Just acquired a company: the first 90 days in operations
For new owners and managing directors who have just acquired, or are about to acquire, a manufacturing company.
Short answer
In the first 90 days after acquiring a manufacturing company you change little and learn a lot. Day 1 to 30: watch and learn. Talk to every employee, follow one order from request to invoice and find out who knows what. Day 31 to 60: get the basics right. Appoint an owner per process, capture knowledge that sits with one person and make sure you have figures you can trust. Day 61 to 90: pick one measurable improvement and make a plan for the year. Don't buy big software in this period.
In short
- In the first month you change nothing big, except for safety or money.
- The biggest risk: tasks only one person can do.
- Only decide on figures when you know where they come from.
- Many software wishes turn out to be solvable with an agreement or an ERP setting.
1. Why start slowly
In an acquisition you usually take over the staff, and with them everything in their heads. The previous owner built relationships with customers and suppliers, and the question is whether they want to do business with you too. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce makes the same point in its step-by-step plan.
If you change a lot in the first weeks, you risk losing precisely the people with the most knowledge. So you start by watching. There is no rush either: a manufacturer that has been running for decades will still be running next week.
2. Day 1 to 30: watch and learn
- 1
Talk to everyone
A 30-minute conversation with every employee: what do you do, what goes well, what would you change?
- 2
Agree on calm
Say that nothing big changes in the first 30 days, except for safety or money.
- 3
Access in your own name
Bank, ERP, accounting, email, domain and licences. Then you don't depend on the previous owner for passwords.
- 4
Follow one order
Walk along from request to invoice, without steering. You see where it gets stuck and who does what.
- 5
Customers and suppliers
Call or visit the ten largest customers with the previous owner, and list the agreements with the main suppliers.
- 6
Ask what sits in one head only
Price agreements, promises, warranties. This disappears if you don't ask now.
3. Who knows what?
In the first weeks, list the tasks and who can do them. Every task only one person can do is a risk if that person falls ill or leaves. In manufacturing that is often estimating, workshop planning and ERP administration.
Knowledge risk: how many people can do this?
- Making quotes and estimates
- Pricing an unusual request
- Work preparation
- Workshop planning
- Purchasing and ordering
- ERP administration (users, settings)
- Contact with the largest customers
- Invoicing
- Quality and certification
- Service and spare parts
Start here
Per task, agree who learns it as second, and when.
- Making quotes and estimates
- Pricing an unusual request
- Workshop planning
- ERP administration (users, settings)
For every red task, agree who will learn it as second, and when. For estimating, see capturing estimating knowledge.
4. Day 31 to 60: get the basics right
- 1
One owner per process
Quoting, work preparation, purchasing, planning, warehouse and invoicing. Everyone knows who to go to.
- 2
Reduce knowledge risk
For every one-person task: who learns it as second, and when?
- 3
Items in order
Agree on part numbering and start cleaning up with what moves.
- 4
Hours on the order
Start with one department. Without hours on the order you cannot post-calculate.
- 5
Five fixed figures
Pick five figures you see every month. Better five that are right than twenty nobody reads.
5. Which figures you want in month 1
| Figure | Why |
|---|---|
| Order intake per month | Is enough work coming in? |
| Margin per order, estimated and actual | Do we earn what we think? |
| Work in progress | How much work is in the workshop? |
| Time from request to quote | How fast do we respond to customers? |
| Order lead time | How long from order to delivery? |
| Share delivered on time | Do we deliver what we promise? |
| Hours per order, estimated and actual | Is the estimate right? |
| Receivables older than 60 days | Is the money coming in? |
| Stock value | How much money is on the shelf? |
For each figure, note where it comes from and whether you can trust it. A figure nobody can explain is not management information yet.
6. Day 61 to 90: one improvement and a plan
- 1
One measurable improvement
For example: every finished order gets a post-calculation, or the time from request to quote goes down. One thing done well instead of ten half done.
- 2
Collect wishes, buy nothing yet
Write down what people want in software and automation. Per wish: is it an agreement, an ERP setting, or really something new?
- 3
A plan for the year
What do you want to have achieved in 6 to 12 months? Write it on one page and share it with the team.
Software only after day 90
Many wishes turn out to be solvable with an agreement or with something already in the ERP. See getting more out of Ridder iQ for a check that works for any ERP.
7. Where it goes wrong
- Changing too fast. People drop out before you know what they know.
- Buying software first. A new package on a messy base just makes the mess faster.
- Losing a key person. Make the knowledge-risk list in week 2, not month 6.
- Letting go of the previous owner too early or too late. Agree upfront what they still hand over and until when.
- Everything at once. Pick two or three things per phase.
Frequently asked questions
How long should the previous owner stay?
There is no fixed rule. Agree upfront what they still hand over: customer relationships, price agreements, estimating knowledge. Write down until when and how many days a week.
What if a key person leaves?
That is why you make the knowledge-risk list in the first weeks. For every one-person task you appoint a second person to learn it. For estimating, a register of costing rules helps.
When do you buy new software?
Not in the first 90 days. First know what you need and what the current ERP can already do. Many wishes turn out to be solvable with an agreement or a setting.
Do you tell the team right away what will change?
Say honestly that you want to learn first, and that nothing big changes in the first month. After 30 days, share what you've seen: the biggest risks and opportunities. Then everyone knows where you stand.
What if the figures aren't right?
That happens often. For each figure, note where it comes from and whether you can trust it. Make a few figures reliable first, for example by booking hours to the order, before you steer on them.
Sources
Other people's figures and statements on this page come from here. Calculation examples are fictional.
- KVK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce): Step-by-step plan for acquiring a business On staff, customers and suppliers in an acquisition (Dutch).
- Onderneming.nl: 1 in 3 small-business owners considers selling or transferring Small Business Index by Qredits, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and ONL (February 2026, Dutch).
About the author
Safouan Bolbaroud · Founder of Agentfabriek
At Agentfabriek, Safouan builds automations on top of the ERP systems of manufacturers and wholesalers. He writes about what needs to be in order before automation makes sense.