Throughput that was never achievable
Capacity demonstrated on a clean test profile, never under the real order structure, seasonality and SKU mix. The shortfall is structural.
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Consulting · Technical due diligenceTechnical due diligence before you own it
For investors and companies acquiring a business or an automated facility. I assess equipment, software and operations and show you the technical risks and the future investment needs before you decide.
Starting point
What financial diligence cannot see
Commercial and financial DD tell you what the target earned. They don't tell you whether the automation behind those earnings will still hit its numbers in year three. Nor what happens when volume runs 30 % above plan.
Software that is a project, not a product
Per-site branches, undocumented interfaces, licence exposure and very few people who understand the material-flow logic.
Service and spare parts
Often the most profitable line in the target and the least examined. Supplier contract terms decide whether that margin survives the transaction.
What you gain
Risks and investment needs known before you sign
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Technical risks, prioritised
A risk register with cost and probability, ordered by what matters for the decision.
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Future investment needs
A CAPEX and OPEX view across the intended hold period, including what the current plan has deferred.
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Input for the negotiation
The questions for management sessions, the clauses worth putting into the SPA and a view on price impact.
Deliverables
Assessed across four lenses
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The physical system
ASRS, shuttles, conveying, AMR and AGV fleets, robotics, sorters. Condition, remaining life, spare-parts exposure and realistic sustained throughput against the target's own order profile.
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The software
WMS, WCS and MFC architecture down to the PLC and SCADA layer. Product or project, release discipline, interface debt, licensing and documentation.
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Operational reality
Availability and what drives it, maintenance maturity, staffing and shift model, change-request backlog and whether the KPIs in the data room match peak operation.
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The commercial position
Supplier contracts, acceptance status, open claims and penalties, service agreements and what the CAPEX plan has committed or deferred.
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Report and risk register
Findings for each lens, a quantified risk register and prioritised recommendations.
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Software and PMI depth
Where needed: software assessment, DevOps and licensing review, software valuation, business-model verification and post-merger integration.
Approach and collaboration
Scoped to the deal stage
The effort follows the decision it supports. A red flag review stops after the site visit and compresses the rest into a short written opinion.
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Data room review
Layouts, throughput specifications, acceptance protocols, availability records and supplier contracts, with a targeted document request.
Week 1 -
Site visit
The system running under a real order profile, ideally in a peak shift. Interviews with operations, maintenance, IT and the supplier.
Week 1–2 -
Technical evaluation
Sustained throughput modelled against the target's own SKU mix. Software architecture, interface debt and licences assessed. Spare parts and obsolescence reviewed.
Week 2–4 -
Executive report
Findings for each lens, a quantified risk register and a CAPEX and OPEX view across the hold period.
Week 4–5 -
Decision support
Debrief with the deal team, questions for management sessions, SPA clauses and a view on price impact.
Before signing -
Software and PMI depth
Where needed: software assessment, licensing review, software valuation and post-merger integration.
As scoped
Red flag review
5–10 working days- For
- Screening and IOI stage. Or when you need to decide whether the asset is worth a full look.
- You get
- A short written opinion naming the material technical risks and the questions for management sessions and the SPA, with a clear view on whether deeper work is warranted.
Full technical DD
3–5 weeks- For
- Confirmatory phase, once the asset is worth the spend.
- You get
- Site visits, supplier and management interviews, a written report against each of the four lenses, a quantified risk register and a CAPEX and OPEX view across the intended hold period.
Post-merger support
Scoped per mandate- For
- After signing, for the remediation the diligence identified or for a programme without an owner.
- You get
- Integration management, interim leadership of the automation programme, supplier and claim management or oversight of a stalled ramp-up.
Independence
Independence, in detail
Much of my experience comes from the supplier side. That is why the question of bias deserves a direct answer.
No supplier relationships
No agency agreements, reseller arrangements, referral fees or commissions from any equipment supplier or software vendor. My income doesn't depend on which system you end up with.
Not a system integrator
I don't design, supply or install the equipment I assess. There's no implementation contract waiting behind the report.
Paid for the opinion, not the outcome
Fixed fee per phase or a daily rate, agreed before the work starts. No success fee tied to whether a deal completes.
Conflicts declared before engagement
If I have worked with the target, the supplier or the incumbent integrator, you hear it before you appoint me. The same applies where a party is a customer of LogIQ VDA5050.
Project example
Screened, evaluated and taken to the board
Customers are anonymised.
Board recommendation, followed by the investment
- Situation
- A global intralogistics group wanted to add AMR technology to its portfolio through a partner to invest in.
- My responsibility
- Market analysis, shortlist against partner criteria, management interviews, site visits and hands-on evaluation of products and technology. Negotiated the cooperation agreement.
- Result
- Recommendation presented to the board. The group invested in the recommended partner.
Technology: Autonomous mobile robots including fleet controller software.
Technical due diligence
An automated asset on your desk?
I can walk through a live situation under NDA or run a short red-flag review on something already in the data room.
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