SOUTHFIELD, Michigan, August 1, 2011 – BBK today formally announced the success of its Performance Improvement LLC, (PI) wholly-owned subsidiary and the new direction it signals for BBK. Quietly launched 18 months ago, PI has amassed six consecutive quarters of growth, an impressive list of clients and an even more impressive list of client successes that have helped companies effectively address a range of operational issues and boost their bottom lines.
“Over the past 18 months, we’ve served suppliers in both the automotive and non-automotive manufacturing sectors and consistently, they have realized five to ten times ROI on the cost of our services – that’s a very significant gain,” said Guy Morgan, CEO, Performance Improvement, LLC; and Managing Director, BBK.
The successful initiative reflects a new direction for BBK, one that is focused on client company growth and success driven by support and service in three broad critical business areas: operations, finance and strategic planning.
“We came to realize that BBK needed to offer more complete, integrated solutions to meet new complex challenges,” explained Bill Diehl, President and CEO, BBK. “As a result, we have added considerable resources aimed at helping suppliers be able to thrive on a variable cost basis even now — helping them grow to the next level in the evolving global marketplace.”
Adversity leads to new focus — Performance Improvement LLC leads “new” BBK
Adversity often fosters achievement and the previous few years in the automotive sector have brought challenges for every manufacturer and supplier, including BBK.
Long employed by OEM customers for support with supply chain issues, the economic
slowdown drove a shift in OEM focus from supply chain issues to other critical areas.
That refocus and subsequent drop in BBK’s business caused the company to reassess its role in the market place.
BBK saw that many suppliers survived the downturn by sacrificing operational capability, expertise in various manufacturing disciplines, engineering and processes – all part of BBK’s core strength in manufacturing operations. With the industry rebound and increased orders from OEMs, many suppliers who vigorously shed engineering, product development and manufacturing talent, suddenly found they lacked resources to handle the increase.
“We stepped back, recognized the industry need for operational support and recognized our depth of knowledge, experience and expertise handling supply chain issues were critically needed by manufacturers throughout the automotive industry,” said Morgan. “Suppliers needed a resource they could turn to that was capable of developing, then implementing an executable plan to its successful outcome on a variable cost basis.”
Operational excellence and capability have always been core strengths of BBK. Even during the economic slowdown, the company enhanced that part of its business to further distance itself from competitors.
BBK’s leadership team also saw that the combination of strategic planning and financial capabilities, including private equity support — were of tremendous value to the supply chain; so they developed and quietly launched PI as its operations element and a major practice area of a “new” BBK.
The supply chain that had previously been the focus of BBK’s OEM customers, now became a significant part of its growing client base; and while BBK continues to support the automotive industry, the company’s non-automotive business has increased dramatically.
“The common denominator is our core competency in manufacturing,” said Morgan. “The disciplines and capabilities that drove 34 years of client success and built a highly successful firm in the process — were the same ones that the manufacturing supply base needed to survive the recent crisis, and thrive afterward. The proof of concept for us has been the broad acceptance by our clients.”
BBK has combined PI’s operational capabilities with BBK’s traditional strengths in financial expertise and turnaround, receivership and litigation support, real estate, and private equity support. Manufacturers and automotive suppliers can now benefit from expertise and guidance on virtually any operational, financial or strategic business issue they might face. PI serves as a highly-talented and capable resource to help companies manage transitions and grow.
“Guy Morgan has assembled an extraordinary team with world-class operationally-focused industry expertise that is on the cutting edge of manufacturing in this country,” said Diehl. “PI has served as the lead element of our “new” BBK and we haven’t looked back. It’s been 18 months of growth and client success for us.”
Performance Improvement’s mission: help companies become great
PI helps companies improve performance in critical areas and ultimately, their bottom lines. Together, PI and BBK provide an integrated set of core strengths tailored to each manufacturing client’s need. The approach encompasses financial, operational and strategic areas of the business: measuring and achieving manufacturing excellence; financing for acquisitions, restructuring, and growth; strategies to thrive in the new automotive world and more.
“The tools were already in place and the deliverables have remained the same,” said Diehl. “Our customer base has shifted – but excellence, immediacy and results still matter and provide the same strong endorsement for BBK,” Diehl added.
