Good questions to ask about value creation plan?

I would also add:

1) Within what time frame do you expect these savings to happen? 2) Have competitors achieved similar savings in a similar projected time frame? 3) Will the savings be constant over time or do they need to hit critical mass slowly before kicking in? 4) Can these savings be sustained with any significant changes to the market (competitor mix, process change, regulatory changes etc.?)

"VP in IB-M&A" 1. Why haven't you done this last year? 2. Can you explain this to me with a practical example (e.g. 1 truck or 1 shipping). How does this in practice work? Often these measures (esp logistics) only work in Excel. 3. Do you know anyone else in your industry who is doing the same?

2 is really the key one that most people don't ask for fear of sounding stupid, and that most senior partners will ask because they couldn't care less about "sounding stupid". It will most likely highlight who has a proper plan and who put it there just on excel, forced by some consultants/bankers. 1 is also very important and should always follow #2, as the answer to #2 will often sound like an obvious choice. The classic answer is "we changed the resource in charge" but try to dig deeper.