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Cogent Analytics

Delivering Powerful Business Solutions

Mass Transfer, LTD Letter

Mass Transfer, Ltd. (MTL) would like to thank Cogent Analytics for being a part of our business the past few weeks. It has been an interesting and meaningful journey and my expectations of the project have been exceeded each and every week during the time Cogent and David have been a part of our business.
From the first sit down through the analysis period to the actual project, Cogent has been there for us from the first day and played a huge role in helping us get things back on track and putting some fundamental mechanisms in place that will take our business to the next level. David was an amazing team member for his time with us and I can’t thank him or the Cogent team enough for being there for us and making this investment far more worth what I had thought it was ever going to be.

I plan to continue this relationship in the future and look forward to a long and profitable relationship for many years to come.

Thank you Cogent Team and David Tabony! What a great experience.

Uzbek Letter

I have been too busy to spend too much time with your consultant but now that he is leaving I don’t want him to go.

What we asked you to do is in place. Prophesy is communicating with QuickBooks and we have QuickBooks accounting. I have learned to post payments and deposits and make transfers for fuel deposits, checks, and wiring fees; I generate the AR aging report and the AP aging report and pay the settlements and enter and pay the payroll and other bills.
I know that I will call Marc four times a day and he has told me that he will accept my calls, four times a day and I can continue learning at my own speed.

Some things he has to repeat many times and some not so many. I have a manual on how to do things, but sometimes it may be easier to call because he can teach me again or for the first time. I have not learned what to do when I buy a truck because I didn’t buy one while Marc was here, but I know it’s in the manual, or a phone call away. I’m happy with the work.

I’m happy it’s finished. I’m planning your return.

Changing Season’s Letter

It is with great pleasure to write this letter and share our experience over the past seven weeks with Mr. Chuck A. Blume, Sr. He has changed the dynamics of our business to a level we would have never achieved on our own. His expertise in all areas of restructuring our business has brought a sense of confidence, and hope for the future. We feel his training with each of us is truly invaluable and will be utilized to the highest potential in reaching our company goals. Mr. Blume has shown himself to be professional with a caring demeanor. We hold the highest respect for him and all his hard work. He is truly an asset to Cogent Analytics. We look forward to working with Chuck through the Lifecycle Management Program.

Knichel Logistics Letter

Cogent Analytics is a very good company to work with. We hired them on to help our company get prepared for the next level of growth we wanted to obtain. We knew a lot of the basics, but needed the extra expertise their staff had. They have been wonderful to work with and have shown us ways to do things that have been a tremendous help and will continue to be as we grow. I highly recommend their firm.

Veristic Letter – 1

The people at Cogent Analytics are experts at business. Hiring Cogent Analytics to help us was a great decision for us, and a decision I would make again in a heartbeat. Terrence Hickey, the project director assigned to us, brought a wealth of experience, knowledge, and best practices to our organization. Cogent has a 2-to-1 return on investment within 6 months guarantee that was easily met. Mr. Hickey has helped us with over 26 aspects of our business. Of those 26, the top three areas for me were financial training, management training, and organizational structure. I believe Mr. Hickey and Cogent has brightened the future of our company.

Mr. Hickey was very professional and a pleasure to work with. He kept the project on schedule, provided smart, objective solutions, and made the implementation completely painless. He worked independently with the people he needed to, coordinated with outside contractors on our behalf, and helped us make strategic moves that helped us reduce costs and increase productivity.

Veristic Letter – 2

It has been an absolute honor and privilege to work with our Cogent consultant, Mr. Terence Hickey. He is a true gentleman and scholar. For the 6 weeks that he’s been at our office, we have executed a plethora of changes – big and small – throughout our business. What was so peculiar about our experience was how natural and organic it felt making all of these dramatic business changes. Our consultant was like an angel who descended from the heavens and told us in divine speech what we need to do. Mr. Hickey was our guide and mentor. Through simple questioning and investigation, he helped us realize what we needed and as a result, naturally we understood what we needed to do. Changes have already been implement thanks to our Cogent consultant, and I am confident our business will be stronger and more efficient now that these changes are in place.

