Business Architects, Inc is a privately-held, Minnesota-based organization dedicated to strengthening, re-building, growing, and strategically transforming businesses of many types.
Our highly-experienced, innovative and dynamic leadership team works directly with the owners and/or principals of both publicly-held and privately-held organizations to quickly and accurately evaluate their business. We will work closely and confidentially with you and your team to understand your unique challenges, risks and opportunities, and to deliver meaningful short and long-term improvements to the business.
“Our team brings a unique blend of talent, intellect, creativity and direct, hands-on experience to the table.”
Through our diverse and complementary backgrounds we have worked directly with literally hundreds of organizations, both large and small, throughout Minnesota, across the country and around the world.
Our credentials include decades of leadership experience in a wide array of industries, from steel, software and food manufacturing, to printing, distribution, financial services, banking, information technologies, and more.
We have also developed an unparalleled network of talented players from around the world who collectively have the ability to work with your team to address virtually any business situation or challenge. We bring all of this experience to bear to evaluate your business and deliver meaningful short and long-term results.
Services Descriptions
In the world of M&A work, solutions are rarely generic and one approach does not fit all situations. Unique aspects of the deal and the businesses involved often require an experienced guide to direct the process, work through a host of inevitable issues and assist with the work required. Perhaps you must find an acquisition target or a buyer for a divestiture. Business Architects can assist you. You may need help with the valuation, the creation of an outgoing offer or the evaluation of incoming offers from other companies. Business Architects can support or facilitate these efforts. If you have due diligence needs, including if you wish to take a broad view in some areas and employ a microscope in others, we can assist you or manage the effort on your behalf. Business Architects can provide the expertise to disentangle a divestiture from your business in a way that prevents hemorrhaging. And, when it comes to combining two businesses, we can offer solutions to staffing, process and system challenges, connectivity to back-office support services such as Accounting and Human Resources, etc. M&A work is complex and risky, and mistakes are expensive. Trust the pros at Business Architects to be your guide, to ensure the deal is done right, and to help you handle the myriad of operational and business impacts.
Is your business experiencing an increase in operational expenses? If so, Business Architects can help you pinpoint areas of duplication, dysfunction, waste, and poorly-designed processes. We can assist you in the right-sizing of costs by identifying and fixing the root cause issues. Perhaps your business is experiencing quality issues with products, customer support, billings or internal processes. If so, we can identify the sources of the problems, develop solutions and make the necessary changes to get it right. Do you have challenges around internal controls or regulatory compliance? If so, we can help you restructure and improve processes to come into compliance and establish an adequate control environment. When it comes to operational issues, the problems often seem complex. Let Business Architects draw on its abundance of experience in this area to simplify it down to the root causes and get it fixed.
Are you questioning the forward viability of a department, subsidiary or division within your business? Whether you have already made a decision to close an under-performing segment or would like to conduct a deeper, more thorough analysis, Business Architects can help. We can help you determine what your options really are. Perhaps at certain volume levels or under certain conditions the business still makes sense, requiring a down-sizing or restructuring effort. Or perhaps other organizations might find value in that operation, causing you to divest the segment rather than closing it. If a closure and/or liquidation is necessary, Business Architects can assist you in driving the process of disentangling and isolating your core business from the affects of the carve-out and we can support or direct your organization through the logistical steps necessary to complete the work. If there are assets, real or intangible that retain value, we can even assist you through the subsequent sale or redeployment of these assets. Sometimes there are other ways for organizations to become lighter and leaner, and sometimes drastic measures need to be taken. Let the experience of Business Architects help you to know the difference, and if a closure or liquidation is necessary, let our knowledge support you through the planning and execution.
Do you find your organization in need of a significant business addition? Perhaps you would like to launch a new division that compliments and leverages existing capabilities. Perhaps you need an additional department or functional area to satisfy growing or changing needs. Maybe you have discovered a need for a joint venture with a complementary organization. In any of these situations, Business Architects can help you create a business and financial plan. We can assist you with the establishment of reasonable expectations around volumes, lines of business and an appropriate staffing and organizational model. We can work with you to determine your needs in the areas of infrastructure, real estate, equipment, back office support, and capital requirements. Business Architects can not only work through the cost modeling with you, but we can help you to understand sensitivities and risks, to finalize and implement a plan, hire the staff, set up the systems and processes, integrate with existing business operations, etc. Let Business Architects’ experience help you avoid costly mistakes, expedite the process and ensure your expansion is a success.
Have you found that changes in the marketplace have caused your organization to fall behind or out of sync? Has your business developed to the point of needing realignment? There are many reasons to restructure or reorganize. Determining the right future structure is a function of identifying the areas of current dysfunction and determining what organizational model will accomplish the necessary realignment and best serve your future market and operational needs. Having orchestrated numerous reorganizations and restructurings, Business Architects has the tools to help you through this process as well as through the difficult transition to the new structure. We can help you troubleshoot and solve issues that may arise and ensure your realignment is a success.
Do you find your organization in the uncomfortable position of needing to make cost adjustments in other areas to compensate for eroding product margins? There are a variety of possible reasons for eroding product/gross margins, and Business Architects has the relevant experience to work with you to identify them. Perhaps you need to implement a more rigorous vendor management program to drive down procurement costs. Maybe you need assistance developing coherent pricing standards that will maximize and protect your pricing. Maybe your organization needs support reevaluating processes and protocols used to set prices, or in managing the pricing behavior of your sales force. Perhaps the careful orchestration of rifle-shot price increases is necessary. Whether you need assistance in one of these areas or several, or whether your challenges are more technical in nature, Business Architects can leverage its experience in this area to help you restore pricing and gross margins to health.[/su_spoiler]
Are you in need of good project leadership? Whether your project needs require a junior project manager in a technical or financial role or whether you need a senior program director to manage numerous functional work streams for a large or strategic initiative, Business Architects has the experience to help you identify the needs and to put the right talent in place to drive your projects to success.
The ongoing process of identifying, developing, marketing and supporting the right products and services is a critical function within any business. Our team can help you leverage your existing strengths in this area. Most importantly, we have the talent, the experience and the team needed to effectively execute and implement the plans we develop. At the end of the day, revenue growth is the engine that drives your business. You need to have the right mix of products and services to outmaneuver the competition and grow your business profitably. We’re truly passionate about developing the products and services that will help your business survive – and thrive.