Daniel S. - Interim IT Manager

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Offenbach am Main, Germany

Experience

Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

1 year

Interim IT Manager

Energy Provider

As an interim, I covered an IT Manager who had to be temporarily assigned to the leadership team of a very strategic group project.
My tasks were to evaluate and approve project requests, and to advise the business side (coaching) on content and method during the design, evaluation (business case), and implementation of projects.
The focus was on core business processes, controlling, accounting, ESRS, planning processes both technical (electricity, gas, heat) and financial, trading, Mako, digitalization, information security, and data protection.
The technology environment included SAP, Azure, BelVis, adoit, Signavio, as well as data mining, Power Platform, SharePoint, various DMS, Adobe, and cloud technologies.

Jan 2014 - Dec 2024

11 years

CIO

Food Retail E-commerce Company

Built a Magento-based eBusiness platform with subprojects: multi-language, multi-shop with different business models (B2C, B2B), warehouse management with special requirements for organic products (lot accounting), forecasting, DMS integration (including rule-based and AI-based email tagging), pre-billing integration, accounting, payment and logistics provider integration, marketplace integration (eBay, Amazon Seller, Amazon Vendor), marketing integration, adaptation to new regulatory requirements (complex VAT rules, EU-OSS, organic accounting, etc.), built several micro-applications as process tools, developed controlling tools and data analysis, rule-based apps for fraud detection and prevention, credit scoring, address validation, KPI analysis of fulfillment processes, marketing KPIs, DMS connection, several highly complex updates including rollout, hardware virtualization, migration to a private cloud; catalog and content management.
My roles in the project: besides overall coordination of IT development with a multinational team of freelancers and operations, my tasks included global purchasing (including commodities), finance, HR/payroll/controlling, operational and strategic marketing, analysis (SQL), process development, shipping logistics, import, sea and air freight, change management, and business cases.
The project was carried out in 12 epics and over 100 sprints using the SCRUM method. (My role was product owner and a bit of a Scrum Master.)
I am a stakeholder in the company, which currently has 9 employees.

Jan 2012 - Dec 2017

6 years

Germany

ITC Process Management

Transport Company

At Germany's largest transport service provider, ITC processes, data, and applications were optimized, newly documented, and adapted to the new service provider and outsourcing structure.
In addition to numerous internal and external interfaces, an Intershop B2B ordering system had to be built from scratch and all logistics processes re-established.
SLA compliance was implemented through process KPIs.
A key part of the transformation was quality assurance of configuration management and the CMDB/PIM (extensive data analysis in SQL), and an eLearning offering for the new processes and services.
My roles in the project (in sequence): process manager, coach, program manager, business analyst, train-the-trainer, data manager, data cleansing, requirements manager, test manager, change manager, and internal corporate communication.

Jan 2010 - Dec 2012

3 years

Project Lead Process Management / Process Manager

Regional Energy Provider

At a regional energy supplier, a process management system was developed that then served as a pattern for similar group companies.
Process improvement potentials were identified using KPIs.
Other transformation focuses were Mako and trading processes, meter processes, energy balancing, procurement planning rounds, network construction, reporting requirements, and a unified interface structure.
My role in the project: program manager, analyst (as-is and to-be, business cases), coach, trainer for process owners in middle management, business analyst, data manager, test manager, change manager.
Technologies: ARIS, Camunda, jBoss, SharePoint, SAP IS-U, Allegro, various CAD.

Jan 2007 - Dec 2010

4 years

Project Owner

Developed a geodata-based travel portal software.

Jan 2007 - Dec 2010

4 years

Germany

Project Manager IT/Processes for International Corporate Alignments

ITC for Energy Group

For a world-leading energy company, the ITC subsidiaries that had become part of the group through international corporate acquisitions were organizationally consolidated.
My task was to set up process management departments in 8 subsidiaries (by training middle management as process and data owners) which, in a first step, would highlight national specifics and then standardize customer processes group-wide.
The actual transformation was carried out by harmonizing processes and data (master, transactional, and asset data) across all 8 international companies, handling national specifics (e.g.: trading processes in the UK, MeMi processes in Hungary), and communicating the changes internally and externally.
Project progress was monitored with a custom KPI tool for BPM processes.
My role in the project: coach for project and process management at the German headquarters and in subsidiaries in 8 countries, change manager.

