Interim plant leadership at a German automotive Tier 1 supplier. A severe post-launch operational escalation demanded effective leadership, technical problem-solving and dependable OEM communication.
Two production launches pushed a US-owned automotive supplier into a severe escalation. Backlogs, external quality containment, premium freight and unstable supplier processes were putting the plant under strain. The management team's ability to work together also needed rebuilding.
Series production of interior components using injection molding, finishing and automated assembly, supplying multiple international OEM sites.
Restore delivery performance and quality, establish an effective leadership organization and create economically sustainable plant operations.
Rebuild management structures and internal collaboration while re-establishing constructive communication with the OEMs.
Restructure production and logistics planning, strengthen supplier management and improve material and information flows.
Make quality requirements visible on the shopfloor, optimize tooling and assembly operations and establish performance transparency.
Assess urgent delivery and quality risks, define priorities and initiate containment measures.
New leadership team functioning, quality causes transparent and supplier performance significantly improved.
OEM red-alert status cleared; premium freight largely eliminated; logistics and layout reorganized.
External quality containment and premium freight ended; tool improvements completed.
Plant formally released from the critical-supplier program.
EBITDA positive again; continuous improvement established; successor thoroughly onboarded.
Delivery and quality performance returned to control, the critical OEM escalation ended and the plant's financial position improved. With a functioning leadership and operating structure in place, responsibility was transferred to the incoming plant manager.
This case study is anonymized. Timings and outcomes are based on HaKu-Tech project documentation prepared in 2016.
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