Fractional Operations Director – Owner-managed Manufacturers / Distributors & Services Businesses

The work I do

I take on the Operations Director role in owner-managed businesses that have outgrown the structure that got them here. It starts with a one-day Deep Dive on site, then a 12-month programme in three phases: 16 weeks at two days a week to establish the numbers, the structure and a weekly operating rhythm; 20 weeks at one day a week while your operations manager takes the function over; and 12 weeks at two days a month to prove it holds. I carry the accountability, sit in your leadership meeting and own the operational numbers. The step-downs are dates in the agreement, so the fee falls as you need me less. The role works across sales, customer services and finance as well as operations, because most operational problems start somewhere else. If you would rather have a steady presence, I also offer a fixed 12 or 18-month term at one or two days a week.

Problems I solve

• Every operational decision still ends up on the MD's desk.
• We've grown, but our management structure hasn't.
• Nobody owns a number. We have no scorecard and no proper weekly leadership meeting.
• Our operations manager is stuck in the detail and can't step up.
• Our managers spend half the week covering gaps on the floor or behind the wheel.
• We need an Operations Director but can't justify, or can't find, a full-time one.
• We're planning to grow, and the only answer so far is more people and more vans.
• Sales promises things the operation can't deliver at the price.
• Courier, agency and overtime costs keep rising, and nobody is watching them.

Who I work with

Owner-managed and family-run UK manufacturers, distributors and service businesses with a good team, a growth target and no operations leader between the owners and the floor. Typically the MD or a commercial director is absorbing operational decisions, and they want someone senior who will carry the role rather than advise on it, and leave their own manager able to run it.

What I bring

• Freeing the director from day-to-day operations, At a £24m packaging distributor, a supervisor structure, a weekly L10 meeting and a scorecard took on-time delivery from around 85% to 99% in eight weeks. The Operations Director stepped back from day-to-day operations and an internal manager stepped up.
• Operations turnaround with hard numbers, A 12-week programme for a manufacturer raised output by up to 90% and cut cost per unit by up to 50%, with playbooks left behind so the team kept the gains.
• Leading operations from inside the business, Six months as Fractional Operations Manager at a furniture manufacturer. Now leading the operations department of a £4m service business while reshaping its structure and hiring.

Commercial