Let there be no doubt in the minds of prospective clients of Cogent: you will not be disappointed with their work if you are committed to the process. After working with Mr. Hickey, I can attest to their honesty and integrity. Your Cogent consultant is deeply committed to the success of your business. To grow and to improve requires serious commitment and hard work. Cogent won’t do the work for you; you must do it yourself or delegate it to your team. I highly recommend any business owner to take the Cogent Challenge. Spend the $1500 to get the report and understand your business’s strengths and weaknesses.

Pinnacle Landscapes Letter

We’ve been impressed with every member of the Cogent team we have come in contact with. The Sales process was easy and not high pressure. Jerry Williams was pleasant to deal with on the Business Analytics side and helped us to confirm and uncover areas of our business that need focus and attention. Jerry was very thorough during the exploratory process and made our management team comfortable with his transparent and honest nature. After reviewing the plan that Jerry presented we decided we could not afford not to move forward.

From a consulting perspective, the personal connection that we developed was authentic and the hands on approach helped us implement the processes and procedures we were previously lacking. The transformation doesn’t occur overnight, but their continued dedication to our success has placed the groundwork for a rewarding business. Being able to correctly monitor our business with pertinent KPI’s, engineering profit, and grasping our cash flow has allowed us to focus more on growth and direction of the future of our company. We would recommend Cogent to assist with your business needs – it has been a rewarding experience for our team.

TSC Offshore Corporation Letter

I want to thank you and Cogent Analytics for all of your support over the last 8 weeks. The efforts to date have allowed us to establish a firm foundation to launch our business efforts in the coming years. There is still much for us to learn, but your company has helped us understand our weaknesses and how to turn those into strengths. We look forward to working with Cogent Analytics in the future.

Brazos Contractors Letter

From a cold call to the first sit down with the Cogent team the experience has been very pleasant. It has been informative to have a third party review from an objective company of what has been an owner’s view of his business. The company and the owner have gained great knowledge of how others might assess your business’s weakness and strengths. With this new view, Brazos should now open doors to move forward in structure, work environment and increase sales.

With the third party review and implementation of the Cogent guidelines the company now has structure to allow me to move past owner and principal to be involved in every aspect of the business to dividing responsibilities and roles of created senior management.

With respect to the Cogent personnel, they were more than qualified and easy to work with to define and implement the new job descriptions of the company. They have good knowledge of the construction industry, accounting and employee behavior that assisted in the implementation of the new job definitions. Cogent, successfully implemented the application, review and hiring of a new controller that hopefully will allow us to get the company accounting under control and allow us to handle additional business.

We have successfully received the new job descriptions, employee manual and bonus outlines that will start the foundation for Brazos to move forward with additional structure to define future company goals and profits.

Overall I am very pleased with what has been accomplished and hopefully when we begin the process over the next 60 days that all the parts come together. I would like to thank Cogent for their patience and time working with Brazos

4D Excavating Letter

I am writing to express our gratitude for the service Robert Christiansen provided in helping 4 D Excavating, Inc. to begin moving forward on the right track. Our bookkeeping and accounting practices were crippling our ability to conduct our business, especially with respect to our recent extraordinary growth. Robert’s insight and guidance as well as his ability to identify critical issues quickly set us on course for success. His gracious attitude made it easier to recognize our failures and commit to implementing the recommended changes.

Our expectations of Cogent Analytics In assessing our company’s practices and procedures have been greatly exceeded by Robert’s integrity, honesty and professionalism. We look forward to working with him and Cogent Analytics in the future.

FAB Services, LTD. Letter

Foremost I wanted to say thank you to Cogent Analytics for their service they provided for us. This project was very important to this company, we had several problem areas that need to be addressed. The Project Director that Cogent sent in was very professional and brought a lot of knowledge to the table. The services that we received from Cogent were very successful. Within the 8 weeks that Cogent was here we solved a lot of issues and got things turned around. My experience with Cogent was very profitable. I plan on continuing our relationship with Cogent in the future.

AC Owen Construction Letter

We engaged the services of Cogent Analytics, LLC to determine the best organization for our company’s continued growth and success.

