Chief Procurement Officers in Germany

Assignment Advising units on the commercial management of major infrastructure projects in the execution phase. Focus: contracts, claims, costs, risks and supplier performance. Goals Ensure cost, schedule and result stability throughout the entire project duration. Create transparency for management and turn commercial risks into manageable measures at an early stage. Build teams and structures, KPI-based steering, claim and change order management, negotiation leadership on complex claims, management of additional cost claims, as well as active supply chain and escalation management, evidence and audit capability

• Led the global restructuring and efficiency improvements in operational and strategic procurement
• Restructured personnel (HR headcounts) in cooperation with works council, HR, and legal
• Outsourced partial activities (procurement and finance with invoice control) to shared service center
• Built a shared service organization
• Improved S&OP processes and digitized procurement workflows using SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA with e-catalogs
• Implemented SAP IBP
• Led negotiations for direct and indirect goods
• Managed 9 cross-functional workgroups
• Developed and implemented improvement proposals in coordination with corporate management
• Worked according to ISO 13485
• Achieved savings of over €7M

• Overall responsibility for strategic and operational procurement, Procurement Management (11 FTE).
• Further development of the procurement and procurement organization, including task and role model.
• Management of cross-functional special projects (e.g. value engineering, design-to-cost).
• Development and implementation of a holistic sourcing and procurement strategy with a focus on resilience, ESG, de-risking, decoupling and cost performance.
• Execution of a comprehensive procurement transformation with a new supply chain strategy alignment.
• Reorganization of the procurement team to improve efficiency through clear role allocation and relief from non-core and non-functional tasks.
• Professionalization of contract management processes and supplier development programs.
• Process optimization along the S2C and P2P chain, including standardization and automation in line with MDR (EU Regulation 2017/745), GxP compliance & quality management systems ISO 9001 and ISO 13485.
• KPI development and optimization of the KPI system for performance and efficiency measurement in critical paths and missing parts.
• Coaching the team in strategic procurement work, project management and procurement due diligence.
• Implementation of AI-supported tools for sourcing, spend analysis and inventory management to optimize inventory.
• Achieved inventory reduction of ~31% through professional inventory management.
• Management of two cost reduction (cost avoidance) programs with quantified results: ~50% reduction in manufacturing costs for one core component and ~64% reduction in material costs for the successor platform through redesign and category sourcing.
• Savings in the low double-digit million range versus the baseline.
• Material groups: contract manufacturing, PCBA, EMS, blower, silicone injection molding, power supplies, batteries, displays, hoses, masks, valves, foams, cables, sensors, wireless modules (2G–5G), telemedicine components, laboratory services.

• Leading the global purchasing team for raw materials and indirect purchasing

• Organizational development and role definition

• Taking over the global logistics function

• Developing a global transport strategy for 6 sites (DE, US, CN, VN)

• Tender management

• Defining logistics processes and mapping them in ERP Canias

• Price and contract negotiations for raw materials and CAPEX

• Implementing a global purchasing structure

• Defining a qualification matrix and qualification requirements

• Defining a product group strategy

• Defining and implementing global logistics and transport standards

• Reducing transport costs by 45 %

• B2B retailer for business equipment
• Revenue €590m, 1,450 employees (2024)
• Procurement volume €350m, 3 departments / 20 employees, locations in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic
• Lead of the "Beat" project to achieve COGS savings / extend payment terms / reduce minimum order quantities, reporting on target achievement
• Increased collaboration with category management & warehouses
• Training & coaching for department heads / strategic buyers

• Development and global roll-out of central standards for indirect procurement: Strategic Sourcing, Category Strategy Management, Supplier Lifecycle Management
• Design and implementation of clear governance and accountability models
• Stakeholder management across all divisions and organizational levels

