An established automotive supplier was facing various challenges: The purchasing manager had left the company, the supplier quality engineer (SQE) team was only half-staffed and the company was undergoing extensive restructuring while also looking for an investor. The interim manager was hired as interim purchasing manager for a limited period to realign purchasing and implement price reductions with suppliers.
Process model with clear roles and responsibilities introduced
In the analysis, the interim manager quickly identified potential for improvement. For example, the workflows in the purchasing process were not clearly defined, which encouraged inefficient working methods. There was also a lack of consistent strategies and clear responsibilities for cost control.
After a thorough examination of the purchasing processes, the interim manager worked closely with the purchasing team to develop a clear process model with unambiguous roles and responsibilities. He also defined new standards for supplier selection, ordering and contract management. These measures reduced friction losses, shortened decision-making paths and significantly increased transparency in the purchasing process.
Bottlenecks in supplier quality engineering eliminated and SQE skills trained
The understaffing of the SQE team meant, among other things, that important supplier decisions could not be made promptly enough. In order to eliminate the bottlenecks in the SQE team, the interim manager promptly recruited a new SQE expert. He developed a targeted onboarding program with training on processes and systems in order to integrate the new team member quickly and deploy him productively. He also drew up an SQE handbook as a knowledge base and organized close support for the new colleague from experienced mentors in the team. This structured approach made it possible to ensure quality assurance at suppliers.
Bundling of tenders and quantities reduces costs considerably
In a further step, the interim manager identified potential savings for numerous product groups by carrying out a detailed analysis of purchasing prices and conditions. He then initiated bundled tenders with strategic suppliers, with which he was ultimately able to achieve significant price advantages. In addition, the interim manager optimized the logistics processes in purchasing, for example by reducing express deliveries and bundling transports. The company's liquidity was also improved by negotiating longer payment terms. Close coordination with suppliers became a key element in jointly compensating for inflation and maintaining competitiveness.
20% savings realized in ten months
Despite the complex challenges, the interim manager was able to successfully complete the project within ten months. The company's competitiveness has been significantly strengthened thanks to 20% cheaper procurement and an optimized purchasing process. The cost savings resulted from general optimizations (five percent), bundled tenders and improved purchasing prices (five percent) as well as optimized logistics processes (ten percent). In addition, the renegotiated payment terms significantly increased the company's liquidity.
