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FICTIONAL CASE — FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES

Illustrative case: preparing continuity in an industrial SME

A common situation in a healthy SME whose owner is preparing to step away in the medium term.

Warning: This case is a simulation built from situations that are common in industrial SMEs. It contains no confidential data from any real company.
The owner of an engineering SME handles a quote on the phone while a team member waits at the door.
ILLUSTRATIVE DATA

Company context

Business Precision engineering and industrial subcontracting
Turnover €1.4m
Headcount 14 employees
Years in business 24 years
Outgoing owner’s situation Founder-owner planning to step away within 18 to 24 months
DIAGNOSTIC

Weaknesses identified in the diagnostic

Concentration of client relationships

3 long-standing clients generate 42% of turnover. Those three customers had no point of contact other than the owner.

Costing and price setting

100% of complex quotes were calculated and decided by the owner, with no formal rate card and no documented minimum margin.

Administrative and operational memory

25 critical functions and access rights were handled informally within the owner’s family circle.

HANDOVER

Handover actions carried out

Initial situation “Key clients still go through the owner.”
After the handover “3 key clients now go directly to the designated sales manager.”
Initial situation “Quotes can be done without me.”
After the handover “8 of the last 12 quotes were produced without the owner stepping in.”
Initial situation “My wife handles the admin.”
After the handover “25 functions identified. 19 transferred. 4 outsourced. 2 retained until closing.”
OUTCOME

Concrete outcome

“The company has not become perfect. How it works has become more explicit, its handovers more solid and its continuity more demonstrable.”

The factual material was gathered into the Evidence File for the Buyer, allowing the sale discussions to proceed on verified facts rather than unverifiable claims.

The designated sales manager deals with a client himself while the owner works in the workshop.
SCOPE OF ENGAGEMENT

Scope of engagement

Ahvelior does not set the value of the company. No valuation · No brokerage · No fee linked to the sale price.

GET IN TOUCH

Does your company have similar dependencies?

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Confidential conversation — 20 minutes