It was the McKinsey devised program that was meant to deliver $100 million in profits for automotive giant Bapcor by next year. Instead, Better Than Before pushed the ASX-listed group behind the Autobarn, Burson and Midas brands, into disarray.

Unveiled in 2022 by the company’s then chief executive Noel Meehan, a former chief financial officer Treasury Wine Estates, Bapcor’s corporate strategy relied on some 15 McKinsey consultants who worked feverishly for several months from July that year. In all, there were 300 separate projects designed to help lift sagging profits.