Your team, from the initial sales call through the analysis discovery process and the arrival of the consultant was very professional. The discovery process uncovered many things that I had been thinking about and some that surprised me.

Your consultant has been working with us for several weeks and has developed and implemented numerous job descriptions, proposals, budgets, handbooks, worksheets and other documents for our use and also helped us to develop a strategic plan and an incentive program that rewards our employees for outstanding performance.

Along the way he uncovered some areas where we were being inefficient, eliminated a lot of risk exposure, and also generated some interest income and demonstrated how we can bid a smaller margin on some projects.

We would like to thank your company for your help. We look forward to a long and extended relationship with you, as you help us to fine-tune our operations further.

Alcar Constructors, Inc. Letter

We have had the pleasure of meeting and working with Richard Fineman the past few weeks. He has brought a lot of insight and information on business aspects with him. He has implemented, guided and direct us in many different areas. Richard, at any given time, answered any question that was presented to him. He continually kept Alcar’s interest in the fore thought of all his directives. He addressed major as well as minor problematic areas concerning our present operations and gave us guidance into the future. We all at Alcar have learned a lot from Richard and now it’s up to us to implement these ideals.

Again we have enjoyed working with Richard and wish him the best. And thanks for all he has done for us. He is a great asset for you operation in guiding companies into profitable, manageable and smooth running operations.

Kendall Monroe Concrete Letter

It has been a great experience in working on the ground with Marc Yovanovich. He has given us some direction of simplifying the way we do business. Knowing the value of relationships Marc was able to back me up with my team on how important customer service really is and how it can make a difference in the success of the company. We have a lot of work to do to get the value from Cogent Analytics services to make a real difference in bringing incentives for employees, job cost, and efficiencies in our company. Unfortunately we will have to do this in stages and with Marc’s help here on the ground and work on getting our initial investment back and continue in this training that Cogent offers. I believe we got off to a good start and will be more productive in our time management, customer relations, and the changes in our company.

Portland Utilities Construction Letter

We would like to express our gratitude to Cogent Analytics for doing an outstanding job in helping us recognize and address needs during Phase I of the project. From the beginning when Rob Braiman arrived to the execution of the project by John Moscicki, we have had a great experience.

John addressed the specific objectives that we had established before the project started, of course. In addition, he was able to mentor us on several other issues that we were not even anticipating. Some of the most valuable insight came from objectives that weren’t originally seen by us as the main reason for hiring a consultant, but became what we call the hidden gems of the project. We were really pleased with John’s approach and professionalism and have enjoyed working with him through the process.

We have discussed with John, the fact that we would like to concentrate on implementing phase I objectives for the next several weeks before embarking on Phase II of the project. We are excited about the opportunity to dig in and get going.

Vulcan Fire Systems, Inc. Letter

Vulcan Fire Systems, Inc. is a family owned business that has been serving several states since its inception in 1984. Over the past 10 years we have begun to grow and expand beyond the standard small business culture. With the opening of a branch office out of state, increased sales and doubling the number of employees we needed help ” getting our hands around” the substantial growth. After a few years of keeping the status quo, we decided to have an outside source take a look at the company as a whole. And, what an eye opening exercise it has turned out to be.

We have just completed “phase 1” of our project with Cogent Analytics, LLC. Through the course of the five weeks, we have substantially altered the culture of our company. Many things have been accomplished in this short amount of time and implementation of “work elements” have been continuous throughout the process. There have been so many areas for improvement that may seem basic or understood on the surface, that were not being done from top to bottom, that we have to take a month off just to get everyone up to speed.

The processes have covered every facet of the corporate structure, including, but not limited to, estimating, installation process, servicing accounts, human resources and the basic company hierarchy. All of the items were being implemented in some form or fashion, but without checks and balances to guarantee the continued success of our business. Now we have everything in writing, every employee knows what is expected of him or her, and has a direct person to report to, from installation technicians to myself, the President.

