{"id":3089,"date":"2026-05-18T19:33:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecstaticbusiness.com\/blog\/case-study-30-ebit-growth-through-a-smile-at-customs\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T08:57:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T08:57:27","slug":"case-study-30-ebit-growth-through-a-smile-at-customs","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.ecstaticbusiness.com\/en\/blog\/case-study-30-ebit-growth-through-a-smile-at-customs\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: 30% EBIT Growth Through a Smile at Customs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this case study, I describe how my shift in perspective as COO helped resolve a deadlocked procedure and achieve the targeted KPI of 30% EBIT growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Key facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The problem: <\/strong>A deadlocked certification process that was massively stalling the company\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n

The hard KPI:<\/strong> A potential EBIT increase of around 30%.<\/p>\n\n

The turning point: <\/strong>A radical internal shift in perspective at a moment when everything was primed for confrontation.<\/p>\n\n

The setting: Interim management under high pressure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

When I stepped in as Interim Managing Director for Operations and Finance (more on this role here<\/a>), one project blocked our path like a massive boulder: our AEO customs certification. Substantial funds had already been invested, yet every application had been rejected. The mood in the team? Resigned. <\/p>\n\n

I reviewed the documents. The content was solid, but the “language” was wrong. We weren’t speaking the auditor’s language. We spent three months meticulously preparing\u2014and submitted right in the middle of the first lockdown. <\/p>\n\n

The confrontation: When emotions kill objectivity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Three weeks later: the on-site meeting with the customs auditor at our offices. We sat distanced; the air was thick with tension. The first ten minutes? An outright tirade from the official. We had failed to inform him in advance, he claimed, and his upcoming vacation was now in jeopardy. He zeroed in on my customs officer. <\/p>\n\n

I felt the anger rising inside me. My mind was screaming, “Who does he think he is? Millions are on the line here, and he’s worried about his vacation!” <\/em>The situation was on the verge of escalating. <\/p>\n\n

The transformation: “We are all connected”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Yet then, something happened that I now consider the very core of my work. I paused. I looked at this angry man and asked myself: “How drained and unfulfilled must this man be to feel the need to entrench himself so deeply behind his regulations?”<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

Suddenly, something “strange” stirred inside me. A deep impulse of compassion. Silently, I sent him genuine appreciation. I told myself: “We are all connected.”<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

I didn’t say a word. But my presence shifted. My resistance melted away. And the magic was this: <\/strong>almost at that exact moment, his anger collapsed in on itself. He grew calm. Suddenly, he confessed how much he hated always having to play “the bad guy.” Right then, he handed us the solution to the application practically on a silver platter. <\/p>\n\n

The result: More than just paperwork<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n