01926 633333Strategic Cost & Capability Review
The Problem
Background
Our client is one of the UK’s leading operators of crematoria and cemeteries, managing 42 sites and serving approximately 78,000 funerals per year. The business has grown significantly over the last decade, including the launch of a direct-to-consumer offering, Distinct Cremations.
Operating in a highly sensitive, regulated environment, our client has built a strong reputation for quality and customer experience, with over 96% of families recommending their services.
Our client required a strategic, organisation-wide operational improvement, cost and capability review to address several critical challenges:
- Costs rising faster than revenue, eroding profitability
- A need to move beyond previous tactical cost reductions to a more structural and continuous improvement approach
- Maintaining service quality, regulatory compliance, and brand reputation in a sensitive sector
- Building future-ready capabilities aligned to long-term growth
The organisation also required a rapid approach, with recommendations delivered within eight weeks to allow improvements to be integrated into the 2026 budget and 5-year plan.
The Solution
Bourton Group proposed a structured, multi-workstream diagnostic approach, combining deep operational improvement insight, benchmarking, and practical implementation planning.
Three Parallel Workstreams:
Workstream 1 – Support Functions & Customer Operations
Focused on support functions and the call centre:
- Organisation design and resource efficiency
- Workforce management and productivity
- Performance benchmarking and service optimisation
- Development of a prioritised improvement roadmap
Workstream 2 – Site Operations & Asset-Intensive Environments
Covering crematoria sites and the stonemasonry facility:
- Structured site assessments across 12 sites
- Evaluation across eight operational excellence criteria, including service flow, capability, asset reliability, and cost control
- Identification of site-level opportunities with quantified value, effort, and risk
- Benchmarking of operational performance and asset utilisation
Workstream 3 – Financial & Commercial Analysis
- Development of site-level contribution margin models across all sites
- Analysis of cost trends over 3–5 years and identification of key cost drivers
- Procurement and vendor review
- Financial modelling to support optioneering of future operating models
Integrated Transformation Design
- Consolidation of insights into a prioritised cost reduction roadmap
- Development of multiple future-state operating model scenarios
- Creation of a practical implementation plan
Delivery Principles
- Data-driven and evidence-based diagnostics
- Parallel execution to meet accelerated timelines
- Benchmark-led challenge to existing ways of working
- Focus on sustainable change, not one-off cost cutting
The Benefits
The programme was designed to deliver both sustainable and rapid financial impact, whilst achieving long-term capability uplift, including:
Financial & Operational Impact
- Identification and prioritisation of cost reduction opportunities across all business areas, including procurement efficiency
- Clear visibility of cost drivers and performance variation across sites, including labour productivity and asset utilisation
- Establishment of a continuous improvement approach to cost and performance management
Strategic & Structural Improvements
- Definition of a future operating model aligned to the growth strategy
- A balanced roadmap combining quick wins and structural transformation
- Integration of cost optimisation into the current year’s budget and the 5-year business plan