Operations
Post-Conflict Turnaround: 37% Cost Reduction, 85% of Customers Won Back
Restarting a detergent manufacturer after a two-year wartime shutdown. A 90-day recovery roadmap cut total costs 37%, won back 85% of pre-war customers within three months, and rebuilt the operation without external capital.
The problem
After a two-year conflict-forced shutdown, the business faced four pressures at once: cash was constrained, supplier relationships had lapsed, competitors had taken the market, and a dispersed workforce had to be brought back — with no external funding and no guarantee of recovery.
The approach
Built a structured 90-day recovery roadmap, synthesising operational data, cost drivers, and market intelligence to identify priority workstreams. Week one: stabilise cash and find the critical path. Weeks two to four: renegotiate contracts with two major chemical importers from a position of relationship equity rather than financial strength. Months two to three: restore production rhythm, run a workforce reintegration program for conflict-affected employees, rebuild distributor trust, and re-price against changed market rates — all as the working GM, not as an adviser writing recommendations.
The outcome
Total costs down 37% and 85% of pre-war customers won back within three months. Supplier renegotiation delivered a 26% input cost reduction while securing the supply reliability margin recovery depended on. The workforce reintegration program drove an 18% productivity improvement in the first quarter of resumed operations. The business was rebuilt to full operating rhythm without external capital.
Business value
Turnaround leadership under genuine resource constraints: sequencing decisions when cash, supply, market position, and team all need attention at once. The cost discipline, supplier negotiation, and stakeholder management this required translate directly to strategy consulting, corporate development, and operational transformation work.