There is no question in my mind that if continued progress is made towards the outlines and functions put in place during Phase I, our company will be substantially better off many years down the road, and that doesn’t even include the gains we will see in the 2nd phase of the project. I believe we will continue to grow and prosper. We were a financially solid profitable company at the beginning of the project, and I can’t wait to see where we stand after a year of implementation. The future is looking brighter……

Focus Tools, LLC Letter

During this economic downturn in the Oil and Gas Industry, it is important (more than ever) to know your financial situation, break even points and COGS. Your consultant did a great job fixing our Chart of Accounts and going through the entire process with myself and the accounting staff. We have a much clearer conception of what we need to sell our products for and what needs to be included when pricing them.

Our company engineers, develops and manufactures products for our customers, so there is more than just buying and selling services or parts. Knowing how to allocate R&D costs and report them will be very beneficial to making decisions going forward.

There were numerous tools developed to help us implement and track our cost, and we now have annual budgets with checks and balances in place, to react before it is too late, thus giving us a great advantage in a tight market.

I feel Cogent has done what they promised and has given our company a chance to survive in a market downturn reported to be the worst in 45 years. To put this in context, the oil and gas industry is particularly volatile. Most times it is very good but as cyclical as it is, we need the tools provided by Cogent, to build our company to last through the good times and the bad.

Tour Tech Letter – 2

TOURtech is at a tipping point in its growth. We had focused on revenue growth to establish ourselves in the marketplace, but found ourselves wondering where all the money was going. We had ideas, we made guesses and like many small businesses, hoped there would be money left over. The tools we have been provided with will eliminate that guesswork and allow us to know.

We had outgrown our previous pricing structure but were unsure how to change it. Cogent introduced us to the concept of profit engineering allowing us to develop our new pricing structure based on costs and pre-determined profit. Bob provided us the tools we needed to make sure that we are on track now and in the future. This new point of view and collection of tools will help TOURtech become more profitable and allow me to worry less about uncertainties.

I was not expecting this to be a pleasant or even worthwhile experience and this sentiment was shared across other key members of my team, I can tell you, without exception, that the entire staff is eager to apply the lessons we have learned and implement the tools we have been given. I really did not expect total buy in, but that’s what we have achieved. I attribute that to Cogent’s ability to break through the idea that “my business is unique” and show (not just tell) how applying basic business principles can improve ANY business.

Tour Tech Letter – 1

A previous consulting arrangement left me nearly bankrupt and soured on the idea of professional consultants… until we met Cogent Analytics. Throughout the initial process with Cogent, we remained skeptical of an outsider ability to understand a very niche business like ours. Even on their first day in the office I worried that they wouldn’t listen to what makes us unique and find an approach that fits. I couldn’t afford another consultant who wanted to fit us into a template or was unable to back up the ideas with examples that made sense to us.

I was wrong. Cogent was able to do all of those things. By the second day we knew we had made the right decision and we are looking forward to continuing to work on our business with Cogent when our busy summer season dies down.

Tri State Construction, LLC. Letter

Thank you for your knowledge and professionalism in bringing our company out of the dark ages and into the 21st Century. We, as Tri State, started out in 1987 as Watson Sand and Gravel being a small family owned business. We are still a family owned business, but have grown today to 70 employees and are a multi-million dollar company. Through these past 28 years we never changed our practices and did not adapt to the size of company we have grown into. That being stated, you have turned us to a new chapter and have taught us, as owners, a new philosophy in how we manage our company. This will improve our efficiency, cash flow, and profitability. You came and explained every step very well and spent time training our people. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us in training our people new procedures and implementing our new business plan that you have led us to, but we look forward to the future it will bring us. You have given me many new tools to become a better manager, and owner, which was much needed; because ultimately it is my job to ensure our company turns around and becomes a great, profitable company to work for.

Poirier Flooring Letter

I am a classic “Bubba” business owner. I am good at what I do, but I don’t have a grasp on all of the intricacies that make a big difference, especially when experiencing considerable growth. I always knew that I needed to improve the way we tracked, priced, and inventoried materials, and as we grew, it became critical.

Working with Jim over the last two weeks has opened my eyes to many of the things that have always escaped me, simply because I didn’t have the knowledge to use the tools that we already had at our disposal. The changes that we are now implementing will provide a more clear view of our goals, and how to attain them.

