Interim operations leadership

A leadership gap costs you every week. Close it now.

For manufacturers facing an empty operations seat, a delivery slide or a post-acquisition reset. Line authority from week one, a 90-day plan, and a clean handoff to your permanent leader.

Fractional operations leadership

Big problem. Big opportunity. No bandwidth to lead it.

Senior operations leadership, part time, for the projects and problems your team can't carry alone. I own the plan, lead the people and hand it back running.

Chief Operating Officer · VP Operations · Manufacturing

Operations that run on a system. Not on heroics.

Twice a Chief Operating Officer in manufacturing. I build the ownership, cadence and real-time data a growing plant needs to keep its promises and protect its margin.

Plant scorecard

Before
On-time delivery87%
New-operator retention40%
Inventory write-off reduction0%
Cost reduction, major product families0%
Who makes the daily callsOwner

Real results from different plants, shown together.
2×Chief Operating OfficerManufacturing
8798%On-time delivery500-SKU manufacturer
4090%New-operator retention24/7 operation
$1MAnnual gross margin recoveredHigh-mix medical components

"I can't wait six months for a search."

Not while delivery slides.

What owners say when the seat is empty.

"We know what has to change."

Nobody here has the time to lead it.

What CEOs say when the big project keeps slipping.

"I need someone who owns the result."

Not another plant manager.

What CEOs say when they're hiring a COO.

Five problems that look different.
Same root cause.

A business that runs on a few people's memory and effort. Each of these is what that looks like on the floor, and what changes when there's a system underneath.

Late deliveries

You hear

"We're expediting and still missing dates."

What changes

A forecast tied to an inventory plan, promise dates set against real capacity, and daily prioritization.

87% → 98% and 70% → 95% on-time delivery

Turnover on the floor

You hear

"We're always training, never producing."

What changes

Structured onboarding, a skills matrix, supervisor development and work instructions at the machine.

New-operator retention 40% → 90%

Data nobody trusts

You hear

"The system says one thing, the floor says another."

What changes

Clean ERP data, stable systems and live dashboards, so problems surface the same day.

Spreadsheets and verbal handoffs → a 24/7 paperless ERP operation

Decisions stuck at the top

You hear

"Nothing moves unless I'm in the room."

What changes

A daily and weekly cadence, scorecards with named owners, and written decision rights.

Scheduling, spending and staffing decisions moved to the team

Margin leaking quietly

You hear

"Sales look fine, so where did the margin go?"

What changes

True standard costs, repricing what isn't earning its keep, and cost taken out of the process.

$1M annual gross margin recovered; 20% conversion cost cut

Strategy to execution
to results.

Real before-and-after numbers from plants I've led.

98%·95%

87%98% · 70%95%

On-time delivery, two operations

Forecasting tied to an inventory plan, top sellers stocked, and promise dates reset against real capacity.

500-SKU manufacturer · 5,000-SKU medical operation

90%

40%90%

New-operator retention

The front end of the job rebuilt, so new people stayed long enough to become skilled.

24/7 operation

20%·25%

Conversion cost cut · productivity gained

On major product families, through Lean/QRM operating systems and flow redesign.

24/7 plastics operation

96%

Reduction in annual inventory write-offs

Scanning, traceability and new inventory software.

500-SKU manufacturer

$1M

Annual gross margin recovered

Stale standard costs rebuilt, underwater work repriced, and non-selling items ended.

High-mix medical components

6months

ISO 9001:2015, zero findings

Delivered three months early, and it opened customer work the company couldn't previously bid.

Defined nine-month mandate

An interim engagement

Take the seat in week one.
Hand it off stronger.

A fractional engagement

A few days a week.
A system that works every day.

Your first 90 days with me as COO

Diagnose fast. Stabilize.
Then build what lasts.

  1. Days 1–14

    Find the real constraint

    Demand, capacity, maintenance, quality, planning, data or leadership. One of them is doing most of the damage.

  2. Days 15–30

    Stabilize

    A daily production meeting, clear owners, and a recovery plan for delivery, quality or cash.

  3. Days 30–90

    Build the system

    Scorecards, decision rights, a demand-and-supply cadence and the data to run it.

