CompositesWorld
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10 CompositesWorld PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE OCTOBER 2015 Tis roadmap, with milestones and fnancing needs, alongside a very clear value proposition and supporting data, is a very efec- tive way to communicate your business plan to potential buyers. Ideally, you also should be able to distill your three-to-fve year plan into a couple of paragraphs. We rarely see this done well, but an external adviser, like FMG, can add valuable insight here. How much must I invest to get that sale? When you have decided to sell, you need to agree that you will go ahead with a properly funded and professionally executed plan and engagement with buyers (to be covered in Part 2 of this article). Tis planning process, including the research outlined above, is expensive in terms of internal and external costs. If you anticipate selling your company for around US$20 million, this process could cost you about 10% of that or US$2 million. But you will have closed your biggest deal ever. In Part 2: Williams will address the fnal three stages of the fve-step process. business model. We see numerous business models with serious faws because the company does not fully understand how its supply chain works, and its position in that value fow. 2. Intelligent research Develop a roadmap. A potential buyer needs to know more than your company. Who are your customers, your competitors and what is your geographic reach? Analyze where the business is today to create a picture of where it could be in the future, and what fnancing will be needed to enable the transition. A technology/ product development roadmap is a good tool here. It must detail the point in time you are expecting to launch a new product and assess the business environment for that product at that time. If there is potential for the business to expand geographically, look at the regulatory environment for your product, geography-by- geography, and show its efect on your competitiveness and value proposition. When you project the company's future position, outline your market growth, market share, geographic expansion, sales volume and capacities. To demonstrate your company's potential to a buyer, we suggest you create a detailed plan for the frst three years, followed by a trajectory that shows where the business could be in fve years. Once you have a roadmap, identify key milestones that will drive the business over that time period. You can then relate your fnancial needs to these milestones. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adrian Williams is co-founder and managing director of Future Materials Group (Cambridge, UK), an independent strategic advisory frm. Its services include growth strategies, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and growth capital. At Litzler, we are Driven by Right. The Right choice for every customer around the globe. • Nip and S-Wrap Confgurations • S-Wrap Increases Production Speeds up to 100 fpm (30 mpm) • Hot Melt Three Roll Reverse Roll Filmers • Single Tow Drum Winders • Fiber Unwind Creels • 12" (300 mm) Pilot Machines • Production Machines up to 60" (1525 mm) • Thermoplastic and Solution Prepreg Machines also Available C. A. Litzler Co., Inc. • 4800 W. 160th Street • Cleveland, OH 44135 USA 216-267-8020 • Fax: 216-267-9856 • sales@calitzler.com • www.calitzler.com • Litzler Shanghai 021-54249130 WAECO equipment is now offered by C. A. Litzler Co., Inc. Hot Melt Prepreg Machinery