SAP APO Experts in Germany
matched in minutes with vetted and available freelancersHire experts who optimize demand planning, supply network planning and production scheduling with SAP APO, including integration with SAP ECC, SAP SCM and SAP S/4HANA environments. Get fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
Meet FRATCH Experts in Germany, who have recently used SAP APO
Farid A.
Last position:
SAP Data Migration & Data Management Consultant for SAP GEMINI at Montblanc
The consultant's responsibilities/actions are:
- Consulting on the migration of material master & PP Master data
- Prepare Article List template for Cutover Phase
- Implementation of data cleansing measures using individual and bulk changes
- SAP all mandatory fields data extraction regarding Business needed
- SAP migration, Cutover, Testing, BAT, UAT
- Align with the multiple Stakeholders regarding Data from Legacy and SAP System
- Deployed SAP MM best practice (guided configurations, active methodologies and road map for project initiation)
SAP ERP | SAP GEMINI | SAP Fields Coordination | Documentation | SAP IDoc | SAP Integration | SAP End-to-End Process | SAP MM (Material Management) | SAP Functional Consultant | SAP Gap analysis | SAP MDM (Master Data Management) | Data Migration & Management
Martin H.
Last position:
SAP Consultant at Montblanc-Simplo GmbH
- Production master data: bill of material, work center, routing and production version, customizing, FIORI
- Optimization and organization of production
- gATP and aATP training
- Classical MRP, pMRP and MRP Live
- Various planning strategies in PP
- Workflow and MDM tables and fields
- Metadata in SAP, fields and their mapping
- Creation of metadata in Excel
- LSMW basics: data cleansing with Excel + deduplication
- LTOM or Migration Cockpit
- Training in APO, later as ePP/DS master data, heuristics and optimizer CIF integration models
- Production orders and capacity planning, reconciliation and evaluation
- Net requirements calculation, lot sizes and pegging, detailed planning board, product view in PP/DS
- KUT test or migration test
- Digitization of maintenance plans, orders, checklist documents
- Technical objects, equipment, bills of material and their customizing
- Measuring points and serial numbers customizing
- Work and maintenance planning, cycles and different dimensions
Michael L.
Last position:
IT Project Manager at Self-employed
- Tendering, IT architecture and implementation
- Project and budget planning, resource management
- Stakeholder management and risk management
- The project was delivered “on time and within budget”
- Implementation of SAP IBP Cloud S&OP Demand & Supply
- Building materials group with revenue of €1.3 billion and 30 plants
Joseph A.
Last position:
Senior SAP In-House Consultant, Plant-2-Stock at KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA
- Engaged business stakeholder to define levels 1, 2 3 & 4 processes.
- Engaged stakeholders to model the As-IS & To-Be business processes in Seeds Processing, Quality Management onto SAP Signavio.
- Identified and highlighted integration points between plant-to-Stock processes and other process areas such as finance and controlling.
- Documented business requirements as user Stories in Jira and categorized each user story as either Gap or Fit.
- Configured and demonstrated Variant Configuration in SAP PP to process owners and stakeholders as proposed solution to satisfy business requirements.
- Proposed workarounds or enhancements to meet requirements that are categorized as gaps.
- Planned the Sprints for Plan-to-Stock, assign and monitor the progress being made in completing user Stories for the active Sprint.
- Created the following PP Variant Configuration master data: Class of Class type 300, Configurable material of material type KMAT, Material variants of material type FERT & assigned the KMAT material to each FERT Material Variant, Super BOM & linked the Super BOM of the configurable material to FERT material variants, Routing and Production version for KMAT material.
- Reviewed list of custom reports currently in use in ECC and identified S4Hana standard analytical reports that satisfies these custom reporting requirements.
Dieter B.
Last position:
E-Commerce Project Management Europe at Reckitt Benkiser Health Care
Florian S.
Last position:
ABAP/4, ABAP Objects Developer at Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund
- WRICEF objects (Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, Enhancements, Forms and Workflow) in the FI and CO modules of S/4HANA ECC using ABAP OO
- Use of SAP HANA Studio, AIF, SAP Solution Manager, Confluence and Jira
- Environment: SAP S/4HANA on Premise 2020
Prem Chander A.
Last position:
Product owner for SAP PP, QM, APO, MM, MES and ABAP at Husqvarna Group (Bei HCLTech)
Development and Implementation
- Conceptualization and implementation of the various requirements.
