AI Process Automation for EBITDA
Turn value creation pressure into scoped automation work. We map the manual workflows, quantify the automation bets that move EBITDA, and ship the first implementations inside the hold period — not after another strategy deck.
Every Value Creation Plan Has “AI Automation” on It. Most Portcos Have Nothing in Production.
The math is unforgiving. With borrowing costs elevated and leverage compressed, sponsors now need closer to 10-12% annual EBITDA growth to clear target returns inside a hold. AI and process automation are on every value creation plan because they are the only operating levers that can compound that fast.
The execution problem is not the model. It is the gap between the line item in the plan and the workflow on the floor. Most portcos can name the manual processes draining margin, but they cannot point at a scoped, sequenced, owned plan to automate them. You do not need another AI strategy. You need three to five automation bets shipped before the next exit window opens.
AI strategy decks
Binders full of opportunities with no scope, no sequencing, and no one on the hook to ship before the hold clock turns over.
Tool-first automation
Buying a platform before mapping the workflows it needs to automate. The stack choice should follow the process map, not lead it.
Pilots that never go to production
Proofs of concept that consume budget and produce a demo nobody uses inside the operating cadence.
Savings that cannot be QofE-defended
Automation impact that no one can tie to a specific cost center, workflow, and run-rate baseline by the time the next exit window opens.
Request an AI Process Automation Diagnostic
Tell us about the portfolio company, the value creation pressure, and where you suspect the margin is hiding. We will follow up within 24 hours to scope the diagnostic and confirm fit.
- Mapped shortlist of 3-5 automation bets sized against documented EBITDA ranges
- Sequenced 30/60/90-day path with build-versus-buy decisions called up front
- No obligation to buy implementation work after the diagnostic
The 90-Day Engagement, at a Glance
From Manual Workflows to Production Automation in 90 Days
A workflow-first sequence designed for PE-backed operators — not a multi-quarter strategy engagement.
Map the Manual Work
Forward-deployed engineers run recorded working sessions with finance, operations, customer, and back-office leads. We turn the transcripts into visual process maps that show every step, handoff, and system touchpoint — not a templated diagram, the actual workflow.
Quantify the Automation Bets
Each workflow is scored against the categories where AI and automation are documented to move EBITDA today: invoice and close automation, customer ops, pricing and exception governance, supply chain, and CRM hygiene. Bets that depend on data foundations the portco does not have yet get sequenced, not pitched.
Scope the First Build
We write deployment-ready scopes for the top one or two bets so procurement and the portco CTO can move immediately — with or without us. Build-versus-buy is decided up front against the ERP, CCaaS, and CPQ modules already installed, not after a year of custom work.
Ship and Instrument
Production deployments inside the existing operating cadence — not pilots on the side. Every automation save gets tied to a specific cost center, workflow, and run-rate baseline so the impact is QofE-defensible at exit and fundable for the next phase of the value creation plan.
Where AI & Automation Actually Move EBITDA
The five categories where industry data consistently shows EBITDA impact at PE-backed scale — plus the shared-services work most portcos sequence alongside them. Each bet is sized against the portco, not against an adjective.
Finance back-office and close
Invoice capture, three-way match, account reconciliation, journal entry, and close-cycle automation on top of NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics 365 Business Central, or SAP — not bespoke copilots.
Customer operations and contact center
Agent assist, AI deflection on the simplest tickets, and CCaaS-native automation inside Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Genesys, NICE, or Five9 — calibrated so the bot escalates fast when it is wrong.
Pricing and discount governance
AI-flagged discount leakage, exception governance, and renegotiation triggers inside CPQ — only after transactional and master-data hygiene is honest. Pricing on dirty data is theater.
Supply chain and procurement
Demand forecasting, inventory positioning, and contract intelligence at portfolio companies where physical flow is a material share of cost. Skipped at portcos where it is not.
Sales productivity and CRM hygiene
Auto-summarization, CRM write-back, and account research inside Gong, Clari, Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics — sequenced last and only after the CRM is honest enough to make AI recommendations trustworthy.
HR, onboarding, and shared services
Document intake, employee onboarding, vendor onboarding, and policy Q&A automation across HRIS and ITSM platforms. Treated as productivity work, not headline EBITDA, and sized accordingly.
Ranges drawn from published research by Bain, McKinsey, BCG, AlixPartners, Hackett, and RSM. Outcomes at any individual portco depend on starting state, data quality, and execution — we do not promise specific financial results.
When This Engagement Pays Back
The 90-day engagement works when four conditions are true. If they are not, we will say so on the intake call and point you somewhere better — the single-process $5K assessment or the AI readiness diagnostic are usually the right alternatives.
PE-backed company, $50M-$1B in revenue
Enough process complexity that manual work is a real margin drag, and enough scale that automation pays back inside the hold period.
CEO, CFO, COO, or operating partner sponsor
A clear owner for the engagement outcome and for the EBITDA number the automation work is supposed to move.
Value creation pressure in the next 12-18 months
Board update, LP letter, or refinancing window that gives the automation work a deadline, not a someday backlog.
Willing to fund data and workflow work, not just tools
The portcos that win sequence master-data and process hygiene first. The ones that buy a tool first end up paying for both, twice.
Why This Works Where AI Strategy Engagements Have Not
Engineers, not strategy decks
Your first working session is led by the people who would ship the automation, not by an account team. No pre-sales theater, no bait-and-switch after the SOW is signed.
Workflow-first, then AI
We map processes before we pick tools. The technology choice follows the map, which is the only reason the deliverable survives contact with production.
Sized against documented ranges
Every automation bet is sized against industry-documented impact ranges and a sequenced data-foundation plan — not against a vendor brochure or a portfolio-wide adjective.
Instrumented for QofE defense
Every save is tied to a specific cost center, workflow, and run-rate baseline. The buy-side QofE team at exit can validate the number; the AI commentary in the LP letter is grounded in something specific.
Ready to Scope the Automation Bets at Your Portco?
Tell us about the portfolio company, the hold-period clock, and where you suspect the manual work is draining EBITDA. We will follow up within 24 hours to confirm fit and scope the diagnostic.
Request the Diagnostic