Situation
A private equity company based in the Netherlands took over a 15-year-old production facility in Germany. They hired a German interim manager to implement the existing management structure with 4 additional production sites in Europe.
Challenges
- Form and lead an operations team to improve lead time from the current 60% to at least 90%.
- Implementation of a production planning process in cooperation with the sales department.
- Reduce the absenteeism rate of workers together with the HR department.
- Implement KPIs for the most important processes and set up monthly reporting to the shareholders in the Netherlands.
- Initiate a project to optimize the material flow from the raw material to the finished product.
- Improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) by implementing the OPEX methods KAIZEN, 5S, TPM.
- SMED with workshops and short-term set-up.
- Management of all functions in the operational area until the new COO takes office and responsibility is handed over.
Action
The interim manager’s first success was to give shareholders confidence that things were under control. Quick diagnosis, a clear overview of all business aspects and a clear and precise project plan with budget evaluations created confidence and peace of mind. A shared vision of problems and goals was reached and agreement reached on a short-term business design until a permanent manager was in place.
Cooperation with internal and external parties was quickly established and the project progressed rapidly. Apart from a few minor technical issues, the project followed the schedule perfectly and the main customers placed more orders in the 3 months following the start of the project due to the improvement in lead time.
Result
The Interim Manager worked full time for 7 months and 3 months half time before leaving with the congratulations of the Operations team and shareholders. The company organized a barbecue for all employees of the company.