Having Jim in our office was easy. No disruption in our daily activities. We simply allotted time each day to go over his plan, and approval of implementation. (The guy doesn’t even eat lunch.)

It will be interesting to see the benefits yielded upon full implementation. The projected results are hypothetical, based on our ability to adhere to best business practices. I do have confidence that our investment with Cogent was a very sound one.

D&R Utilities, Inc. Letter

Working with Bob (Cogent Analytics) has been and eye opening experience. Our business had started as a mom and pop and grew over the years. During that time we were able to keep up with the task of gaining jobs and completing them to a high quality and establishing our company as a reputable one within the industry. Meanwhile our book keeping and accounting was in a poor state. We are now set up to enter information such as receipts and payments in order to track where our dollars are being spent. We also know how to analyze the information in order to make adjustments.

Whereas before we had a ballpark idea of cost, overhead and profit, we now have accurate numbers to describe our business and production. I’m very optimistic about the reports and software in place that will help us manage our business. Ownership and management are on hoard with following the practices to help us run our business as efficient and profitable as possible. We believe in the tools that are in place to help us continue doing so.

Bob Hahn was a pleasure to work with. He demonstrated professionalism and expertise in business. He was also able to communicate all of this information in the simplest of terms.

Strobe Tech, LLC. Letter

Late in 2015, Cogent contacted me. Their sales staff convinced me to speak to one of their Project Managers. That was very impressive in itself. I had a need for that kind of sales abilities. If they could actually get a grumpy shroud business man like myself to agree to meet with one of their Project Managers, they must really have their sales analytics down pat. They came in to my business and got started with several projects where we needed help. The most effective of which is our total lack of a sales department. I had sales associates from time to time, but with literally no success. Cogent got very impressive and almost immediate results. Their ability to get past the gate keeper was most impressive and I think will pay off in the future. We are still in the beginning phases of this sales and marketing plan, but I am impressed with what I have seen thus far. This has the potential to really grow my company.

Artic Temp, Inc. Letter

Bob Hahn, the representative for Cogent Analytics spent five weeks with our company and trained me as well as a few other employees in regards to making decisions to manage the business. Time was spent learning a new quote system, Bidmaster which would allow us to know what the potential profit is on each quote prepared for our customers. We are currently gathering labor data in order to put the Bidmaster program to work.

The project took a turn towards accounting, which I was not expecting, however it was an area that needed attention. Much time was spent on cleaning up the accounting program as it had not been set up correctly and therefore the reports generated from it did not provide accurate information. I feel the accounting system has been corrected and we can now accumulate information that will provide accurate cost of goods sold, expenses and profit. This information will allow the business to operate more efficiently and allow for better decisions to be made based on that data. Bob spent time training me on specific financial reports in order to analyze the status of the business which would allow me to make appropriate decisions. Should the business be sold, a potential buyer could better evaluate the company based on the corrected accounting information.

The primary purpose of bringing in Cogent was to increase sales and find more sales representatives. Bob spent time training us on sales methods and how to present our product to the customer in order to enhance sales. At this point we have not been able to find more sales representatives or increase sales but we will continue to use the sales methods we were trained in. With persistence and the skills we have learned I am sure we will see positive results in the near future.

Bob was easy to work with and very conscientious. His teaching methods were effective and he was thorough in explaining the tools he gave us to work with. I feel that his presence at our facility has caused a spark in many of the employees. In summary, Bob was very professional and it was a pleasure to have him working with us for the duration of this project.

Carolina Specialty Contractors Letter

When my husband suffered a stroke in October 2014, we were left with a business that he had owned and operated for 41 years with no plans for his actual retirement In March 2015, we were introduced to Cogent Analytics.

After three days of meetings with Cogent, it became painfully clear that we were in need of a project plan to analyze and access the financial, sales and organizational branches of our company. Furthermore, it became clear that, while my husband was making remarkable progress recovering from his stroke, he could not continue the day to day operation of the company and its specialty construction crews.

