35% of cash trapped in a 30-year old manufacturer recovered
Structuring commercial
precision
9% EBITDA gap between what was bid and what was realized. Across $100M+ in annual contracts. We found it. Then we fixed it.
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THE CLIENT

A leading Tier-1 global OEM supplier with deep engineering expertise, sitting at a critical node in the automotive supply chain.

$100M+ annual run rate, private equity-backed, with plants and offices across the world β€” a business winning major global contracts on the strength of its engineering, but leaking margin between bid and delivery.

Sales, Engineering, and Finance operated on different numbers with no regular interface. Costing models were always retrospective, never predictive or prescriptive β€” leaving pricing debates driven by friction, not data.

‍

Industry
Automotive / Precision Manufacturing
Stage
PE-backed Β· $100M+ run rate
Location
Global Β· multi-plant
Size
Tier-1 OEM supplier
Our Offering
Commercial Pricing & EBITDA Realization
theΒ problem
Winning contracts, but losing the margin
01

Winner's curse

No single source of truth across Sales, Engineering, and Finance β€” every team quoted from different numbers.

‍

02

Rule-of-thumb architecture

Costing models used while bidding were entirely retrospective, never predictive or prescriptive.

‍

03

Unresponsive fragility

Continual pricing debates driven by friction, not data β€” leaving contracts exposed to volatility they never priced in.

‍

THE SOLUTION
We called it PEP β€” Pricing, Evaluation & Protection
PHASE 1
Diagnose the

commercial leakage in architecture

Because you can't fix a leak you haven't forensically mapped first.

‍

STAGE 1
Map the margin gap
  • Ran a forensic bid efficiency analysis: bid margin (projected) 17–20% vs. EBITDA realized (actuals) 8–10%
  • Variance drivers identified: currency, commodity, and operational costs
  • Rationalization clauses in contracts were unleveraged β€” finance lacked real-time data to trigger them

‍

STAGE 2
Deconstruct the pricing architecture
  • Costing models used while bidding were entirely retrospective; static assumptions turned stale before delivery began
  • Sales, Engineering, and Finance operated on different numbers with no regular interface or feedback
  • No unified cost baseline or evolving cost frameworks existed

‍

STAGE 3
Establish the commercial baseline
  • Developed the first unified cost baseline linking live material indices, currency rates, and operational drivers to every active contract
  • Cross-functional workshops aligned all functions on a single methodology
  • Developed institutional listening indicators for external factors that could turn contracts onerous

‍

BEFORE
On every contract won, 9 points of EBITDA evaporated between bid and delivery Multi-year contracts won on static cost assumptions with no volatility modeling Actualization clauses existed in contracts but were never effectively leveraged
AFTER
Every leakage point mapped and quantified across the bid-to-delivery lifecycle Input volatility β€” commodity, currency, labor β€” now modeled into every contract A clear forensic picture of where, why, and how margin eroded post-award
PHASE 2
Engineer the

PEP pricing & evaluation framework

A single framework to govern how every deal is quoted, tracked, and defended across its lifetime.

‍

Dynamic intelligence
Built the central repository
  • Central repository linked to live cost drivers, raw material indices, currency, labor
  • Created a "War Room" interface for 5-year contract simulations
  • Enabled scenario testing: commodity price volatility, currency fluctuations, volume variance

‍

Governance protocol
Instituted Bid-No-Bid
  • Every quote now stress-tested for profitability before submission
  • Built deal-approval rules with clear margin thresholds and escalation paths
  • Low-margin business declined proactively, protecting EBITDA

‍

Stakeholder alignment
Bridged the functions
  • Cross-functional workshops aligned Sales, Engineering, and Finance on one costing methodology
  • Prequate bridged the gap between engineering technicalities and financial realities
  • Established a single source of truth, eliminating data fragmentation and internal friction

‍

PHASE 3
Activate cross-functional

decision superiority

Turn every function into a lever for margin protection, not a reporting line.

‍

01
Transform finance
  • Finance evolved from backward-looking reporting into a real-time strategic compass
  • Leadership now has live margin visibility across every contract, every quarter

‍

02
Arm sales
  • Sales shifted from gut-feel pricing to data-backed justification with granular volatility data
  • Every bid now carries a 5-year margin simulation, not a static assumption

‍

03
Institutionalize & prove
  • Actualization clauses systematically triggered when input costs breach contractual thresholds
  • Three additional strategic mandates awarded to Prequate on the strength of this engagement

‍

theΒ impact
engineering enterprise value across the organization
The Prequate difference

We operate as an indispensable extension of the Owner's office β€” providing the strategic financial horsepower to spot emergent problems, identify new growth avenues, and achieve the long-term vision.

We are not a consultant. We are a partner in enterprise value creation.

‍

TRANSFORMED

A 9% unrecognized EBITDA leak identified ‴

EBITDA leak arrested across current and new engagements

ESTABLISHED

An unresponsive bidding system ‴

a new framework, 'PEP,' as a single-window system

REPLACED

Gut-feel pricing and internal friction ‴

unified, data-backed costing methodology

UNLOCKED

Finance as a process block in the bid process ‴

Finance as a strategic compass in negotiations

‍

THE RESULT
9pts
EBITDA gap identified between bid and realized margin
$100M+
Annual contract value now governed by PEP
17β†’9%
Bid-to-realized margin variance closed
3
Additional strategic mandates awarded to Prequate
We took a business winning every contract it bid for, and found nine points of EBITDA disappearing before delivery even began. If you're winning major global contracts but wondering why you aren't left with more for growth, that is the problem we work on.
– Prequate Team
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