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Hire the best Supply Chain Directors in Germany in minutes from 15,000 CVs with the power of AI

Find experts for supply planning, S&OP, logistics control towers, and SAP-based process redesign. Bring in a Supply Chain Director who can align procurement, production, warehousing, and transport without slowing the business down. Fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.

About the role

What they own

A Supply Chain Director sets the direction for end-to-end flow. The role connects demand, sourcing, production, inventory, warehousing, transport, and customer service. In many companies, the director also leads supply chain managers, planners, and logistics teams.

Typical work includes:

  • building the supply chain strategy and operating model
  • leading S&OP and demand planning
  • improving inventory, service levels, and working capital
  • managing suppliers, plants, 3PLs, and carriers
  • steering risk, continuity, and escalation handling

Core skills

Strong candidates combine operational depth with clear leadership. They know how to read the numbers, challenge assumptions, and keep functions aligned when demand changes or supply breaks.

  • end-to-end supply chain planning
  • procurement and supplier coordination
  • production and capacity balancing
  • logistics, distribution, and warehouse flow
  • KPI design and management reporting
  • change management and team leadership

Tools and methods

A good Supply Chain Director works with ERP and planning tools every day. Common environments include SAP, S/4HANA, APO or other advanced planning systems, plus BI dashboards and Excel-based scenario models. They use S&OP, inventory segmentation, service-level analysis, and root-cause reviews to make decisions.

They are often brought in to stabilize a transition, integrate a new site, prepare an ERP rollout, or clean up a planning process that no longer fits the business.

When companies need one

This role is often hired on a freelance basis when the business needs senior supply chain leadership without a long hiring process. That is common during restructuring, peak season pressure, plant launches, merger integration, or a temporary vacancy.

In Germany, companies often look for people who can work across production sites, central planning, and logistics partners. Clear communication in English is common; German helps when the work involves local plants, suppliers, and day-to-day coordination.

What strong profiles deliver

The best professionals do more than coordinate tasks. They set priorities, make trade-offs visible, and keep service and cost in balance.

They usually deliver:

  • a clear action plan with ownership and timing
  • faster decision-making across functions
  • better forecast, inventory, and service discipline
  • cleaner reporting and stronger escalation paths
  • practical improvements that the team can keep running

How to judge fit

Look for real examples of leading complex flows, not just managing a department. A strong Supply Chain Director can explain how they handled a shortage, improved planning accuracy, reduced excess stock, or aligned sales, operations, and logistics around one plan. They should also be comfortable working with finance, operations, and the executive team.

For freelancers, this role is a good fit when they can step into ambiguity fast, build trust quickly, and leave behind a structure that lasts.

Meet FRATCH Supply Chain Directors

Stefan Weiß

Stefan Weiß

Head of SCM Organization and Local S4H Implementation

Frankfurt am Main

Last position:

Head of SCM Organization and Local S4H Implementation at Aakamp GmbH

  • Comprehensive analysis of the site in terms of organization and processes, information and data flow, creation of a fit/gap analysis for S4H implementation, optimization of the entire supply chain including production planning and related QM activities
  • Modules: SD, MM, PP, QM, EWM, EPPDS, S&OP
  • Designing and holistically transforming the goods flow concept
  • Establishing a Kanban system
  • Increasing posting accuracy in the legacy system by 75%
  • Creating a planning matrix for prioritizing production orders based on optimized production sequence or urgency
  • Analyzing the product portfolio by revenue, volume, EBITDA to optimize purchasing costs (-17.5%), production utilization (+27.5%) and working capital (+32.8%)
  • Leading and restructuring the organization to optimally prepare for the S4H implementation, including training and hands-on instruction from C-level to shop floor
  • Preparing data using AI and introducing sanity checks to prevent and quickly resolve errors across all production areas
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Hüseyin Ipiv

Hüseyin Ipiv

Interim Supply Chain & Procurement Transformation Lead

Düsseldorf

Last position:

Interim Supply Chain & Procurement Transformation Lead at Self-employed

  • Took on interim mandates to structurally realign supply chain and procurement organizations with a focus on result and performance management.
  • Developed customer-centric end-to-end supply chain structures to improve service levels, growth, and operational control.
  • Managed strategic tender and negotiation processes to optimize supplier structures and commercial contract models.
  • Designed and implemented digital and data-driven control models for forecasting, planning, and supply chain performance.
  • Built operating and governance models for sustainable management of transformation, decision-making processes, and supplier management.
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Lilia Baough