- Experience and ability to collaborate with other delivery teams
- Lead a team of 15 people taking care of matters including monitoring operations, delegating tasks and managing budgets.
- Act as product owner and represent the product vision, strategy and priorities in the area of production operations.
- Work closely with the members of the area including developers, analysts and QA to ensure the successful delivery of logistics features and improvements.
- Lead the process design and lead the build team for the SAP implementation (EU countries) and post-merger integration in SAP PP, QM, MM, APO and SD modules.
- Implemented and optimized MRP Live (MD01N) for multiple plants, improving planning runtime
- Worked with business users to transition from classic MRP to MRP Live
- Implemented SAP QM module, including quality planning and inspection lot processing, resulting in a 20% improvement in product quality compliance.
- Developed and tested custom reports using SAP Query and ABAP for MES data analytics, improving visibility into yield rates and resource utilization.
- Translate production requirements into clear and actionable user stories, acceptance criteria and technical specifications.
- Skilled in discrete, and process/manufacturing (PP-PI) environments; deep understanding of master data, production & process orders, recipe management, batch management, capacity & scheduling, shop floor control, and integration with QM, MM, EWM, MES.
- Worked in Variant configuration (VC)
- Supported international rollouts and transformation projects for SAP PP, QM, PPDS, aATP, EWM, and Variant Configuration within a global strategy.
- Tested functionalities for various business scenarios include interface systems
- Involved in SIT and UAT and cutover activities
Technology: Project Management, SAP PP, QM, MM, APO, ABAP OO, HANA Modelling, FIORI, SAP UI5, AMDP, SAP SD, SAP FICO and S4 HANA Emedded analytics
Andrea C.
Last position:
Founder at SCM Forward
- Consulting project. Member of Program Management Office leading the turnaround of a EUR 5 bil engineering Group, responsible for Indirect Spend reduction and targeting EUR 60 mil savings across 10+ spend categories
Oliver J.
Last position:
Project Management SAP S/4HANA, Business Consulting SAP S/4HANA at Schüco International
- SAP S/4HANA implementation
- Agile project & program management
- SAP S/4HANA main contact for business support for planning phase (Signavio, SolMan, Process Design Concepts)
Holger S.
Last position:
Internal Project Manager S/4HANA On-Premise System with FIORI connection at RSCE
- Complete customizing of the required processes (partly outside the standard SAP number ranges)
- Set-up of the complete organizational structure (Sales, Purchasing, Warehouse, Service, etc.)
- Integration of organizational units with business partners (role BUP004) via T77SO
- Completion of Customer-Vendor-Integration (CVI)
- Implementation of basic SD functionalities: orders, deliveries, invoices
- Configuration of MM movements incl. Lean WM
- Set-up of the basic logic for New General Ledger and basic FI customizing
- Installation of and communication between standard Fiori Apps and S/4HANA
- Connection of SAP S/4HANA Service incl. Fiori
- Definition of organizational units and partner roles (PPOME)
- Replication of S/4 Service with S/4 Sales for service order and repair processing
- Customizing of TM document types, movement types and item categories
- Replication of TM master data and transaction data
- Set-up of internal replication of deliveries into freight units
- Implementation of Fiori Apps such as Transportation Network Cockpit, Freight Order and Freight Units
Olaf W.
Last position:
Business Processes Principal Consultant, Value Prototyping Team at SAP AG
- Managed proof of concept and prototype projects for SAP Rapid Prototyping across multiple industries
- Conducted As-Is reverse engineering and To-Be business process, requirements and pain-points workshops
- Designed streamlined, pragmatic end-to-end business solutions integrating SAP ERP, PI, APO and legacy systems
- Developed structured project proposals and online repositories for sprint planning, tasks, requirements and documentation
- Encouraged continuous improvement with lean/agile, user-centered project management style
- Executed rapid prototyping to support key design decisions in running systems
- Provided production support and training for midsize and global companies
- Delivered jump-start implementations, upgrade strategies, feasibility studies and risk assessments
Werner B.
Last position:
Product Visionary Sales & Operations Planning at BASF Digital Solutions GmbH
- Support of BASF units in change management for the introduction of a Sales & Operations Planning process based on OMP SOP
Adrian T.
