Fit
A $120M portfolio company. 15 months post-acquisition. I walked in with my Goodyear playbook.
Six weeks later, the CEO pulled me aside:
"This might work there. It doesn't work here."
Masquerading Productivity
Best Practices That Don't Fit
In 1996, I was a rookie ceramic engineer in Brazil. That’s me, on a Saturday, checking on production.
What looked like productivity was really trapped working capital...
Where Did Our Cash Go?
Where Did Our Cash Go?
Inventory was up 23%. Cash was gone.
The portfolio company CFO asked…
“𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?”
The CFO didn’t get a straight answer...
CASE STUDY: CAPITAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER, PRIVATELY HELD, $85M
The Situation
The CFO saw an inventory bubble on the balance sheet and borrowing limits were reached. Cash was trapped in parts the business didn't need.
What Was Found
Procurement was disconnected from actual demand. Purchasing bought more than sales sold, and no formal communication loop existed between the two.
The Results
$6.9M cash freed from inventory
41% inventory reduction (closed an offsite warehouse)
9 months embedded with the team from assessment through execution
"During the time I worked with Mike, he drove meaningful improvements in operational effectiveness across our entire manufacturing and supply chain organization."
- Scott J., CFO, Family Office-Owned Manufacturer
Michael Ryan, Founder and President, The M. Ryan Group
Mike Ryan founded The M. Ryan Group after 20 years leading supply chain operations at GE and Goodyear. He works with PE Operating Partners and their portfolio company leadership teams when inventory is growing, fill rates are falling, and prior fixes haven't stuck.
His fixed-scope, fixed-fee engagements typically run 60 to 90 days. The focus: release trapped working capital, restore service levels, and improve EBITDA. Across 20+ portfolio companies, his work has freed more than $40 million in cash. Every engagement carries a 3:1 ROI guarantee.
Mike holds BS and MS degrees in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University. He lives in Northeast Ohio with his wife and four children.
Systematic Sprint
CASE STUDY: CAPITAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER, PRIVATELY HELD, $85M
The Situation
The CFO saw an inventory bubble on the balance sheet and borrowing limits were reached. Cash was trapped in parts the business didn't need.
What Was Found
Procurement was disconnected from actual demand. Purchasing bought more than sales sold, and no formal communication loop existed between the two.
The Results
$6.9M cash freed from inventory
41% inventory reduction (closed an offsite warehouse)
9 months embedded with the team from assessment through execution
"During the time I worked with Mike, he drove meaningful improvements in operational effectiveness across our entire manufacturing and supply chain organization."
- Scott J., CFO, Family Office-Owned Manufacturer
Systematic Sprint
Best For: Losing Revenue from Misaligned Inventory
$350M Industrial Safety (PPE) Distribution, PE-Owned
Challenge:
Lost e-commerce revenue due to poor inventory positioning. Half the inventory turned less than twice a year, tying up cash in stock that was not aligned with actual demand.
Action:
Introduced inventory segmentation through a 30-day diagnostic. Challenged supplier minimum order quantities and depth of assortment, then built a data-driven process to align supply with demand.
Result:
$2.3M inventory reduction in six months. Minimum order quantities restructured and inventory turns improved across the portfolio.
Three Symptoms:
You may be in the right place if:
Service is deteriorating
Customers are waiting longer, backorders are growing, or fill rate is moving in the wrong direction.
Inventory keeps rising
Cash is tied up, but the business still does not have the right products in the right places.
Prior fixes have not stuck
The business has tried new forecasts, software, inventory reductions, meetings, or process changes without sustainable improvement.