Most of the foregoing has addressed value through growth in profitability. However, in  difficult times the demand is often not there to fuel growth and for many businesses it is a question of focussing on survival. This is all about reducing costs and conserving cash. Our people can help with working capital management, business re-structuring, cost cutting and process improvements. People costs are often a significant percentage of overall costs and Secantor HR services can help with performance related pay or retrenchments. During these times we can help with stakeholder management through effective communication and reliable and timely reporting. This helps build confidence in the management team to ensure that they get the required support from bankers, shareholders and suppliers.

Secantor has critical mass to enable it to benchmark businesses costs in particular sectors and to review whether a business is getting value from its supply chain.