Lilia Baough

Head of Global Supply Chain Management

München

Last position:

Head of Global Supply Chain Management at tado° GmbH

  • Lead and manage a team of 8 professionals across Strategic Procurement, Demand Planning, Sales & Operations Planning, Industrial/Quality Engineering, and Logistics, fostering collaboration and driving high performance.
  • Oversee Electronic Manufacturing Partners in Asia and 3PL partners in EU Sales & Operations Planning and the UK, ensuring efficiency and timely delivery in all supply chain operations.
  • Negotiate contracts with suppliers and partners to secure improved payment terms, enhanced credit limits, and favorable conditions.
  • Implement new 3PL partnerships, optimising logistics and service levels.
  • Led the RFQ process for EMS partners in the EU.
  • New product introduction (NPI) production ramp-ups, managing 5 simultaneous product launches and ensuring smooth transitions from RFQ development to production over 1M devices.
  • Drive margin improvement through strategic BOM cost negotiations, frame agreement implementation, and logistics cost optimisation with yearly Lean Six Sigma outcomes +1.5M$ savings.
  • NetSuite (Oracle cloud solution)
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Bruno Lesseur

Bruno Lesseur

Interim Manager / Director Supply Chain Management / Consultant

Neuss

Last position:

Interim Manager / Director Supply Chain Management / Consultant

  • Implementation and management of the end-to-end S&OP process
  • Creation and continuous improvement of the KPI system including reporting to monitor supply chain management performance
  • Identification and implementation of process improvements for cost savings and complexity reduction
  • Further development and optimization of supply chain management
  • Project management of smaller projects within the scope of work (e.g. profile and interface adjustments)
  • Targeted and motivating leadership and development of the team, coaching employees
  • Close collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to ensure optimal delivery capability
  • Initiation and leadership of strategic projects (e.g. digitization, process optimization)
  • Preparation and validation of board presentations
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Ulrike Bertrand

Ulrike Bertrand

Managing Director Supply Chain; Interim and Change-Management

Hamburg

Last position:

Managing Director Supply Chain; Interim and Change-Management at Moving Supplies GmbH

  • End-to-end process interim executive in SCM, CPO, CRO, COO, S&OP
  • Implementation of transformation within producing companies
  • Demand planning, purchasing development of integrated S&OP management planning processes
  • Process and method management
  • ‘Anti-siloing’ in the process chain: sales-purchasing-supply chain-manufacturing-logistics-customer
  • ERP SAP: AM, SD, MM, PP, WM, QM, TM, IBP
  • BPMN, Signavio, Confluence, Jira
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Ralf Zschieschang

Ralf Zschieschang

Head of Supply Chain Management & Customer Service

Rosenheim

Last position:

Head of Supply Chain Management & Customer Service at Siteco GmbH

  • Responsible for leading Customer Service and Supply Chain functions including Order Management, Export Sales Coordination, Global Shared Service Center, Supply Chain planning, production planning and logistics

  • Business Process Owner for Supply Chain Management and Sales and Operations Planning

  • Designed, implemented and improved central processes and applications

  • Implemented and monitored global KPIs for delivery reliability, delivery capability, logistics productivity and inventory management

  • Member of the leadership transformation team responsible for revising the process landscape after carve-out from the Osram Group

  • Successfully reintegrated logistics into the Siteco Group and increased logistics productivity by 16% per working hour

  • Maintained delivery capability above industry average during the COVID-19 crisis

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Jochen Kuhm

Jochen Kuhm

Global Head of Supply Chain, Planning & Logistics

Gemünden am Main

Last position:

Global Head of Supply Chain, Planning & Logistics at vetsak GmbH

  • Outsourcing and relocation of all warehousing and fulfillment via a tender process within 8 months

  • Design and implementation of a lean planning and supply chain structure

  • Strategic expansion of the supplier network by implementing a multi-source strategy

  • Concept and implementation of a new, strategically aligned product nomenclature

  • Established a supply chain team

  • Reduced a backlog of about one third of annual revenue

  • Increased actual revenue by 225% within one year

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Ulrich Koester

Ulrich Koester

Digital Transformation Manager Qualification Program

Freiburg im Breisgau

Last position:

Head of SCM at Gerresheimer Bünde GmbH

  • Leading 59 employees (planning, procurement, logistics, strategy)
  • Managing three production sites
  • Implementing SIOP process
  • Developing alternative purchasing concepts
  • Harmonizing processes
View Profile

Discover over 15,000 top freelancers

Supply Chain Directors statistics

Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.

