Case Studies

Interim Managing Director Czech Republic The Situation The European Headquarters of a Japanese Healthcare & Medical manufacturer contacted us for support with a project in the Czech Republic. The company needed urgently an Interim Managing Director to plan and execute various change projects. Their role would including the oversight of day-to- day business operations and delivery, controlling the progress of existing projects, and importantly, significant change management in line with new strategic objectives and changes within local leadership. It was essential that the candidate had both technical and medical experience, as well as insight into Czech business culture. The company was additionally seeking experience in shop floor and plan management. The Solution WIL Group identified the right candidate within a single week. Once appointed, the new Managing Director quickly formulated, organized and executed the change programme and projects while successfully maintaining the day-to-day business. The Result The client described themselves as very satisfied, that the interim had made an extremely good start and quickly demonstrated their comprehension and commitment. The contract was ultimately extended, as the client wanted the Interim to lead further projects for the company.

Executing a turnkey power project The Situation A major international power corporation had been awarded multi-million dollar power distribution projects in Saudi Arabia across multiple locations. The projects were in disarray, with significant delays affecting profitability and eroding customer confidence. The company urgently needed to take control and accelerate the projects. The Solution This assignment was handled jointly between the WIL Group’s France and India offices. The WIL Group provided a very senior and highly qualified CEO from India. The WIL Group’s interim manager reviewed existing project management processes and set new timelines with a system of internal project controls. He provided leadership to multi-national project teams, with a special focus on adhering to group health and safety norms across sites, contractor and supplier management and cost monitoring. The Result Rigorous monitoring and project controls started showing improved results within the first six months. A sense of ownership grew among the Project Managers across multiple project sites. Client relationship improved as the team became more responsive. The Client issued completion certificates at the end of the engagement.

Harnessing cross-border resources for a major restructuring project The Situation A global energy equipment business, manufacturing in South East Asia, decided to undertake a major restructuring project at one of its plants, but needed this to be planned and prepared in a highly confidential manner. The key issue was that they needed a strong Plant Manager with experience of operating in SE Asia, a track record of successful business reorganisation and the people skills to achieve the desired result in a challenging cultural environment, while at the same time maintaining customer service. The Solution The WIL Group had to draw on its worldwide resources to deliver on this assignment. The client was headquartered in Northern Europe. The mission was initiated and coordinated by the WIL Group Paris office. An interim Plant Manager who met all the requirements was sourced by the WIL Group in UK. The assignment was supervised and managed by the WIL Group in Singapore. The Result The WIL Group candidate was quickly accepted and appointed by the client. He had an immediate impact on the project. He achieved all the milestones in the initial planning stage, such that the contract was extended to allow him to deal with the full implementation of the reorganisation. The client was delighted with the outcome which exceeded expectations and had a significant impact on their business.  This could not have been achieved without harnessing the cross-border resources within the WIL Group

Reducing automotive product costs and outsourcing production The Situation A Swedish supplier of automotive equipment needed to reduce cost and improve cash flow in order to secure competitiveness. Included in the cost reduction scope was to build a strategic purchasing function, outsource production and renegotiate/change suppliers. The Solution The client asked WIL Group to put in place a seasoned Interim purchasing manager to lead the work including: Outsourcing production at its main plant in Sweden To sell equipment The Result The project is on-going and exceeding expectations including: Reductions of inventory by 20% Reductions of COGS by 10%.

Downsizing and improving a German plant The Situation A Swedish Tier 1 supplier needed to restructure its supply chain in order to stay competitive. As part of the restructuring program, its German plant had to be downsized and parts of the production moved to other sites. To lead the program the CEO decided to use an external management company. The Solution The client asked a WIL Group member to put in place a Plant Manager specifically tasked to: Build a strong management team Instil motivation, commitment and responsibility among all employees encouraging proactive and continuous improvement Down-size by moving specific processes to other sites and reducing the corresponding complexity costs Introduce 3-shift operations (as agreed with unions) to increase asset productivity Secure a sufficient number of voluntary departures of employees in the 53 to 63 year old category The Result An operating team and an efficient daily work process were developed. The majority of the agreed goals were successfully achieved. The stock was reduced by 1,2 million EUR within four months, whilst delivery performance was enhanced.

Improving management at a Germany automotive operation The Situation A Swiss company needed to improve the leadership at its German subsidiary which was not performing well at all. This included the supervision of 130 employees. Defining clear goals for each first line manager, implementing lean principles, to secure progress in internal projects and refine the company’s structure. The Solution The client asked WIL Group member to put in place a new Senior Interim Manager to lead the subsidiary and change the organisation’s culture. The Result An operating team and an efficient daily work process were developed. The majority of the agreed goals were successfully achieved. The stock was reduced by 1,2 mil. EUR within four months, whilst delivery performance was enhanced.

Re-establishing control at a plastics plant The Situation A division specialising in plastic injection within a big industrial Tier 1 supplier (17B€ turnover) had recently acquired a smaller company bringing new technology into the group. However, the plant specialising in this technology was not competitive, mostly because of poor management. The plant needed a new management and structure in place in order to take back control and start improvements. The Solution The client asked WIL Group to put in place a new Plant Manager. The Result Within 7 months the WIL Group Plant Manager: Rebuilt management authority Gave confidence to middle management Ensured that working rules were applied (shift, time, presence etc) Launched a Lean Manufacturing Improvement program Drastically reduced the financial loss of the plant

Improving financials for a tier 1 company sale The Situation A Tier 1 wanted to sell its Interior Division (1.5 B$ US). In order to be more attractive, the CEO of the division needed to launch an aggressive cost reduction program. The Solution A very seasoned WIL Group Purchasing Executive was assigned to restructure the function and implement the action plan including a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The Result After 6 months, a realistic and ambitious plan was set-up. First target of 5% reduction in COGS, was very quickly achieved.

Developing an industrial plan for recapitalisation The Situation The plastic injection parts supplier (turnover 600 M€) had just finalised the agreement of recapitalisation in order to strengthen the financial situation. However, the CEO had to present and commit a new industrial strategic plan in order to get the acceptance. The Solution CEO asked WIL Group to bring in a very strong COO specialist in plastic injection, to build and develop this new plan. The Result A new industrial footprint was presented within 4 months. The implementation started immediately. After another 3 months the WIL Group transition manager was hired by the company to deploy the plan.

Post-merger integration in an automotive supplier The Situation A big division (2 B€ turnover) had acquired one of its competitors of the same size. The two companies customer programmes were financially managed differently so it was crucial to understand the economics of each customer program and to “translate” into the financial Acquirer’s language. The Solution Division management decided to assign an Interim Transition Manager (High Level Financial Controller) with the following objectives: Translate all customer programs into “Tier 1 acquirer” financial format. The Result Customer programs were successfully merged into Tier 1 acquired format.