Cogent was thorough in her investigation and analysis of our company background, growth, marketing, finances, staff, etc. Their work included in depth interviews with every permanent employees, as well as my husband and me. They questioned us thoroughly about our vision for the company’s future as well as our future in terms of actual retirement. Basically, they made us think about “where we are” and “where we want to be” and, finally, “‘how will we get there”. We realized we really needed the expertise of Cogent Analytics!

It was our good fortune that Paul Howell was assigned as our Project Director!

Paul has been working with us since early April, 2015 and has thoroughly examined the cloudy, sometimes murky, financial records with which we had been working for some time. He did thorough interviews with every employee, learning their job descriptions and identifying their strengths and weaknesses; and, while working with us from our kitchen table (we downsized last year to drop burgeoning operating costs), he learned about my husband’s past strengths in developing our company and operating it successfully as it grew. He further realized the struggles we are having as Glenn recovers from his right-brain stroke and finds himself challenged to continue daily operations of the company. Paul’s work was cut out for him!

After walking us methodically through the steps used by Cogent Analytics, Paul helped us identify the weaknesses in the existing structure and future of the company. He helped to identify tough steps which needed to be taken to turn a profit at the lower revenue levels realistic in today’s market.

Working strategically with us, he helped us to realize that our employees were being overpaid for the level of profit in which the company operated. He walked us through steps to cut unrealistic compensation to our employees. He guided us through financial strategies and necessary organizational changes to improve managerial effectiveness. And equally important, he has encouraged the entire team to understand that we can no longer survive with our old “bread and butter” customers alone. Thanks to Cogent Analytics and its methods of working with struggling small companies, we are now looking at a profitable year, thanks to decreased expenses and reorganization of employee compensation.
We are now focused on broadening our market for new customers, without ignoring the established customers. As our time with Paul comes to a close, it is important to say that without Paul and the method of project planning developed by Cogent Analytics, my husband and I believe our company would be near bankruptcy at this point.

Instead, we are reorganized with a COO who is working under the guidance of my husband, my husband no longer suffers with the frustration of being unable to operate our company as he recovers from his stroke, our employees have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and know it is brighter than it has been in a long time! Also, we are looking forward to our first Board of Directors meeting in August 2015 at which time we will be focusing on our vision for future growth!

We know there will be future challenges, but we anticipate handling those challenges efficiently and effectively – thanks to Pam, Paul and Cogent Analytics!

A.R.K. Ramos Letter

The vast improvements my company & myself have underwent in the five weeks Terry Protto has been here is phenomenal. As President of this company, I could not even answer the most basic questions of profit margin, job costing burdened labor rate… the list goes on and on. The discovery meeting was enlightening to say the least. The Cogent team made me realize how desperately I was lacking basic information needed to run my business effectively, efficiently and successfully.

Terry has been a literal Godsend to my family and this company. He possesses an innate talent in striking the perfect balance between teacher, mentor, coach and leader. He has equipped my team with tools we have been missing and tools that will help us grow this company into a thriving enterprise. Our pricing is based on square inches, I can now identify my TOTAL costs (burdened labor + material) and this is ail updated at our weekly production meetings. I have the capability to bid using a pre-planned profit percentage; when in the past our prices were based solely upon material prices & increases. Previously I was only provided with sales figures monthly; forcing any decisions to be made a month late and (several) dollars short. I now have a DAILY sales flash that provides me total invoiced and incoming sales at a glance!

He has enabled and empowered myself and my staff to know our numbers almost instantly. Again, I have a hard time expressing how valuable this is to this company. I have found a mentor in Terry that I was lacking; he has equipped me with valuable knowledge and support. I am eternally grateful to Terry and the Cogent team for your dedication and expertise.

Candy’s Campers Letter

I am writing a letter of recommendation for the work and time that John Moscicki and Cogent Analytics has put into our business. We could not be any happier with John’s accomplishments. When John arrived here I was a stressed out, disorganized, and not in a very healthy frame of mind. I felt like I was drowning every day I stepped into Candy’s. Now with John leaving, while I am very sad to see him leave, I have hope and a feeling of positivity for the first time in five years. I can truly say I am very happy to start running a business, not let the business run me.

We cannot wait for him to come back for our review! We have a way to go, but the path and current changes that John has implemented with us are already making a huge difference.

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