BigPicture Experts in Germany

Concept and implementation of a unified-commerce platform for SMEs for selling and building multi-product bundles

Successes: On-time concept, delivery, and customer acceptance of a 100% functional, CPQ-based buy flow process for configuring and selling multi-product bundles within the given 90-day time frame. Successfully tested integration of various interface services for the following areas: customer search, customer data enrichment, address validation, service qualification, phone number validation, credit check, appointment selection, and quote-to-order transition.

Responsibilities:

• Strategic target delivery: deriving and implementing strategic customer goals (e.g. release content, business value).
• Backlog management: creating and refining backlog items (initiatives, epics, user stories, defects) in close coordination with the project team and customer.
• Prioritization & releases: responsibility for prioritizing the product backlog and delivering defined release goals.
• Deliverable tracking: tracking work results on both the supplier and customer side.
• Roadmap & release planning: developing and implementing roadmaps and release plans together with the customer.
• Scope responsibility: responsibility for the contractually agreed scope of services.
• Claim management: active claim and change management toward the customer.
• Team coordination: steering and coordinating the development team.
• Using synergies: making use of synergies between customer projects and product development.
• Offer preparation: preparing offers (with supervision) and presenting them on site to customers and partners.

Skills: development, communication, and implementation of product visions; product backlog management; stakeholder management; regular reporting to management and steering committees; requirements analysis & engineering; planning and documenting workshops; functional leadership and coordination of (distributed) project teams and external service providers; epic management; user story specifications; creating use cases, support with software tests and user acceptance testing (UAT); release management and sprint planning; design of target processes; process optimization; planning, concept, and specification of interfaces to existing and new systems; identification, assessment, and steering of project risks; active claim and change management; facilitation of sprint planning and reviews; data migration; Scrum; Kanban; REST API; JSON; XML; BPMN; UML; Jira; Confluence

Analysis and optimization of end-to-end processes in different business areas such as sales, procurement, order processing and logistics. Redesign of the ERP. Identification of optimization potential, especially in areas with media breaks and manual tasks, as well as creation of a prioritized transformation roadmap with clear business cases and implementation recommendations. Management of automation initiatives. RPA at the production site in China. Evaluation and introduction of relevant AI use cases as well as building basic AI competence in the organization. Training internal employees of the project team and supporting them in the transformation process to develop a continuous improvement culture. Close collaboration with IT and external implementation partners, reporting to senior management.

Main tasks and achievements:

• Analysis of business processes and design of automated processes
• Training and support for employees in China and Germany
• 20% cost savings in logistics
• Regular status reports to management

• IT Senior Consultant (bank infrastructure, Active Directory, Azure, security, PKI)
• Planning, design, and implementation of cloud solutions based on Microsoft Azure / M365
• Teams, M365, and cloud services
• Vulnerabilities, threats, attacks
• Security analysis, security policy, security architecture
• Conducting meetings and presentations at various management levels
• Organizing and leading team meetings to improve internal communication
• Tools: PowerShell, Active Directory, GPO, DNS, DHCP, scripting

Over 35 years in the midmarket. Client advising, marketing, sales, financial management – always where decisions are pragmatic, not theoretical. Always looking at the big picture, across department boundaries.

When AI came up, I was like many: fascinated but also overwhelmed. Instead of waiting, I dove in with training to become

• AI Consultant and AI Manager (IHK) – for a solid base
• AI Compliance Manager (IHK) – for security
• AI Design Sprint® Facilitator – for strategy

It became clear to me: Most CEOs in mid-sized companies don't need a tech guy selling them the next automation. They need someone who speaks their language, understands their processes, and can place AI – soberly, structured, without hype. They need clarity!

That's exactly me: a business professional meets AI know-how. Not a developer, not a tool seller – but someone who knows how mid-sized companies tick and who now brings the expertise to give SMEs a well-founded start to AI transformation.

AI clarity comes from the AI fixer in 4 modules:

• Assessment (check AI maturity)
• Compliance (AI Act)
• Strategy (AI Design Sprint®)
• Support

• Management and optimization of a portfolio of about 100 projects (launches, in-field solutions, data & analytics, digital solutions, digital products)
• Optimization of the existing project standard (playbook) and alignment with the European and global organization (USA)
• Coaching project managers on setup, planning, cooperation with business, GDPR, GxP, data security and launches
• Preparing projects for works council information and project closeout communication
• Optimization of resource management (tracking, allocation, prioritization)
• Taking over individual project leads (off-/transboarding, event management, checking whether WhatsApp is allowed on a business smartphone)
• Supporting the hiring of external project managers
• Optimization of meeting structure, project controlling (KPIs), change and demand management
• Optimization of risk, issue, dependency and quality management and support during internal audits (GxP)
• Optimization of the portfolio steering tool (Smartsheet) on national, European and global level
• Design and implementation of a Business Value Complexity Scoring
• Building a strategic PMO with a sister department and optimizing cross-functional teams
• Reporting, communication and escalation at management level
• Leadership coaching for several future leaders (short-time assignment)
• Development of the concepts "PPM as a Service" and "Internal Customer Approach"
• Development and review of a concept "AI Data Governance" including roles and processes
• Selection and onboarding of the successor