Last position:
Founder & Advisor – SC Strategy & Commercial Growth at AMT Supply Chain Consulting
- Advised Shein on its EU distribution redesign, optimizing last-mile carrier flows, cutting lead times by 15%, and unlocking €5M+ annual savings.
- Built €40M+ qualified pipeline for a European 3PL by designing a 4PL go-to-market strategy, account prioritization, and pursuit governance framework.
- Developed AI-enabled control towers & KPI dashboards reducing decision latency by 30%, giving executives real-time visibility for network and tender decisions.
- Coached BD teams on value-selling & pursuit excellence, increasing win rates from ~55% to ~70% across competitive, multi-region bids.
Dominik P.
Last position:
Head of IT at Aarsleff Spezialtiefbau GmbH
- Disciplinary and professional leadership of the IT and service team
- Definition and documentation of the Current Mode of Operation (CMO) in Confluence: application landscape, infrastructure, networks, backup & storage
- Development of the Future Mode of Operation (FMO) including process analysis & stakeholder interviews with all departments using BPMN and flowcharts
- Optimization of license management: reduction of ongoing software costs by approx. 17% p.a.
- Introduction and establishment of Jira as the central tool for project and service management
- Introduction and rollout of the HR software MindKey to digitize HR processes
- Introduction of a VoIP solution with Microsoft Teams incl. PSTN connection to replace classic telephony
- Introduction of the production and planning software OptiControl to digitize operational processes
- Rollout of Intune as a Mobile Device Management solution for Windows, iOS and Android
- Build-up of Power BI dashboards for machine park monitoring and financial reporting
- Planning and execution of the IT consolidation of two locations for 170 users
- Introduction of automated penetration testing with Pentera
- Coaching and mentoring the team in agile methods & project management
- Operational support in day-to-day business: administration, incident & change management
- Management of external service providers and assurance of the quality of outsourced IT services
- Responsibility for the IT budget incl. planning and controlling
- Direct reporting line to management with regular management reports on IT KPIs, budget and project status
Sascha S.
Last position:
Strategic Purchasing at Matzen & Timm GmbH
- Lead Buyer for elastomers (coated fabrics) in the group
- Responsible for purchasing wire, chemicals and machined components at Matzen & Timm
- Price and contract negotiations
- Make-or-buy strategies for plastic molded parts
- Development of a 2nd source strategy for aerospace
- Continuous development and auditing of suppliers and improvement of a supplier evaluation system to ensure a reliable supplier base
- Preparation of purchasing-related, meaningful statistics to support strategic decision-making in the procurement process
- Creating and presenting monthly and quarterly reports with the corresponding KPIs
- Trade show visits
- Handling imports from overseas
- Invoice verification and claim handling
- Optimization of purchasing processes or process changes
- Optimization of the product portfolio in terms of materials and suppliers
- Participation in projects affecting the procurement process
- Customs and export officer in the company
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using SAP APO
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
30 years
Position duration
3.5 years
Positions per freelancer
16
Top business areas
Information Technology, Project Management, Supply Chain Management
Top industries
Manufacturing, Information Technology, Professional Services
Certification focus areas
Information Technology, Project Management, Quality Assurance
Bachelor's degree or higher
91%
Master's degree or higher
32%
Doctorate
5%
Certifications per freelancer
2
Most common languages
German, English, French
Speak two or more languages
100%
Based on our profile pool as of 29 Oct 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of experts in this technology in Germany are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows the share of experts charging within that range.
Average rates of experts in Germany using SAP APO
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
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.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 29 Oct 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
SAP APO experts industry focus
See which industries our matched freelancers work in most often — every figure is calculated live from the freelancers on FRATCH.
- Manufacturing (86%)
- Information Technology (79%)
- Professional Services (55%)
- Healthcare (52%)
- Automotive (48%)
- Food and Beverage (48%)
- Chemical (41%)
- Transportation (38%)
Please note that freelancers can work across multiple industries, so percentages overlap.
About the technology
What SAP APO does
SAP APO, short for SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization, supports complex supply chain planning across demand, supply, production and distribution. It helps companies coordinate planning decisions beyond basic ERP transactions, using shared data and structured planning processes. The product is also associated with the wider SAP SCM planning ecosystem.