  4. Handoff

    Ongoing

    Day 90 on

    Hand off clean

    Step back

    Develop the bench

    A permanent leader inherits a working system, not a list of fires.

    Fewer days from me as your team takes the cadence over.

    Leaders who own their areas, so decisions happen one level down.

A typical consultant hands you a report.
I own the result.

A typical consultant report

  • Assesses and recommends
  • Leaves the implementation to your team
  • Methodology first
  • Measured on deliverables
  • Leaves a slide deck and a to-do list

Working with me

  • Takes line authority and makes the calls
  • Owns the plan and leads your team through it
  • Implements alongside your people, in the office and on the floor
  • Your constraint first, method second
  • Measured on delivery, cost and margin
  • Leaves a cadence and a team that keep running
Chene Cramer

Mold maker to molding manager to production manager

From shop floor
to COO.

I know what a plan looks like from the machine. That's why the systems I build get used: they're designed around the people doing the work.

Foundation first

AI only works as well as the business underneath it: clean data, clear ownership, clean handoffs.

Practical tools

Dashboards, analysis and applications with AI built into the work, not big projects.

Governed

Approved data, clear rules on where AI helps, and a person signing off where it matters.

Don't hire me if…

  • You want every decision to keep coming to you.
  • You're looking for someone to blame, not a system to fix.
  • You want AI before the basics work.
  • You'd rather hear good news than the real constraint.

Questions owners ask

What does an interim operations leader actually do?

Takes the seat. Line authority from week one, a 90-day plan, and a clean handoff to your permanent leader. The first two weeks find the real constraint: demand, capacity, maintenance, quality, planning, data or leadership. Days 15 to 30 stabilize with a daily production meeting, clear owners and a recovery plan. Days 30 to 90 build the system: scorecards, decision rights, a demand-and-supply cadence and the data to run it.

How is fractional different from interim?

Fractional is senior operations leadership, part time, for the projects and problems your team can't carry alone. I own the plan, lead the people and hand it back running. It ends with fewer days from me as your team takes the cadence over. Interim is full time in the seat until your permanent leader arrives.

How is this different from hiring a consultant?

A report-and-recommend engagement assesses, recommends, and leaves the implementation to your team. I take line authority and make the calls, implement alongside your people in the office and on the floor, and am measured on delivery, cost and margin. What stays behind is a cadence and a team that keep running, not a slide deck and a to-do list.

What kinds of problems do you fix?

Five that look different and share a root cause: late deliveries, turnover on the floor, data nobody trusts, decisions stuck at the top, and margin leaking quietly. Each one is what a business that runs on a few people's memory and effort looks like on the floor.

What results have you delivered?

On-time delivery from 87% to 98% at a 500-SKU manufacturer and from 70% to 95% in a 5,000-SKU medical operation. New-operator retention from 40% to 90% in a 24/7 operation. A 96% reduction in annual inventory write-offs. $1M in annual gross margin recovered. ISO 9001:2015 with zero findings, delivered three months early. These are real results from different plants, shown together.

Where does AI fit?

Foundation first. AI only works as well as the business underneath it: clean data, clear ownership, clean handoffs. Then practical tools, dashboards, analysis and applications with AI built into the work rather than big projects, governed by approved data, clear rules on where AI helps, and a person signing off where it matters.

Who shouldn't hire you?

Anyone who wants every decision to keep coming to them, is looking for someone to blame rather than a system to fix, wants AI before the basics work, or would rather hear good news than the real constraint.

Operations check

Where is your business actually stuck?

Twenty quick statements, about three minutes. You get your biggest constraint, what to fix first, and how the five areas rank.

The 3-minute check

Ready

Answer how often each statement is true in your business. Nothing is stored unless you ask for the PDF at the end.

Five areas

  • Decision rights and cadence
  • Planning and capacity
  • Workforce front end
  • Systems and data
  • Cost and pricing visibility
20 statements · Rarely to Every week

Leadership gap? Let's close it this month.

Twenty minutes to talk through what's happening and whether an interim engagement fits.

Got a problem too big to carry alone?

Take the 3-minute check, or book a call and we'll scope it together.

Hiring a COO or VP of Operations?

Connect on LinkedIn, or book a call.