• Advising on and structuring the "Digital Business" program (building program and project structure)
• Assessment of salary structures and market conditions
• Supporting the development of the e-commerce strategy
• Sparring partner in building, optimizing, and monitoring distribution strategies (own webshops, marketplaces, and use of third-party platforms)

AI Strategy & Enablement for SMEs Management consulting – SMEs (e.g. marketing boutique, IT & office services)

Concept and delivery of structured AI introduction and strategy workshops for small and medium-sized businesses. Result: Practical AI status assessment, prioritized use case list, and management decision template as the basis for the next steps in the company’s AI development.

Activities

• Needs analysis and individual preparation of the consulting formats
• Facilitation of a structured AI status assessment including vision, mission, and target picture
• Identification and prioritization of relevant AI use cases and action fields
• Creation of management decision templates and roadmaps
• Raising awareness for opportunities, risks, and success factors of AI introduction
• Support for first customers with AI-supported automation scenarios
• Supporting people and teams through the change process of AI introduction (CM)

Methods / Tools / Technologies

Methods:

• AI status assessment & use case analysis
• Workshop moderation / facilitation
• Requirement Management
• Change Management (PROSCI)

Tools:

• Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude)
• Automation/AI coding tools (e.g. n8n, Claude Code, Visual Studio, Antigravity)

Technologies:

• Prompt engineering
• AI workflow automation

• Development of a retrofit concept, including qualification measures
• Development, installation and commissioning of the required hardware and software
• Development of a safety concept
• Execution and documentation of in-house verifications / qualification
• Initiation and implementation of measures in case of non-conformities
• Execution of CE conformity assessment procedures and CE marking

• The goal of Afworki GmbH IT-Consulting is to make small and medium-sized companies more competitive by overcoming challenges in digitalization, automation, and data management.

• Tailored technology, strategy, and specialist consulting designed to meet the individual needs of each company.

• Analyzing the company's current situation and developing the best possible solution together with the client.

• Using both agile and classical IT project management methods to deliver projects on time and within budget.

• Focusing on automating and orchestrating all data flows in a data warehouse to create a unified and standardized data foundation.

• Considering the dependencies between IT and business to achieve sustainable positive effects.

• Employing modern strategies and tools specifically tailored to the company's needs.

• Supporting digitalization, the introduction of agile working methods, and the creation of up-to-date reports and analyses.

• Objective: streamlining management and enabling well-founded, data-driven decision-making.

• Workshop preparation and facilitation for the BMW digital team to plan the Matko Cockpit product delivery for the second half of the year.

• Team building and preparation of the Matko Cockpit product delivery roadmap.

• Stakeholder alignment and workshop design.

• Managing the workshop agenda, identifying focus topics, and topic prioritization.

• Review of team sentiment and capturing impressions.

• Identification, summary, and documentation of action items.

• Methodologies used: Ice Breaker, Brain Storming, Story Points, Magic Estimation, Hypothesis Statement, Problem Statement, Dot Voting, and Parking Lot.

• Setup: retail group in transition, agile environment, team with 10 developers
• Goal: replacement of a software monolith, redesign of static content, structuring of further backoffice portals
• Challenge: complex system-side dependencies, stakeholders for software development & digitalization
• Tasks: subject-matter responsibility for static content and operational processes

• Consulting, coaching, workshops, and project management focused on transformation, potential development, and sustainable growth

• Improve and properly define internal processes
• Requirements management and selection of an ERP system
• Consulting on selecting, implementing and using AI to optimize processes
• Systems and technology: ERPnext

• Accelerated merchant onboarding and KYC process, rolled out new merchant contracts, and managed an upstream merger at a payment service provider
• Developed and interim-managed procurement processes to defend and pass on supplier price increases at an automotive supplier
• Supported the in-house consulting team of a trade fair organizer on organization and process development topics (hiring, customer inquiries) across functions
• PMO for software testing for an eMobility service provider on behalf of an OEM
• Created a growth strategy and served as interim PMO for the first 100 days of post-merger integration at a landscaping and garden services group
• Conducted commercial due diligence for a mobile sanitation provider
• Designed and implemented quality assurance and customer support processes to prepare for the launch of a media corporate startup
• Interim PMO to build COVID-19 testing capabilities and capacity for a TIC group (including materials, staff, facilities, software, legal)
• Designed a new budgeting and approval process with clear steps, responsibilities, and thresholds for a health education scale-up
• PMO for DB1 and OPEX improvement at a fitness scale-up through product and pricing adjustments and a concept for building in-house consulting