Freelance Interim Manager | Head of Sales

• Responsible for redesigning the sales department
• Implementing new structures for customer outreach in B2B and B2C
• Revising pricing strategies to strengthen competitiveness
• Main responsible for developing and executing two key company objectives
• Optimizing sales processes
• Leading and developing up to 6 sales team members
• Introducing and optimizing Salesforce (CRM) and cloud telephony

As Head of Customer Service (DE, AT, Nordics) and project lead for the "Redesigning Customer Service" initiative:

• Leading and restructuring the customer service team
• Onboarding, managing, and developing up to 8 team members
• Improving customer service for B2B clients in retail: extending support availability, ensuring faster, on-time, and error-reduced order processing through EDI solutions
• Strengthening team cohesion in customer service
• Enhancing collaboration with other departments
• Developing new service offerings for retail partners

• Leading and developing staff (five direct reports and up to 1,000 service employees across German specialty stores)
• Developing, planning, and rolling out the Smartbar service concept for MediaMarkt and Saturn with annual revenue in the mid double-digit million range
• Developing, planning, and rolling out the new service portfolio "MediaMarkt PowerService"
• Further developing and optimizing the MediaMarkt repair service with an annual volume of 3 million service cases
• Negotiating and finalizing service agreements with suppliers and manufacturers for MediaMarkt and Saturn
• Building, launching, and further developing the warranty extension products "MediaMarkt PlusGarantie/PlusSchutz"
• Establishing and optimizing a nationwide on-site service for TVs and major appliances

Achievements:

• Achieved the Service & Solution strategic goal "Smartbar" of Ceconomy AG
• Reduced repair times for end customers by eight days/50%, resulting in a significant increase in customer satisfaction

As project lead for various initiatives and areas:

Initiative: B2C service concepts:

• Developing and nationwide implementation of B2C service concepts
• Product management of the service portfolio
• Establishing and managing external nationwide partner networks
• Developing and implementing e-commerce marketing of services
• Marketing, budgeting, and revenue planning for B2C services

Project examples:

• Developing a subscription model as a new business field for software sales (online and in-store), resulting in increased customer retention
• Developing and implementing the "Smartbar" (mobile repair and service counters) for 400 electronics stores and 800 technicians (still a relevant component in the repositioning of MediaMarkt and Saturn); achieving Ceconomy AG's strategic goal
• Developing a nationwide air conditioning installation service for B2C, including a technician network, within four months despite labor shortages

Initiative: Warranty Extensions and Device Insurance:

• Developing warranty extension and B2C insurance products for the electronics retail sector ("PlusGarantie" and "PlusSchutz") as a new service product (remains an important revenue pillar of Ceconomy AG)
• Optimizing and revising the product portfolio
• Searching and selecting cooperation partners (e.g., insurance companies)
• Managing and optimizing claims
• Defining processes in cooperation with insurance companies (e.g., Allianz, Zurich)
• Training sales staff

Initiative: Nationwide Repair Service (After Sales Service):

• Developing and optimizing the repair service with an annual volume of 3 million service cases
• Negotiating and finalizing service agreements with suppliers and international manufacturers from the IT, mobile, and electronics sectors

Project example:

• Designing and optimizing a 24h fast repair service for smartphones in cooperation with a South Korean mobile manufacturer in German metropolitan areas
• Creating a new repair solution as known workshops were fully booked
• Using decentralized repair capacities in major cities
• Achieving very high end-customer satisfaction (NPS survey)

Initiative: Technical Call Center:

• Developing a contact center with 60 agents to receive and coordinate field repair orders, including integrating 100 external service providers and advising customers to prevent errors
• Establishing a contact center organization with up to 1,000 employees for various tasks (impact of successful project implementation)

Area: Service Provider and Partner Management:

• Establishing and optimizing a nationwide technical on-site service for TV and major home appliances (B2C) with about 100 external service providers
• Managing partnerships and supporting 150 external repair workshops nationwide
• Finding partners and building a nationwide installation service for air conditioning within four months
• Developing collaboration with Deutsche Telekom AG (Technical Service) for B2C services

Area: Procurement of services, non-trade goods, and spare parts:

• Planning requirements determination
• Nationwide search for service providers or distributors
• Negotiating framework agreements with service providers and suppliers
• Monitoring and operational support

Project example:

• Short-term takeover of an interim project with a purchasing volume of over €500,000 and an implementation time of eight weeks: procuring IT hardware for 430 electronics stores