July 8, 2026
Interim or permanent? We set out speed, cost, flexibility and risk, so that you make the right choice for your supply chain in each situation.
Do you choose an interim manager or a permanent appointment? In short: choose interim for temporary peaks, transformations or an urgent vacancy, and permanent for structural roles with continuity. The right choice depends on speed, cost, flexibility and risk.
An interim supply chain manager fits when time and pace count. A few recognisable situations:
An urgent vacancy. Your manager leaves and the department cannot be allowed to come to a standstill. An interim specialist takes the wheel within 1 to 2 weeks.
A transformation or project. An S&OP implementation, a warehouse rebuild or a turnaround calls for experience you do not need permanently.
A peak or season. Temporary extra direction during a busy period, without a long-term commitment.
In all these cases you are buying speed, seniority and flexibility: exactly what permanent recruitment does not deliver in months.
For a structural position with a long horizon, a permanent manager is often more logical. Someone who gets to know the organisation inside out, builds culture and grows with the supply chain for years.
The downside: recruitment costs time and money, and finding the right senior candidate is difficult in the current market. If you urgently need direction, waiting for the perfect permanent hire is not an option.
Also watch out for the hidden costs of a wrong match. A permanent manager who turns out not to fit after a year costs you not only the recruitment and the salary, but also a year of missed progress. For a structural role it therefore pays to take your time, and if necessary to bridge the interim period with an interim professional rather than hastily signing a permanent contract.
It does not have to be either-or. A widely used approach: an interim specialist bridges the period until you have found the right permanent manager and also onboards that person. That way you lose no pace and your new manager starts with a clean desk.
The combination also works well in transformations. The interim specialist leads the project, your permanent team learns along the way, and the knowledge stays behind when the assignment is finished.
In doubt? Go through these four questions.
1. How urgent is it? If someone has to be in place within weeks, interim wins.
2. Is the need temporary or structural? Temporary or project-based argues for interim, structural for permanent.
3. What seniority do you need? For heavy, complex issues, interim brings 10+ years of experience in-house straight away.
4. How much flexibility do you want to keep? If you want to be able to scale up and down without a long-term commitment, interim offers room.
Flexible scaling sometimes raises questions about the Dutch Wet DBA. At UC Group you work with a partnership structure that offers legal certainty: you bring in supply chain professionals without the risk of false self-employment. Certainty in flexibility, without hassle.
The departing manager. A manufacturing company sees its supply chain manager step down, in the middle of a busy season. Recruitment takes months. An interim specialist takes the wheel within two weeks, keeps the department on course and will later onboard the permanent successor. Permanent was the end goal here, interim the bridge.
The transformation. An FMCG organisation wants to introduce S&OP. You badly need that expertise during the project, but not permanently. An interim specialist leads the implementation, the permanent team learns along the way, and the knowledge stays behind. Interim was the logical choice here.
The structural role. A growing company wants a supply chain manager who will build the supply chain and shape the culture over the coming years. Continuity weighs more heavily than speed. A permanent appointment fits best here.
If you really are not sure, look at the urgency and the reversibility. An interim assignment is quick to start and to end; you keep the door open. A permanent appointment is a bigger, longer-lasting commitment that you cannot simply reverse.
In practice, many clients therefore choose a phased route: first an interim specialist who stabilises and maps out the issue, and only then (with that insight) the decision about a permanent role. That way you make a structural choice based on facts, not under time pressure.
Is an interim manager more expensive than a permanent employee?
Per hour, yes, but if you include recruitment, employer's charges, onboarding time and turnover risk, the costs are closer together. For temporary issues, interim is generally more cost-effective.
How quickly can an interim manager start?
Usually within 1 to 2 weeks. Senior specialists can be deployed immediately.
Can an interim manager onboard my permanent successor?
Yes. A frequently chosen approach is for the interim specialist to bridge the period and onboard your new permanent manager, so that no knowledge or pace is lost.
Do I run a Wet DBA risk with interim?
Not at UC Group. The partnership structure offers legal certainty when deploying specialists flexibly.
Would you like to discuss what fits your situation? View our interim services or schedule a no-obligation introductory meeting.
UC Group works everywhere: our professionals are based across the Benelux. We welcome visitors at our offices in Rotterdam and Nieuwkuijk. Drop by for a coffee and get to know us!
