Operational AI for Portfolio Companies: 30% EBITDA Improvement in 90 Days
The Portfolio Company Challenge
PE firms acquire companies with 10-15% EBITDA margins and need to improve them to 25-30% for a successful exit.
Traditional approach: Hire consultants, implement process improvements, takes 12-18 months.
AI approach: Automate high-cost manual workflows, see results in 90 days.
Where AI Drives EBITDA Improvement
Target areas for automation:
- Finance & Accounting - Automate AP/AR, reduce manual processing by 80%
- Customer Support - AI chatbots handle 40% of tickets, reduce headcount needs
- Sales Operations - Automate lead scoring, proposal generation, reporting
- HR & Recruiting - Automate resume screening, interview scheduling
- IT Operations - Automated monitoring, ticketing, infrastructure management
Per company impact:
- Labor cost reduction: 20-30%
- Process efficiency: 40-60% improvement
- EBITDA margin improvement: 10-15 percentage points
The 90-Day Implementation
Month 1: Audit workflows, identify automation targets Month 2: Implement AI for top 3 cost drivers Month 3: Validate savings, scale to additional workflows
Result: 25-30% EBITDA margins achieved in 90 days vs. 12-18 months traditional.