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ProHub
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Medium Operations

JoinTech

#Manufacturing #Automotive
ProHub Comment

This is a multifaceted operations case requiring root cause analysis across product, customer, production, and supply chain dimensions. The case tests the candidate's ability to segment problems by product type, perform capacity analysis, and develop differentiated solutions—combining short-term tactical measures (hiring, Saturday shifts) with medium-term strategic initiatives (machine investment, supply chain optimization).

Estimated Time 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source IESE
50 / 100
JoinTech, a German automotive supplier for engineered joining technology, is in backlog with its cash cow product group. Customer satisfaction is plummeting as a result of a drop in on-time delivery; costs are increasing because of overtime and special deliveries, and the atmosphere in the company is tense due to high pressure from senior management. The plant manager hired you to develop a strategy that resolves the backlog.

Clarifying Information

  1. Size of the company: 400M Sales/ year
  2. Size of product group: 50M Sales/ year (12.5% → significant portion)
  3. Current Backlog: €1M Backlog → roughly 1 week of production (~2.7M parts)
  4. Cause for Backlog: our manufacturing is late, supplier is late
  5. Backlog mainly coming from big sizes and specialized products
  6. Affected Product: Clamping product, BOM: band material with threads, screw, housing for screw, pre-positioner, spring
  7. Capabilities company: 15 major product groups, metal and plastics products, Plastics: injection moulding + assembly, metal: stamping and bending, rolling, heat treating, assembly, semi-part production
  8. Production: Shifts: 15 shifts/week
  9. Equipment: 30 machines: 4 small sizes, 5 big sizes, 16 regular sizes, 5 specialized machines
  10. Supply Chain: Supplied: Raw material + housings, pre-positioner, spring from supplier
  11. Screws from sister plant (intercompany)
  12. Customers that cause the biggest pain points are OEMs that manufacture abroad → air freight