Experience

25 years

Position duration

3 years

Positions per freelancer

11

Top business areas

Operations, Supply Chain Management, Logistics

Top industries

Manufacturing, Cosmetics, Chemical

Certification focus areas

Operations, Quality Assurance, Strategy

Bachelor's degree or higher

86%

Master's degree or higher

43%

Certifications per freelancer

1

Most common languages

German, English, Spanish

Speak two or more languages

100%

Daily Rate Distribution

0 1 2 3 4
<€1240 €1280-1320 €1360+

The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

Average rates for Supply Chain Directors & Seniority distribution

Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.

1400
1050
700
350
Rate comparison chart
Daily rate avg. 1277 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

1400
1050
700
350
Rate comparison chart
Median rate 1252 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Looking for clear information? Everything important about FRATCH is here

A Supply Chain Director owns the end-to-end flow from demand planning to delivery. They align procurement, production, inventory, warehousing, and transport so the business can meet demand without unnecessary cost or waste. In many companies, they also lead the S&OP process and handle critical escalations when supply is tight.

The best Supply Chain Directors combine planning discipline with leadership and clear decision-making. They need strong command of ERP systems, KPI reporting, supplier management, and cross-functional coordination. Just as important is the ability to balance service levels, inventory, and cost without losing control of operations.

A Supply Chain Director usually works at a higher strategic and cross-functional level than a manager. Compared with a Supply Chain Manager, the director is more likely to own operating models, major change programs, and leadership across several functions or sites. The title can overlap with Head of Supply Chain when the scope is similar, but directors often carry broader business responsibility.

A freelance Supply Chain Director is a strong choice when you need senior leadership fast for a defined situation. Typical cases are restructuring, an ERP or SAP rollout, a new plant ramp-up, a merger integration, or a temporary gap in leadership. It works well when the company wants hands-on impact without committing to a long recruitment cycle.

Most Supply Chain Directors work with ERP and planning systems every day, especially SAP-based environments. They should also be comfortable with forecasting tools, dashboard reporting, and scenario models in Excel or BI platforms. The exact stack depends on the company, but they must be able to turn data into decisions.

That depends on the role’s scope and the number of plants, warehouses, or suppliers involved. A Supply Chain Director in Germany often needs some on-site time for workshops, escalation handling, and team alignment, especially in manufacturing or logistics-heavy settings. Strategic work, reporting, and preparation can often be done remotely.

Look for proof that the candidate has improved real supply chain outcomes, not just managed meetings. A strong Supply Chain Director can explain how they solved shortages, improved planning reliability, reduced inventory pressure, or aligned multiple functions around one process. Clear examples, structured thinking, and calm handling of complexity matter more than a long title history.

Freelance Supply Chain Directors are usually hired for clarity, speed, and ownership. Companies expect them to assess the situation quickly, set priorities, and work well with operations, finance, sales, and logistics teams. The best assignments give enough authority to make decisions and enough access to data and stakeholders to move things forward.

The average hourly rate for Supply Chain Directors in Germany is 160 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 1,277 € based on an 8-hour working day.

Of the freelancers working as Supply Chain Directors in Germany, 86% hold at least a Bachelor's degree and 43% hold at least a Master's degree.

On average, freelancers working as Supply Chain Directors in Germany have 25 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3 years.

The most common languages among freelancers working as Supply Chain Directors in Germany are German (100%), English (100%), and Spanish (38%).

The most common industries among freelancers working as Supply Chain Directors in Germany are Manufacturing (88%), Cosmetics (50%), and Chemical (50%).

The most common business areas among freelancers working as Supply Chain Directors in Germany are Operations (100%), Supply Chain Management (100%), and Logistics (88%).

FRATCH Supply Chain Directors main locations

Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.

Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg

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Philipp Thomaschewski

FRATCH CEO

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