4pManagement Ltd

I’m writing this on the plane back from Budapest, three days in Hungary for an existing client at a recently purchased company. I was tasked with reviewing the sites capabilities and working through the improvement options with the ex-owner of the business and my contact for the client.

The two main tasks to complete before the end of the year are the sites design file, and RFQ’s to help with the Hungarian sites investment plans, and preparing for a scoping meeting in the second week of January for another new commission for a Polish sites technical master plan.

The design file is a document I use a lot, essentially an excel spreadsheet with all the relevant information from location and contacts, through to capacities, bottlenecks, flow diagrams and SKU details. Keeping it all in one file with different tabs is an easy and efficient way for me to understand the site and to allow the client to sense check the important data.

Looking back

2023 has been another good year, I thought after the busy start in Q1 that I would have a quiet period in Q2 and Q3. I used some of the time to update my website, revise my introduction presentation and refresh a few things, including being a bit more active on LinkedIn.

As it turns out, an existing client came back with three more commissions for work and although I had introduction meetings with 3 new clients it was only one that came to fruition. An interesting engagement for an investor to technically assess a small petfood company and advise on the investments they would need to grow the business to the size they planned for.

Last year I put some numbers into my year end blog, below is this year’s data count.

• Number of clients = 3, one less than last year
• Number of active projects = 7, two more than last year
• Number of proposals not turning into a commission = 2. Same as last year

Overall, a good portfolio of work for 2023.

Throughout the year I worked 144 days, with a forecast to take me to 154 by the end of the year. This is similar to 2022. My target is always 141 days, equating to 3 days per week, which allows reactive time if clients need me and gives a good work life balance.

• Projects completed this year = 3, one less then 2022
• Number of flights taken = 34, 12 more then last year
• Number of countries visited = 6, same as last year
• Number of projects in UK = 1, same as last year
• Number of miles travelled = 39,800, which is 2000 more then 2022.
• Which equates to 390t of carbon to offset!
• 59 nights in hotel beds!
• Right knee replaced in Dec 2022, hopefully no more major surgery.

• Capital invested by my clients based on my recommendations – circa £16million.
• Average ROI for my clients – circa 18 months.
• Number of jobs created by my clients, based on the projects I have consulted on. Circa 200 people.
• Number of happy cats and dogs – hard to say, but based on my 2024 workload it must be a lot!
• Number of people mentored via PMI or through my network – 6.
• Golf handicap up from 17.2 to 19. I blame the swing changes to get back to an in-to out swing path now that I’m more flexible with my new knees!

Sitting here now and typing these numbers gives me a huge amount of satisfaction. In my Purina days the capital spent would be in the £100’s of million, but that is just scale. For my clients the money entrusted to my judgement is just as important and I’m honoured that they trust me with their future success.

A while ago when mission statements were in fashion, Purina had a competition to come up with the best statement. My suggestion was “We build your future”. I didn’t win but it encompassed exactly what we did in capital projects. For me it’s as true now with 4p Management Ltd as it was all those years ago. This year the jobs created in the areas where my clients’ factories are located will make a difference to people’s lives. The mentoring will hopefully inspire those people to achieve what they are capable of and the ROI shows the investors that it’s better to build something by taking a raw material and adding value to it, is better than investing in passive investments.

Looking forward to 2024, I have work planned out until end of Q3, which should bring two projects to completion and the third to the point that the work packages are written, budgets understood, specifications written, general arrangement drawings completed, and timeline defined so that the client can make their investment decision.

But I’m always willing to talk to clients and help them solve problems. If you found this thought provoking, please get in touch.