The role of an interim operations director

He owns the operational P and L: industrial performance (OEE, quality, costs), customer service level, inventory, procurement and maintenance. In the first 100 days: a quantified diagnosis of the chain end to end, selection of the three to five projects with the highest cash and margin impact, and a weekly steering routine with each function head.

When do companies bring in an interim operations director?

Bringing in an interim operations director answers a few typical situations. Operations deteriorating on several fronts at once (late deliveries, poor quality, swelling inventory, drifting costs) need one person who owns the whole chain, rather than fixes function by function. A transformation plan decided by the board (cost reduction, supply chain redesign, supplier consolidation) has to be executed by someone with authority over every function involved. A vacant COO or operations director seat, after a departure or a promotion, leaves the trade-offs between production, procurement and logistics without an owner. Finally, an acquisition, a carve-out or the sale of an industrial site requires rebuilding standalone operations within months: separating flows, purchasing and systems without disrupting customers.

Profile: what kind of interim operations director?

The typical interim operations director has 15 to 25 years of experience, including several roles as plant manager, industrial director or supply chain director, often in companies of 100 to 2,000 people. He knows every link of the operational chain and reads the indicators that matter within days: OEE, service level, inventory turns, cost of poor quality, supplier performance. In behaviour, he combines the overview expected from an executive committee member with the shop-floor presence of a plant manager: he connects the strategic plan with what really happens in workshops and warehouses. The quality most sought after is his ability to arbitrate quickly between functions pulling in different directions, without letting conflicts escalate to the CEO.

Whatan executive should expect from an interim operations director

An executive bringing in an interim operations director should expect a quantified diagnosis of the whole chain within the first weeks: production performance, customer service level, inventory, supplier dependencies, team organisation. He must give him direct authority over the heads of production, supply chain, procurement, quality and maintenance for the duration of the assignment: an operations director whose authority stops at part of the chain cannot arbitrate. In return, the executive receives a simple operational dashboard, updated every week, with quantified milestones set at kick-off. The assignment ends with stabilised operations, a documented improvement plan and an aligned team of function heads, handed over to the permanent successor. The executive must accept that some difficult decisions (reorganizationof teams, change of suppliers, discontinuation of an unprofitable product) are taken during the assignment: this is one of the roles expected from an external, temporary profile.

Typical assignment in interim operations management

Context : a 600-employee industrial mid-cap with two plants and a central warehouse sees its customer service level fall below 85% and its inventory rise by 30% in one year, just as its operations director has left the company. Stakes : keep deliveries to key accounts on time, release cash tied up in inventory and stop every trade-off between production and procurement from escalating to the CEO. Assignment : an interim operations director is appointed to take over the function, restore the service level and reduce inventory, then prepare the arrival of his successor. Timeline : the first three weeks measure the chain end to end (forecasts, scheduling, purchasing, production, shipping) and identify the bottlenecks. The following months set up a sales and operations planning process, a review of inventory parameters and weekly steering of critical suppliers. The assignment usually lasts 6 to 12 months, the time needed to stabilise results, then recruit and coach the permanent operations director. Expected outcome : a service level back to contractual targets, lower inventory, released cash and a team of function heads able to carry on the projects.

When to bring in an interim operations director

Falling service level, swelling inventory, operating costs above budget, a transformation plan to execute, a vacant COO seat, integration or separation of activities after an acquisition.

In every case, the process is the same: an expert calls you back within 2 business hours, you receive 3 targeted profiles within 72 hours, and the manager starts with a quantified mission letter, followed by the firm’s founder until handover.

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