We redesign how enterprises operate — from the supply chain to the shop floor to the shared service center — to unlock structural cost advantage, speed, and resilience.
Operations is where strategy becomes real — and where most strategies go to die. The organizations that consistently outperform their peers don't just have better strategies; they have fundamentally superior operating systems. They move faster, cost less to run, recover quicker from disruption, and convert every dollar of revenue into more profit than their competitors.
We have delivered $6.2 billion in verified cost savings across 200+ operations transformations. But cost reduction is only part of the story. Our most impactful work creates structural operating advantage that compounds over years — turning operations from a cost center into a competitive weapon.
Five integrated practices that address the full operating system — from source to serve.
The pandemic exposed what we had been warning clients about for years: supply chains optimized solely for cost are inherently fragile. The next generation of supply networks must balance cost, speed, resilience, and sustainability — and they must be powered by real-time data and predictive intelligence rather than quarterly planning cycles and spreadsheet-based forecasts.
We redesign supply networks from first principles — beginning with strategic intent, modeling optimal network topologies, and implementing the planning systems, control towers, and organizational capabilities required to operate them.
For most large enterprises, third-party spend represents 50–70% of revenue. Yet procurement remains one of the most underleveraged functions — trapped between cost-cutting mandates and fragmented, tactically managed category portfolios. We transform procurement from a transactional function into a strategic capability that drives sustainable savings, manages supply risk, and unlocks supplier innovation.
We bring deep manufacturing expertise — from lean production systems and OEE optimization to Industry 4.0 deployments and digital twins — to help manufacturers achieve step-change improvements in productivity, quality, and cost. Our consultants have operated plants, run production lines, and led manufacturing transformations at scale. We know the difference between a factory that's been "leaned" on paper and one that actually performs.
The shared services model has evolved far beyond labor arbitrage. Leading organizations are building Global Business Services organizations that combine process standardization, intelligent automation, and advanced analytics to deliver finance, HR, IT, and commercial functions at world-class cost and quality levels. We help companies design, implement, and continuously optimize these organizations.
Not all cost reduction is created equal. Across-the-board cuts and hiring freezes deliver short-term relief but destroy long-term capability. We design structural cost transformations that permanently reset the cost base by eliminating complexity, redesigning processes, and rearchitecting the operating model — while protecting and often accelerating the capabilities that drive growth.
Our approach is built on zero-based principles but applied with strategic judgment. Every cost is justified from scratch, but investment decisions are made through the lens of competitive advantage and future value creation.
Every engagement begins with our proprietary diagnostic — a comprehensive assessment across six dimensions that benchmarks your operating performance against industry leaders and identifies the highest-impact intervention points.
Request a complimentary OHI benchmark for your organization.
Our methodology is designed for speed and sustainability. We deliver quick wins within the first 90 days while building the organizational muscle for long-term operational excellence.
Comprehensive assessment using our Operations Health Index — benchmarking performance across six dimensions, identifying root causes of underperformance, and quantifying the total improvement opportunity with bottom-up precision.
We launch rapid-impact initiatives in parallel with the diagnostic — capturing low-hanging fruit that generates immediate P&L impact and builds organizational confidence in the transformation program.
We design the future-state operating model — including process architecture, organizational structure, technology requirements, and talent strategy — with a phased roadmap that sequences investments for maximum impact.
Structured implementation in 90-day waves — each with clear targets, accountable owners, and rigorous tracking. We embed our consultants alongside your operating teams, working shoulder-to-shoulder on the floor.
We establish the management systems, continuous improvement mechanisms, and internal capabilities that ensure results are sustained long after we leave. 94% of our savings are still in place at the 24-month mark.
Verified results from our recent operations work.
A top-5 global automaker was operating 42 assembly and powertrain plants across 14 countries, many at sub-optimal utilization. The shift to electric vehicles required a fundamental rethinking of the manufacturing footprint — which plants to invest in, which to repurpose, and which to exit — while maintaining production continuity for ICE vehicles during the transition.
We built a proprietary network optimization model that evaluated every plant across 28 variables — including labor cost, energy cost, proximity to suppliers, EV-readiness, workforce capability, and geopolitical risk. The model generated optimal network scenarios under multiple demand and regulatory assumptions, enabling the board to make a confident, data-driven restructuring decision.
A global CPG company was struggling with service levels of 89% — well below the 97% industry benchmark — while carrying $3.4B in excess inventory. Forecast accuracy was at 42%, and the supply chain organization was structured around geographies rather than product flows, creating redundancy and misaligned incentives.
We redesigned the supply chain operating model from geographic silos to end-to-end product flows, implemented AI-powered demand sensing that replaced monthly forecasting with daily signals, optimized the distribution network from 48 warehouses to 31, and deployed a real-time supply chain control tower providing end-to-end visibility.
A top-10 pharma company had $14B in annual third-party spend managed by a decentralized procurement function with no common processes, no spend visibility below the category level, and 4,800 active suppliers — many unmanaged. Procurement was viewed as a transactional function with no seat at the strategic table.
We stood up a world-class procurement organization — category-by-category, from strategy through execution. We built should-cost models for the top 50 categories, consolidated the supplier base by 42%, implemented a procurement analytics platform for real-time spend visibility, and established strategic supplier partnerships that delivered innovation alongside savings.
A major US utility facing regulatory pressure on rates needed to reduce its operating cost base by 20% without compromising service reliability or safety performance. Previous cost reduction efforts had achieved only 5–7% savings that eroded within 18 months as costs crept back.
We applied a zero-based redesign methodology — justifying every dollar of spend from scratch against actual workload requirements and industry benchmarks. We redesigned field operations scheduling, consolidated back-office functions, automated 200+ manual processes, and implemented a management operating system that prevents cost creep through weekly performance reviews and clear accountability.
The supply chain transformation Meridian delivered didn't just fix our service levels — it gave us a structural cost advantage that our competitors can't replicate without rebuilding their entire network. That's the definition of competitive moat.
What separated Meridian from every other firm we considered was their insistence on embedding on the plant floor. Their consultants wore steel-toes and hard hats. They understood our constraints because they lived them alongside our teams.
We hired Meridian to save $500 million. They saved $1.8 billion over three years — and more importantly, they built a procurement organization that our CEO now calls our most improved function.
Our Operations Excellence partners are former COOs, plant managers, and supply chain leaders who have run the operations they now advise on.
The next frontier combines AI decision-making with human craftsmanship — and it's already here.
How leading procurement organizations are driving top-line growth through supplier innovation programs.
Lessons from a decade of zero-based redesign engagements.
When the math on reshoring doesn't add up — and what to do about it.
Our Operations Excellence partners are available for a confidential conversation about where the greatest value lies in your operating system.