The interim manager was hired by an insolvency administrator in 2018 to lead production at a southern German automotive supplier out of the crisis. The mandate was particularly explosive because the insolvent company, as a tier 1 supplier to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), is a relevant component in the supply chain of a globally active vehicle manufacturer. In addition, the company generated 90 percent of its turnover with the OEM. Further problems in production or the supply chain would therefore have made the success of the insolvency proceedings considerably more difficult. As a result, the interim manager, as the responsible interim production manager, was able to make a significant contribution to the expansion of production.
Took over plant management before the threat of a production line shutdown
The interim manager took over plant management at a time when the company was already facing the threat of a production line shutdown. The cooperation with the company's client was very tense because this company was also threatened with production stoppages due to the failure to deliver on time and/or to the required quality. The insolvent company had previously repeatedly fallen short of the promised delivery quantities by more than 50 percent.
Production significantly expanded
The interim manager ensured within a very short time that the promised delivery of 55 vehicle components per day could actually be achieved. In addition, he increased production to an output of 70 components per day within 8 weeks.
The interim manager ensured the increase in production volumes by deploying more staff and increasing the number of shifts. At the beginning of the interim mandate, the company employed 120 of its own and 100 project and temporary workers in 2-shift operation. Over the course of the mandate, the number of employees grew to a total of 400, particularly through the use of temporary workers at weekends. The number of shifts was increased from 10 to 18 per week in a 3-shift model.
Production management under difficult conditions
The particular challenges of the interim mandate included:
- Risk managers from the OEM company were sent to the supplier, as the client was also threatened with a production stoppage due to the unreliability of the supplier. In daily conferences, the customer representatives had to be convinced of the supplier's newfound efficiency.
- The very long working hours demanded a lot from managers and staff as well as the temporary workers. The interim manager played a key role in moderating the resulting conflicts to find a constructive solution. He also ensured that the working hours complied with legal requirements.
Sustainably increasing productivity
At the same time, the interim plant manager worked with managers and employees through all processes to sustainably increase productivity. This was achieved primarily by clearing out and streamlining the production processes.
The interim manager also reorganized key parts of quality management in production. He introduced documented plant self-checks and cross-departmental quality gates in order to identify potential sources of error at an early stage and eliminate them if necessary. The company's own quality managers and service providers were deployed. External parties were gradually phased out once the processes were running sustainably.
In addition, the interim manager organized support for employees who were experiencing problems in their teams.
Successful work as plant manager
The interim manager achieved all the goals defined for the mandate. There was no line stoppage - and a commendatory mention in the client's quarterly report. All key employees were retained despite the difficult initial phase. The insolvent company has since been successfully sold.
In the course of the mandate, the interim plant manager managed to significantly improve the parts price through skillful negotiations. The corresponding talks had previously stalled and the parties involved initially no longer wanted to talk to each other. With the price increase, the interim plant manager contributed to earning a considerable amount even during the insolvency in order to be able to pay the creditors accordingly
