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Bringing a digital-first future to life in private equity

JLA

JLA

Making agility happen

  • Category: Private Equity Data and Analytics

Private equity firms often find themselves caught between an ambitious vision of the future and the ability to predict how to get there. These firms have a vested interest in growing their portfolio companies and increasing their valuation multiples. Often this can be done by adapting a portfolio company with a successful traditional model to a digital model. It can also be accomplished by creating a new digital model to compete in a sector where existing players are struggling with digital transformation.

In order to see the return on their digital investment quickly, private equity firms rely on agile digital specialists rather than expensive and slow-moving consultants. With a flexible and scalable combination of specialty skills and services, Kin + Carta are uniquely positioned to help these firms put data and digital experiences at the heart of their valuation process.

Starting the transition

The JLA Group is a provider of the distribution, rental and servicing of commercial laundry equipment, commercial dishwashers and regulatory compliance tools to over 25,000 businesses. The company is the market-leading distributor of commercial laundry and catering equipment in the UK in a sector that has been, historically, digitally immature.

They recognized that the market was changing and that there was a significant risk of disruption by new technology-enabled business models. Serving a wide variety of industries including care homes, hospitality, healthcare and facilities management, JLA leadership turned to Kin + Carta to support them in their transition to become a digital and data-led business focusing on making existing processes more efficient, customer-driven and driving long-term retention.

Becoming digital

Our goal at project launch was to help JLA imagine its future digital self. Rather than identifying opportunities through broad strategic frameworks and theoretical models, we helped JLA's board to visualise their digital twin – a vision for its ideal, digitally-enabled counterpart that would offer industry-leading customer experience. The exercise demonstrated how to improve the use of their existing data (which connects 70,000+ assets) and identify clearly articulated changes to the organisational design to become a digital enterprise.

We then helped make it happen by determining, designing and prioritizing the changes required to its operating model, data architecture, digital experience and technology infrastructure. With a clear vision of what was possible, we began working on the future target operating model design, developing the data vision and producing proof of concepts for digital products. We prioritized the changes required to its operating model, data architecture, digital experience and technology infrastructure.

JLA App

Data for a better experience

The results were clear. We built innovative proof of concept applications and IoT-enabled asset monitoring, realizing instant value to the business and its customers that is currently not offered by its competition. We redesigned the operating model across commercial execution, installation and service and supply chain; as well as the organization's new data architecture and infrastructure.

Whether it's identifying innovation opportunities, internal process improvements, or their customers' experience as a whole, JLA is now prepared to more quickly deliver its future digital self. Kin + Carta and JLA continue to partner on bringing to life a technology and data-enabled business that delights its customers.

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