Post M&A Integration

Situation

The client, a world leader in pharmaceuticals, had acquired a company in the US owning a full subsidiary of 700 employees in China. This company was always managed locally with very limited input from the US mother company.  As the client had some 5000 employees in China as well, it was a must for them to align the procedures of the new Chinese subsidiary with the existing procedures already in place in China for the client’s other activities.

Solution   

The client requested X-PM to bring on board a bicultural Chinese manager to lead the integration team in:

• building a team by defining which portions of the operational teams, CFO, HRD, Legal Director, etc. should be dedicating time to the integration under his supervision
• engaging with the trade unions in order to mitigate perceived threats from this merger

Results

• The first 2 months were especially challenging with regards to trade union engagement but the manager skillfully managed and deescalated the situation.  
• Over 6 months, new procedures were established under an X-PM methodology (30 days diagnosis, 90 days in developing strategies and 2 months of implementation), as well as a new downsized manufacturing planning and coordination with other plant activities in China.

Project Management

Situation 

The client, a world leader in Amino Acid production for animal nutrition, belonging to a Chinese chemical SOE was redefining part of its world operations: doubling its capacity in Spain (100 million €) and in China (450 million €).

In addition to working with an EPCM company, the client required X-PM to provide them with part of teams "on their side", as a mirror of the engineering project team to fully control the project progress on a daily basis.

Solutions      

• X-PM provided a project director in Spain with 30 years’ experience and 3 managers in China: two project directors and a Controller.
• The support of X-PM was significant for such important investments: 2 years in Spain and on average 4.5 years for the Chinese investment.

Results

• The Spanish investment was completed on time and 5% under budget.
• For the Chinese extension, the experienced team was able to deal efficiently with an increasingly stringent environmental protection approval system.

Plant Relocation Manager

Situation

• The client, a mid-sized European industrial company selling equipment and high quantity plastic consumables for the Life Science industry with a 6000 m² manufacturing facility and 150 workers in China had to relocate the facility, since the original building lease contract ended and they needed to expand. A new larger building had been identified within the same city, a few kilometers away from the original location.
• However internal issues – which lead to staff being dismissed and some suppliers disqualified – had a serious impact on the preparation phase of the relocation and on-time and smooth relocation of the facility was compromised. The company was committed to its customers and wanted to secure operations during the relocation.    

Solution

An Interim Plant Relocation Manager with an extensive experience of +20-years of managing plant relocations was immediately assigned for a scheduled period of 6 months with the main task of supervising the relocation project, on time and within budget. He had to:

• project manage the full project – including EHS, purchases, administrative files, etc., with a specific goal to reduce any additional volatility / risks in the project completion
• update the China GM and the Board of Directors every week on the progress / road-blocks risks foreseen and key actions moving forward

Results

• The task was successfully completed within the planned 6 months.
• The Plant Relocation Manager was reporting progress to the Group Board of Directors.
• Shortly after, the X-PM manager was assigned to a very large plant relocation project at a German automotive client.

Quality Manager

Situation：

• A large biopharmaceutical European group was going through a major spin-off of its activities at global level.
• In China the major industrial facility it had was carved out and sold from the group core and remaining activity. Besides the main location of the group was established in another major coastal city, far from the original location. This meant a very rapid stage of organization with hundreds of recruitments of employees taking place in the course of only a few months. It was crucial to reestablish smooth activity through an efficient system of import, warehousing and distribution.
• Since the biopharmaceutical industry is subject to strict regulations, it was required to pass regular certification and get various licenses. Just at that very critical time, the company had lost its Quality Director. It was all the more urgent to fill this role that key audits were about to be performed.

Solution：

An Chinese interim quality manager with an extensive experience of 35 years in the Pharma industry mostly for foreign companies including overseas experience was immediately assigned for an initial period of 3 months with the following tasks:

• contribute to the structuration and organization of the newly established affiliate
• lead a quality audit which should take place less than 2 months after the start of the assignment
• prepare the gap analysis of situation against requirement and a road map of actions

Results：

The task was successfully completed and after just 3 months, the client wished to recruit the interim manager; he accepted and became the Head of Quality for China.