A German family business from the packaging industry was planning a major investment at its largest foreign production site in Poland. At the same time, the group with 3 independent production plants was to be restructured. The interim manager took on the mandate in the role of interim CEO. The conversion and expansion of the production lines was to take place during ongoing production. This was the only way to secure the financing volume. A major challenge was therefore to ensure on-time delivery to customers worldwide.
At the time the mandate began, the investment was largely planned from a technical perspective and the general contractor had been selected. The interim manager began her work with the timing of the construction phases and the review of financing and official requirements. This required close and time-consuming collaboration with the general contractor, suppliers, banks and authorities.
Initiating efficient internal dialog between production and purchasing
The interim manager worked in parallel to improve the flow of information. She improved communication with the German head office in order to avoid duplication of effort. At the same time, she initiated an efficient internal dialog between production and purchasing. This made it possible to pre-produce goods in good time or otherwise order goods from abroad for stock. The organization of imports, the quality management of the imported goods and the processing in the local plants also required a new concept for internal logistics. The interim manager also ensured that customers were better informed about upcoming production changes.
Shared service center introduced for cross-location processes
The interim manager's analyses made it clear that the independence of the three locations was leading to unnecessary duplication of effort, additional costs and mutual slowdowns. To remedy this, the interim manager installed shared services for human resources, IT, finance and controlling as well as research and development (R&D) and quality management. In cooperation with the HR department, she also successfully negotiated a standardization of remuneration principles in all three companies with the works council and trade unions.
Production volume increased by 30 percent thanks to innovative technology
The major investment was completed on schedule. The innovative supply chain management increased the sales volume considerably. The restructuring of the Group increased the overall result and saved one of the three production sites from insolvency. Innovative technologies helped to increase its production volume by 30 percent and acquire new customers. The organizational changes released synergies and funds, which were used to plan further investments in the other two plants and implement them promptly.
