Powering Smart EV Charging M&A Decisions 

In the rapidly evolving EV charging sector, conducting comprehensive technical due diligence is crucial before pursuing acquisitions or mergers. Whether you’re evaluating a platform vendor, eMSP, or CPO, the ChargePoint management system (CPMS) often serves as the cornerstone of a company’s competitive position. Some platforms are better suited for companies where EV charging is an adjacent offering, while others are ideal for businesses focused solely on eMSP or CPO operations. 

The Rechargers are uniquely positioned to provide technical due diligence in EV charging, offering deep expertise to assess the strengths and weaknesses of platform vendors, as well as CPOs and eMSPs.

Acquisition of a platform vendor 

For platform vendors, our focus is on evaluating the CPMS—its features, scalability, integration capabilities, and alignment with future market demands. We also scrutinize the vendor’s IT roadmap, their ability to execute continuous improvements, and their investment in research and development, including the size and expertise of their R&D teams.

Acquisition of a CPO or eMSP

When conducting due diligence on a CPO or eMSP, our analysis goes beyond the CPMS to encompass the organization’s entire IT architecture. This includes assessing the integration and functionality of systems like CRM, ERP, dynamic pricing tools, and any custom applications critical to operations. We evaluate the scalability, robustness, and adaptability of these systems to ensure they can support future growth and innovation.

Unmatched Focus on Tech for EV Charging

As IT consultants, The Rechargers specialize exclusively in the technical domain, uniquely positioning us to deliver top-tier due diligence in the niche EV charging market. Unlike generalist advisors who lack in-house experts in this niche, our deep expertise in IT for EV charging enables us to assess the tech stack, uncover critical red flags that may be hard or impossible to address, and evaluate a target’s readiness for long-term success. Let others focus on financial assessment or business development, while we provide unmatched insights into the technical aspects critical for sustainable growth.

Step 1: Prepare & Understand

We begin by defining the business priorities and aligning them with your future strategy. This involves gathering insights to clarify objectives and desired outcomes for the due diligence process. By understanding the strategic goals of the acquirer, we establish a framework to evaluate whether the target company is equipped to support those objectives effectively. 

Step 2: Tailored Due Diligence of the As-Is State

In this phase, we conduct a deep dive into the target company’s current IT architecture. Our analysis focuses on the priority areas identified during the preparation stage, ensuring that our assessment is both comprehensive and relevant. From evaluating the functionality and scalability of key systems to assessing overall IT capabilities, we provide a clear picture of the current strengths and limitations. 

Step 3: Flag Risks and Opportunities

The final step delivers actionable insights and recommendations. We provide a detailed list of the target company’s IT strengths and weaknesses, benchmarking its platform against competitors in the market. We also evaluate the feasibility and effort required to address any identified gaps. This analysis culminates in a management summary highlighting critical risks and opportunities, empowering our clients to make informed investment decisions with confidence. If we identify any risks as absolute red flags, we will make it our priority to ensure you are fully informed.

1

Architectural Framework for Platform Selection 

We initiate platform selection projects by defining the high-level target IT architecture to encompass current and future capabilities. This architecture serves as the foundation for structuring customer-specific requirements, integral to the subsequent RFP process.

2

Strategic Consulting for Charging Platform Requirements 

We assist you by challenging, advising, and documenting the requirements for your charging platform. Depending on the maturity of existing documentation, we organize workshops to work together on identifying and solving specific needs for the charging platform. The outcome is a confirmed and ranked list of requirements.

3

Your Tailored Vendor Shortlist

We provide expert guidance in curating a shortlist of charging platform vendors tailored to your precise needs for the upcoming RFI/RFP process. Our recommendations are informed from our regularly updated and comprehensive EV Charging Platform Benchmark. We consider how well each option fits your company’s needs in terms of functionality, technology, and strategy.

4

Expert RFP support

We’re here to help you during the request for proposal (RFP) process, adapting to your needs. We can either provide subject matter expertise (SME) support or take charge of the entire process. Our assistance involves tasks like drafting the RFP document, actively participating in discussions, and questioning vendors during presentations. Our goal is to deliver a thorough comparison and recommendation at the end of the RFP process, considering the functional, strategic and commercial fit and including total cost of ownership (TCO).

5

Seasoned advice for contract negotiations

During contract negotiations with the platform vendor, we assist by leading commercial discussions, questioning the overall cost of ownership, and reviewing SLA documents and other contract papers. Typically, we also provide a statement of work to be included with the contract. This statement outlines details such as customization requirements, delivery timelines, responsibilities (RACI matrix), and other relevant information.

Quality delivered fast – Charged by our Accelerators

At The Rechargers, we’ve combined our IT strategy expertise and EV charging knowledge with insights from our recurring investments in market research to create a toolset that accelerates projects. Designed for high-quality results on tight timelines, it’s an invaluable launchpad for success.

EV Charging Platform Benchmark

Our benchmark covers a wide range of CPMS vendors and provides insight into each vendor’s capabilities, a key summary and their position in the market against other competitors. To put this together, we’ve conducted a detailed assessment of 50+ capabilities for relevant EV charging platform vendors.

Reference architecture

We’ve developed a comprehensive end-to-end reference IT architecture specifically tailored for EV charging. Throughout your project, we leverage this reference architecture as the foundation for systems and integrations design, ensuring a holistic approach that expedites the definition of your North Star IT architecture and gap analysis.

EV charging process maps

We’ve developed detailed process maps that cover all aspects of EV charging, including domain-specific processes for various offerings. These maps will be instrumental in discussions around the target architecture, clarifying how specific systems and teams address different areas.