Task

• Increase cash flow for purchase price financing through cost reduction program
• Change management
• Restructuring
• Put Group site “on its own feet” (release from group contracts)

Industry/ Function / Environment / Expert

• Chemical industry
• Finance (operational & strategic)
• Cash-Flow Increase

• A non-core division of a group was sold to a private investor who had leveraged the purchase. Covenants were not allowed to be breached
• Identification of possible conditions for a stand-alone SAP contract, negotiations with SAP supported by the group
• Review all existing insurances and, if possible, continue them at Group conditions (focus: generator/BU insurance)
• Reduce costs by checking all cost items for reduction (personnel, group allocations, service contracts, IT costs)
• Reduce bureaucratic requirements (mostly Group-related)
• Simultaneous optimization of processes
• Negotiations with works council, employee communication

• Operation continued without interruption throughout the restructuring process
• Scrapping 1 of 2 generators (risk of failure)
• Elimination of about 20% of jobs
• Overall cost reduction of 30%

• Medium-sized chemical company with just under 1,000 employees at one site in Germany; originally affiliated with a major German corporation.