The Interim General Manager was commissioned by the headquarters of a US company for a restructuring mandate in Shanghai (China). The assignment originally consisted of two parts: The interim manager was to relocate the US company's branch to an area outside Shanghai within six months to reduce costs. In addition, the company was to be brought back into the profit zone with the help of redundancies. But that was just the beginning. Right from the start, the interim manager took on numerous other tasks.
The US company builds large-scale electrotechnical systems and machines according to customer specifications. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsidiary's markets outside China had plummeted. However, no more orders were placed in China either. The group had its back to the wall.
Finding a new location for the subsidiary at more favorable conditions
In order to find a new location for the subsidiary, the interim manager visited several new development zones (industrial estates) and buildings in the Shanghai area. After selecting a suitable location, he first negotiated prices and concessions with the local government. In the subsequent negotiations with the actual landlord, the interim manager was able to achieve a significant rent reduction for the following years.
Short-term assignment to save a critical major contract
The headquarters had already set up a new organizational structure with new sales directors before the mandate. The old 10-strong sales team had been sent to work from home due to suspected fraud, but were not dismissed - in the hope that they would resign of their own accord to save on severance pay. But they did not. They were eventually dismissed with severance pay. During the transition phase, the sales team was weakened due to the loss of expertise. The IM's first unscheduled task was therefore to support the sale and to renegotiate and successfully conclude an order that had already been written off in spirit.
In the course of the mandate, the interim manager also identified significant gaps in expertise, particularly in sales. He then initiated an in-house training plan that transferred the knowledge from engineering to the new sales team.
Developing a new unique selling point with VR and AR systems
In order to better highlight the benefits of the machines for customers, the interim manager developed a new marketing campaign. He founded a "Digitalization Sales Department". This new unit offers customers virtual reality and augmented reality systems (VR and AR systems) for training, repair and maintenance services. This offering clearly sets the company apart from its competitors. These applications were also particularly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic. They made it easier to set up and maintain machines overseas without employees traveling abroad - which was usually not possible in times of quarantine.
Asaichi board and plant tours introduced for improvement in production
In another sub-project, the interim manager improved qualifications in production. He initiated an Asaichi board and morning planning tours to inspect, discuss and document problems on site, discuss solutions and implement them with deadlines. The starting point was complaints from customers who had criticized the cleanliness and workflow after the plant tour.
Dismissal of the CFO brings a tailwind and calm to the team
Shortly after taking on the mandate, a dispute arose with the company's CFO, who had rebelled against planned changes in the company. The headquarters supported the interim manager's course by dismissing the CFO. This signal gave the change plans a tailwind - and brought additional calm to the teams.
Together with the new sales team, several major orders were acquired
In the 6 months of the mandate, the interim manager was able to generate important major orders together with the new sales team and the company picked up speed again. The employees' initial resistance to the restructuring of the company turned into a supportive attitude.
