A global automotive supplier with well over 50,000 employees worldwide had a vacancy for a purchasing manager in a local business unit with around 1,000 employees for months. The 12 employees in the strategic purchasing department were increasingly coming into conflict with the BU management and all other departments. Priorities were set incorrectly, urgent work was not done at all or was done far too late. The BU was unable to prepare quotations quickly enough or even at all.
At the same time, quality problems caused by suppliers led to bottlenecks in production. In addition, overdue production part approval procedures (PPAP approvals) were not issued. Individual suppliers were threatening to stop deliveries due to unpaid invoices and the repeated failure of difficult negotiations.
In this situation, the company engaged the interim manager in a temporary change management project to make the purchasing department significantly more efficient and to advise, coordinate and train the purchasing staff.
Weaknesses in leadership, communication and employee deployment remedied
After a short induction period, the interim manager identified weaknesses in leadership, communication and employee deployment, among other things.
Firstly, all purchasing employees were instructed to contact the purchasing manager immediately in the event of an escalation. The interim manager took the lead in continuing the corresponding conflict discussions, de-escalated them and then analyzed them with the employees. He held detailed one-on-one meetings with the heads of "hostile" departments. The processing of outstanding requirements was prioritized by mutual agreement.
With the support of the HR department, the interim manager gained an overview of the CVs and qualifications of the purchasing employees. He then conducted detailed individual interviews. Based on this information, the responsibilities in purchasing were redistributed.
Reasons for quality problems and overdue PPAP approvals identified
The interim manager identified the reasons for quality problems and overdue PPAP approvals together with the respective responsible purchasers. This also included technical expertise and several supplier workshops.
In some cases, this also resulted in uncomfortable and previously unfamiliar measures. For example, the interim manager flew in the QA employee of an Asian supplier. In a workshop lasting several hours, the measurement methods used in Germany and at the supplier were compared in detail. It turned out that differences in the measurement methods had led to the disputed quality problems. By agreeing on a common procedure, the conflicts were resolved.
Purchasing department pacified and led to new productivity
The interim manager managed to calm the waters after a short time and turn the dispute into productive work. Multiple reminders for outstanding invoices were paid and threatened delivery stops were averted. Overdue PPAP approvals were granted, delivery bottlenecks resolved and quality problems solved.
As the results of the work improved, so did the mood of the employees. The Purchasing department's involvement in acquisition projects was revived within the timeframe. A new Head of Purchasing was trained in peace and quiet and prepared for his new role.