• Headed the establishment of a procurement organisation in Europe, including Lead-Buyer and NPD Buyer roles for the region as well as e-procurement and procurement tools.
• Started global sourcing.
• Drove increase in savings by three times from 2019 to 2020, reduced suppliers by 10%, quality complaints by 15% and improved on-time delivery by 10%.
• Inspired a high-performance team of more than 60 purchasing managers, regional lead buyers, supervisors supplier quality, supplier quality engineers, commodity buyers, NPD buyers and planner buyers through regular training, coaching and mentoring.
• Administered a spending budget of $200M for more than 10 production plants and regional distribution centres in Europe.
• Reduced costs by 3% EBITDA increase through effective negotiation, standardisation, VEVA/design to cost, BCCS, SCM, benchmarking, MoB, buy and resale, market analysis, relocation, outsourcing, insourcing and consolidation activities.
• Supervised formulation and implementation of category strategies with a rolling forecast by category.
• Set up SSC in Hungary including NPD, commodity and supplier quality function.

• Leading the purchasing team
• Identifying cost saving opportunities and efficiency improvements in the procurement process and implementing process optimizations
• Developing and implementing procurement strategies in coordination with product management (CTO) and operations management (COO)
• Managing and selecting suppliers for high-quality and cost-effective products and services
• Negotiating purchasing contracts and framework agreements
• Monitoring material flow between suppliers, external manufacturing and assembly companies, and in-house production
• Ensuring compliance with quality and delivery standards in coordination with QA (production)

• Company focus: Consulting in strategic and operational purchasing and interim management for manufacturing companies (mechanical engineering, automotive, industry)
• Developing and implementing purchasing strategies to reduce costs, consolidate suppliers, and minimize risks
• Interim management to fill vacancies and increase efficiency in purchasing organizations
• Optimizing supply chain processes including KPI and performance monitoring
• Successfully delivered projects achieving over 15% cost savings and up to 25% improvement in delivery performance
• Advising on the selection and implementation of digital purchasing tools

• As an experienced interim manager, I took on challenging assignments in companies and carried out successful restructurings

• Strategic thinking and focus on execution to boost operational efficiency, improve team performance, and accelerate company growth

• Led numerous projects to enhance efficiency and drive growth

• Challenge: No procurement structure in place. Lack of transparency on costs and suppliers.
• Approach: Set up a 5-member team, introduced purchasing policies, category strategy and supplier development.
• Results: Over €1 million in savings through contract negotiations and supplier management. Established new KPI systems.

Project procurement and contract management in CAPEX projects in petrochemicals – FEED-Phase and EPC-Phase with engineering partners, contractors and supplliers Tenders is SAP Ariba

• Professional and disciplinary leadership of series and project purchasing

• Professional and disciplinary leadership of materials management

• Organization and process development according to IATF guidelines

• Reorganization of purchasing and materials management

• Developed Purchasing Roadmap 2025

• Implemented Hoshin Kanri as the goal-setting system

• Introduced a procurement tool for indirect goods

• Cross-functional collaboration with interfaces

• Established new suppliers in best-cost countries

• Built a holistic supplier management system

• Set up a training program for team development

• Established purchasing controlling with SAP BI

• Introduced holistic cost management in the company

• Introduced an SAP-driven external KANBAN with container management

• Optimized order cycles and inventory levels by using logistical supply concepts (PULL, KANBAN, consignment warehouse)

• Conducted supplier workshop for sustainable optimization

• Sub-project leader for ERP system migration from Navision to SAP

• Qualification of electronics suppliers for new product development

• Reorganization of purchasing (series and project purchasing)

• Developed a KPI system based on SAP BI

• Advising small and medium-sized companies on professionalizing procurement, overall business development and on developing financing and growth strategies
• Developing and implementing procurement and business strategies
• Creating cost analyses and price calculations, building procurement and financial controlling, and implementing relevant KPIs
• Setting up digital procurement processes and introducing Power BI dashboards for data-driven management of the company
• Supporting make-or-buy decisions, contract negotiations and tenders
• Guiding procurement and digitalization projects with a focus on measurable added value
• Goal: making procurement measurable – with values, analytics and a clear focus on strategy, efficiency and execution.