Our clients and expertise
We provide business-critical advice to top management in a wide range of industries. Our clients are mainly large Nordic companies with global reach. We cooperate with a network of partners in other regions to leverage our joint industry- and region-specific expertise.
We have experience from a wide range of sectors and topics:
Strategy
Cardo Partners has extensive experience in supporting top management in developing their corporate strategy, including crafting strategic business plans.
We support clients on a broad spectrum of strategic topics such as expansion strategies for new products, market entry strategies, go-to- market strategies and portfolio optimization to prioritize funding and resource placement.
We do not use “off-the-shelf” solutions; we help develop strategies based on tailored market development studies, competitor benchmarking, customer insight and in-depth understanding of internal capabilities. We always strive to make strategic business plans concrete and measurable, in order to ensure lasting results.
Operations
Cardo Partners has significant experience in supporting clients identifying and implementing performance improvement initiatives. We assist clients in cost optimization, operational improvement and turn-around programs across a broad range of industries.
The foundation of our approach is a fact-based diagnosis. We always start mapping the client’s operations in detail, before helping to translate complex operational issues into manageable sequences and then develop tailor-made solutions in close dialog with the client.
We are deeply committed to deliver lasting impact.
Organization
Cardo Partners has extensive experience supporting clients aligning their organizational structure with their targets and capabilities. In today’s rapidly changing and dynamic business environment, it is imperative that organizations are equipped and structured to manage continuous change. This requires having the right resources in the right positions and setting up a governance model that motivates and enables top performance every day.
Our approach to any reorganization project starts with the strategic direction and key challenges, before re-drawing organizational charts.
Digitalization
Cardo Partners has substantial experience in supporting clients with digitalization and projects involving digital solutions.
We have supported our clients in multiple digitalization projects ranging from process improvements to new digital business models, and have tailored solutions that include everything from implementation of “off-the-shelf” software to development of customized tools.
Our approach is not to focus on digitalization as the one “silver bullet”, but rather as one of multiple elements needed to solve specific business challenges. We believe that digitalization projects should be owned not only be the IT-side of the company (the traditional home of digital technology), but also by the business side who understands the customers, see commercial opportunities, and must live with any potential changes. We help bridging the typical gap between IT and business, and provide the structure, analytical support, and functional/industry knowledge needed to succeed.
M&A
Cardo Partners has performed numerous projects across the entire M&A value chain, from screening of potential deals to post-merger integration and spin-offs.
We firmly believe that our team of experienced consultants makes us one of the leading M&A consulting teams in the Nordic region, combining specialist expertise in M&A and in-depth industry knowledge across multiple sectors.
Part of Cardo Partners’ business model is the interest and ability to co-invest in selected companies opportunistically. This both enhances our ability to understand the owner perspective and can offer a broadened skill set to the team of owners.
Retail & Consumer goods
Cardo Partners has one of Scandinavia’s leading advisory teams specializing in retail and consumer goods strategy. We serve all sectors including grocery, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, construction, apparels and consumer services.
We work closely with our clients developing company strategies, organizational design, and business model and value chain optimization. We have broad experience across topics such as sourcing and purchasing, category management, store operations, best practice, store portfolio optimization, marketing efficiency, Omni-channel orchestration, loyalty programs, E-commerce and CRM.
Shipping & Logistics
Cardo Partners has a strong track record in serving clients in the shipping and logistics sector, especially within ship transport and services, but also rail and road transportation.
Cardo Partners have supported global, market-leading clients in several shipping segments with projects ranging from strategy development, reorganization, operational improvement (trade optimization, scheduling, vessel utilization, etc.), SG&A and OPEX improvement, procurement optimization and M&A.
Financial Services
Cardo Partners has particularly broad experience in the insurance industry, with more than 50 projects across Northern Europe undertaken in the last 10 years. Our experience covers product & pricing, sales, channel strategy, loyalty programs and partnership strategy, claims management and customer service. Our product experience covers all insurance products for both the commercial and the private sectors.
Cardo Partners has also undertaken several projects for clients in other financial service segments, such as general banking, collection, credit management, wealth management and legal services.
IT & Telecom
Cardo Partners has worked with some of the largest IT and telecom companies in northern Europe, helping them resolve complex challenges. Our experience is based on several projects within strategy development, operational improvement, efficiency programs, organizational restructuring and customer service.
Industry
Cardo Partners has worked with several industrial manufacturers, including aluminum, fertilizer, food processing, technology and ship building.
Our consultants have broad exposure to several complex projects for a wide range of industrial clients. We work closely with our clients’ top management on developing company strategies, organizational design and optimization across the entire value chain.
Our experience stems from a wide range of projects within operations, performance improvement, strategy, M&A and procurement.
Healthcare
Cardo Partners has significant experience from the Nordic Healthcare sector and other select geographies within healthcare service delivery, payments & collection and software. We have served companies operating in the sector with projects ranging from strategy, international expansion, profit improvement and business development, as well as financial buyers (private equity) with commercial due diligence.
Energy & Sustainability
Cardo Partners works with clients in the energy sector ranging from new energy sources such as offshore wind and battery technologies to traditional oil & gas and their service industries. Our areas of expertise include power and automation, renewables, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, energy management systems and software, recycling and waste management.
Our consultants have broad experience from projects related to the renewables, oil and gas, and power industries. Projects include strategy, sustainability and ESG agenda development, decarbonization, energy transition and operational improvement, including cost and procurement optimization.
Aquaculture & Fisheries
Cardo Partners has extensive experience within the seafood industry, both from aquaculture (salmon and other) and wildcatch. Our project experience extends throughout the seafood value chain, from regulations and quotas, through catch, farming and production, to processing and distribution.
We have supported global seafood clients on a broad range of functional topics, including strategy development, technology evaluations and commercial due diligences.
Private equity & Venture capital
Cardo Partners is a trusted advisor to leading Nordic-based private equity and venture capital firms. This sector accounts for a large share of our consultancy. We support our clients all the way from deal sourcing, commercial and operational due diligence, strategy and business plan development, evaluation of add-on acquisitions, partnership strategies and IPO or other exit support.
In addition to our consultancy practice, we co-invest with our private equity and venture capital clients on a case-by-case basis. Together with our clients, we identify companies with significant value creation potential and initiate operational, financial and structural initiatives for full realization of this potential. Co-investments both enhances our ability to understand the owner perspective and can offer a broadened skill set to the team of owners.
