PE portfolio operations
Seven companies. Seven ways of doing the same job.
Every roll-up promises consolidation. Every acquired company arrives with its own tools and processes. Ace Work maps the work across the whole portfolio, finds the best version of each function, and makes it the standard.
The thesis says synergy. The companies say “we've always done it this way.”
Every roll-up promises consolidation, but nobody can consolidate work they can't see. Right now, seven companies run purchasing and admin seven different ways. Operating partners spend months trying to reconcile the overlap manually.
Survey every company the same way.
Ace Work's AI interviews run identically across each portfolio company. For the first time, you can compare how Company A works against Companies B through G:
Where the duplication is
Seven reporting stacks doing the same job. The map prices the overlap.
Which company does it best
One company usually runs a function faster. That version becomes the portfolio standard.
What's genuinely different
Separate real operational differences from accumulated habit before you consolidate.
Seven divisions. One back office. 86% less PO processing.
A roll-up acquires seven businesses, each with undocumented PO processes. Ace Work maps all seven. One division's process emerges as the strongest, gets rebuilt as an automation, and rolls out across the portfolio. Processing work drops 86%.
“For every shared function, one of our companies already ran it best. The map found it and made it the standard.”
Operating partner, PE firm
What you walk away with.
- A comparable work map for every company you own
- The best-in-portfolio analysis
- Portfolio-standard SOPs for shared functions
- A repeatable integration playbook for the next deal
Questions, answered.
Does every portfolio company have to participate at once?
No. Most firms start with one or two companies, prove the model, then roll the same survey across the rest. The comparability is what compounds.
How is this different from putting an ops consultant in each company?
Format and permanence. Seven consultants produce seven incomparable decks. Ace Work produces one comparable map, and the SOPs stay yours as the portfolio standard.
Can this run during diligence, before we close?
Yes, where access allows. The map also works as operational diligence: you see the target's process debt before you price it. Most engagements run post-close, where the integration value is.
The portfolio companies are in different industries. Does comparison still work?
The shared back-office functions (purchasing, invoicing, reporting, HR admin) look remarkably alike across industries. That's the layer the roll-up consolidates, and that's where the map compares.
What does the portfolio version cost?
Per-company diagnosis with portfolio economics as it scales: the playbook gets cheaper to run with every company you add. Book a call and we'll scope it against your holdings.
Where next
Different seat, same problem?
Find the best version of every job in your portfolio.
Book 30 minutes. We'll show you what seven companies' work looks like in one comparable map.
Want us to build it for you? See how build work is priced