BrazilAlpha Capital partners with Four Principles for lean expertise
Riyadh-based asset management company Alpha Capital is looking to introduce lean thinking across its food & beverage investment portfolio. Four Principles has been called in to advise on and support the job.
Alpha Capital has set aside a $100 million fund to invest in Saudi Arabia’s food & beverage (F&B) sector. The list of investments is already growing, and the next step is to give this portfolio that extra competitive edge – the kind that comes from lean operations.
Four Principles will help the Alpha Capital F&B portfolio with implementing Kaizen – a rapid and continual improvement principle that aims to cut waste, boost productivity and install sustainable growth models via small, incremental changes to an organisation’s activities.
Kaizen is well known as the foundation of lean thinking – a core part of Four Principles’ proposition. “Lean thinking can change mindsets from the ground-up, embedding long-term behavioural changes that are not only profitable in the short-term, but sustainable over the long-run,” explained Seif Shieshakly, co-founder and managing partner at Four Principles.
“We focus on reducing waste from day one to maximise efficiency of deployed capital in targeted companies to fuel profitable growth.” Such a transformation would give Alpha Capital companies the boost they need – particularly as they navigate a time of unprecedented change.
While food & beverage has sustained momentum on the back of a healthy grocery market during Covid-19, it falls among the sectors with the biggest transformation imperative. Supply chains face unprecedented disruption, and sales have moved largely to the online sphere – putting industry companies in a flurry to repivot their business model.
Organisations with a lean and flexible approach are best suited to adapt – a realisation that has taken hit home at Alpha Capital. “We are adding a new dimension of operational value to our portfolio companies, at a juncture where SMEs need it more than ever to navigate the increasingly challenging business environment as a result of changing market dynamics,” noted Assaad Karam, head of private equity at the firm.
Alpha Capital managing director Fahad Al Saud concluded: “Our partnership with Four Principles comes inline with our investment philosophy of delivering long-lasting impacts to our partners. Through this collaboration, we offer a unique value proposition both to our portfolio partners and investors as we target above average absolute returns on our funds.”
And there are few better partners in the region when it comes to lean implementation. Four Principles has explored lean applications across several industries – including fast moving consumer goods and food & beverage – while also helping big-ticket organisations adopt Kaizen values. Beneficiaries include the Saudi Customs agency, and global budget furniture giant IKEA, among others.
