Yvonne Wenzel has managed manufacturing operations for 30 years. As an Executive Interim Manager, she has helped companies resolve temporary challenges, focusing everything from plant set up to plant closure, from optimisation to change management and from general management to turnaround. Her experience ranges from international corporations to local family-owned businesses operating in sectors from automotive supplier to heavy industry. Our partner Roman Benedetto has met with Yvonne to talk about her latest interim assignment, a cross-border collaboration between Management Factory and Valtus France.
The client company is an Austrian subsidiary of a French corporation manufacturing construction materials and fittings. The products are sold worldwide, and in Europe the products are sold through resale partners.
What was the scope of your assignment?
“The assignment was to bridge a COO vacancy and implement an overall improvement of operations with a particular focus on improving the OTIF (on time in full) performance.”
What challenges did you face at the start of the project?
“Part of the difficulty was bridging the local and the HQ expectations and matching those with the realities on the shopfloor. In a first step it was important to identify the root causes of the difficulties relating to the operational performance. It was equally necessary to identify what the client was willing and interested to really address. Based on the that, a strategy needed to be defined and aligned with the various stakeholders to get their agreement.”
Did any additional requirements arise during the assignment?
“After some time, it became apparent that the company’s problems were not limited to the operations field. The company had challenges with its cost structure, and the urgency to address this became more apparent forcing quick adjustments. In this context regular communication with the various stakeholders including the headquarter was critical. In a second step the changes needed to be communicated to the organisation and implemented.”
What goals and outcomes were defined at the beginning of the mandate and how did you deliver on those?
“At the beginning of the project the focus was on operations goals, especially the improvement of the OTIF performance. In a first step the diverse reasons for each delivery delay to the customer had to be identified, and the reasons were numerous and varied, had their origins in all departments and were often overlapping. Focus was put on the problems with the highest incidence as well as problems that could be fixed quickly. The problems were discussed by all affected departments, and a common solution was defined and implemented. During the analysis additional issues were identified and a plan was defined when those could be addressed. In order not to jeopardise the daily operations and not to spread resources too thinly a step-by-step approach with agreed deadlines was set. It was imperative to have regular follow up meetings to ensure that focus was not lost.”
How was the collaboration between you, the local management team, and headquarters?
“The collaboration between the local management team, headquarter and me was always collaborative and professional. As the headquarter was not involved in the day-to-day business, it was critical to have regular meetings to update the headquarter on defined issues and on the achieved progress. The local middle management was focused on communicating problems, defining potential solutions and implementing them in their departments which made progress quick and effective.”
What concrete changes or improvements did you implement during your mandate?
- Improvement of the OTIF performance from 60% to figures exceeding 90% and eliminating the underlying root causes as well as a regular OTIF analysis and correction loop
- Reduced cost structure and resulting in a balanced budget for the following year
- Improvements in the recently implemented ERP system to reflect the facts on the shopfloor
- Implementation of production planning tools and regular operations routines on the shopfloor
- Implementation of regular team meetings to ensure communication and resolution of problems when they arise
What did you learn from this experience for future projects?
“Communication is critical to connect people and organisations are made up of people – it is important to establish trust and gain recognition based on competence. But it is equally important to keep independence and objectivity to not lose focus.”
In which situations would you recommend companies to engage an Executive Interim Manager?
“In situations where companies are under pressure, it is useful to engage an Interim Manager. Interim Managers enter the organisation in the specific role of becoming part of the organisation but also retaining independence and objectivity. Their advice weighs more heavily as they do not have personal interests to protect within the organisation. An Interim Manager is a professional with many years of experience in their specific fields and can make a quick impact. They are used to tackling difficulties, finding solutions, and they have a specific goals to achieve in a given time.”