Core planning areas
- Demand Planning for forecasts, promotions and statistical models
- Supply Network Planning for sourcing, inventory and distribution flows
- Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling for constrained capacity
- Global Available-to-Promise for product availability commitments
- Planning integration between supply chain functions and execution systems
These components help planners compare scenarios, resolve bottlenecks and align supply with customer demand. The right configuration depends on the company’s products, locations, planning horizons and master data quality.
Ecosystem and tooling
SAP APO commonly works with SAP ECC, SAP SCM, SAP Business Warehouse and SAP S/4HANA landscapes. Specialists handle Core Interface and integration models, master data, planning books, macros, alerts, heuristics and optimizer settings. They may also work with SAP Integrated Business Planning when a company is modernizing its planning architecture or moving selected capabilities to the cloud.
When companies need specialists
- APO planning results do not match operational realities
- Forecasts, stock levels or capacity plans need redesign
- A rollout requires templates, localization or data migration
- Interfaces between APO, ERP and execution systems need repair
- The business is assessing a transition toward SAP IBP or S/4HANA
Freelance expertise is useful during supply chain transformations, urgent stabilization work and planning-process redesign. In Germany, collaboration may involve German-speaking business teams, local plants and remote specialists working across several time zones.
What strong professionals deliver
Strong SAP APO professionals connect configuration choices with business planning decisions. They can map requirements, challenge weak processes, validate master data and explain planning results to both supply chain teams and IT stakeholders. Their deliverables may include solution designs, configuration, integration specifications, test scenarios, training material and go-live support.
How to assess fit
Ask for examples involving the relevant APO components, industry constraints and SAP landscape. Look for practical knowledge of demand and supply planning, production scheduling, integration monitoring and data reconciliation. A capable specialist defines clear assumptions, documents decisions and tests the effect of planning changes on execution. They also understand when an APO solution should be stabilized, redesigned or connected to a newer SAP planning product.
Frequently asked questions
What clients ask us most about SAP APO — answered in short.
SAP APO is used to plan demand, supply, production, distribution and product availability across complex supply networks. It helps companies model scenarios, identify constraints and align planning decisions with execution in SAP and connected systems.
SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization is commonly associated with established SAP SCM landscapes and on-premise planning processes. SAP IBP provides a newer cloud-oriented approach, so the right choice depends on the existing architecture, required planning functions, migration plans and data model.
A strong SAP APO specialist usually understands SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA integration, SAP SCM, SAP BW, master data and supply chain processes. Knowledge of Core Interface, planning models, production constraints and SAP IBP is also valuable when systems are being connected or modernized.
SAP APO work can range from troubleshooting planning results to leading a full rollout or migration assessment. The required depth depends on the APO modules involved, the number of interfaces, the quality of master data and the business impact of the planning process.
SAP APO projects can often be delivered remotely through workshops, system access, documentation and structured testing. On-site work may still help with plant processes, key-user alignment or cutover activities, while German language skills can matter when specialists work closely with local business teams.
Evaluate SAP APO professionals through concrete examples of planning configuration, integration testing and issue resolution. Ask how they validated master data, handled planning exceptions and measured whether the configured process matched operational needs.
SAP Supply Chain Management planning capabilities are relevant in manufacturing, consumer products, automotive, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and distribution. They are most useful where demand variability, production capacity, material availability or multi-location supply flows require coordinated planning.
APO assignments often depend on the relationship between planning configuration, ERP master data and business procedures. Freelancers should clarify the APO modules in scope, integration landscape, documentation standards, stakeholder language, remote access rules and whether the goal is support, redesign, rollout or migration preparation.
The average hourly rate of freelancers in Germany who have used SAP APO in their recent projects is 122 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 977 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers in Germany who have used SAP APO in their recent projects, 91% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 32% hold at least a Master's degree, and 5% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers in Germany who have used SAP APO in their recent projects have 30 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3.5 years.
The most common languages among freelancers in Germany who have used SAP APO in their recent projects are German (100%), English (100%), and French (28%).
The most common industries among freelancers in Germany who have used SAP APO in their recent projects are Manufacturing (86%), Information Technology (79%), and Professional Services (55%).
The most common business areas among freelancers in Germany who have used SAP APO in their recent projects are Information Technology (86%), Project Management (86%), and Supply Chain Management (79%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used SAP APO
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 Request a free demo
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FRATCH CEO