Jan 2007 - Dec 2007

1 year

Germany

Technical Architect PRM/CRM

Mobile Network Operator

A new Partner Relationship Management system was implemented at one of Germany's leading mobile network operators.
My task was to translate business requirements into IT specifications.
A special feature of this project was that the project implementation methodology was based on the Rational Unified Process and all requirements were defined solely in a cascade of use cases.
One of the challenges was forecasting and KPIs for IT processes and the scheduling and execution of extremely large batch runs.
My role in the project: technical architect, test planner, data analyst.
Technologies: Oracle CRM (formerly Siebel), Nokia.

Jan 2004 - Dec 2006

3 years

Project Lead Process Management for International Data Products

International Telecom Group

For an international telecom group, the highly regulated, product-specific processes (international data products) were modeled and optimized. Focus areas included sales, offer calculation, provisioning (new, change, cancellation), incident management, logistics, and billing, all in compliance with country-specific regulations and accounting standards.
The core of the project was redefining KPIs (which formed the basis for BSS management targets) to better align processes with corporate objectives.
For invoicing and pre-product procurement, we worked with the IT department to map these in SAP. This included implementing complex billing business models in the SD, MM, and FI modules.
My role in the project was leading the process management team, creating functional specifications (requirements and specification documents), and managing the implementation.
Program Manager: Implementation of internal group service relationships after a corporate restructuring (2006): After a restructuring in an international group and the resulting new service relationships between formally independent group units, the service processes had to be redefined and mapped in technical and commercial systems. To implement this large-scale transformation, the provisioning, network and capacity planning, and service assurance processes, including cross-unit SLAs, had to be redefined. For this business unit, the entire enterprise architecture and international processes had to be redeveloped. My role included leading negotiations and coaching on behalf of the commissioning group unit, creating requirement specifications, program management in implementation, and overseeing the change process including data migration. Mostly, however, I acted as coach to the lead project manager.
Data cleansing (transactional and master data), master data concept, and migration in various OSS and BSS systems of a telecommunications group (2005): Before migrating to new systems, purchase and sales data and data structures from legacy systems were compared and error profiles were created (directly from database extracts in SQL). These profiles allowed mass data to be cleansed semi-automatically. A DMS was used for unstructured data. Besides having clean data in the new systems, this revealed issues that led to refunds or backbilling totaling €20 million.
Project lead: process integration and digitization Bid to Bill ITC Services (2004): For an internationally operating ITC service provider, we built an integration solution across multiple main departments and all CRM, BSS, and OSS systems based on SAP (E2E processes). The focus was on implementing processes for service-oriented architectures and an AI application that defined the production model for highly regulated international products in all process phases from international sales to service. Other key elements included creating a unified semantics and a master data model, as well as a comprehensive business case. To successfully implement the transformation, sales teams had to be trained and the communication of the innovative application had to be organized. My role in the project was the content and formally responsible project manager on the business side (today you would call this a Product Owner), and the project was run in 10 two-week sprints.

Jan 2002 - Dec 2003

2 years

Strategic IT Planning/Program Management (Line Employee)

Large Travel Industry Group

For a large travel industry group, the strategic IT planning (enterprise architecture) was updated. Using a highly aggregated process model, the current IT landscape and plans were captured to identify synergies and prioritize projects through portfolio analyses.
In strategy workshops, the medium-term planning was further developed with a process and organizational focus. On the technical side, architecture matrices laid the groundwork for consolidation.
The new approach was introduced through instructor-led training and e-learning offerings.
Another key part of the planning was supporting business unit projects (technical, processual, and business case). My focus here was on CRM, finance, and coordination with the group's internal outsourcing partner.
The primary goal of the project was designing and implementing the integration strategy with an EAI platform based on web services.
As part of my role, an analytical, database-supported tool for IT planning was selected and implemented.
My role in the project: line employee.

Jan 2002 - Dec 2002

1 year

Germany

Strategic Marketing

German Telecommunications Company

For a large German telecommunications company, the product portfolio and market positioning of its relevant competitors were analyzed.
A special focus was on the introduction of new technologies, network structures, protocols, access technologies, as well as sales and service processes.
From the results, trends in telephony, data, and internet were derived.
The outcome of the study was a list of recommendations covering security, OSS, MPLS, DSL, VoIP, professional services, and channel sales.
My role in the project: strategic marketing.

Jan 2001 - Dec 2001

1 year

Web Content Management Organization

Large Bank

Web Content Management organization for a large bank.

Jan 2001 - Dec 2001

1 year

Business Development and Financial Planning

Medium-Sized IT Company

Business development and financial planning for a medium-sized IT company.

Jan 2000 - Dec 2001

2 years

Switzerland

Coach, Project Manager, Architect

Non-Food Retail Group Switzerland

Developed an eBusiness strategy for the second-largest Swiss retail group. Built and coached a business unit within IT. The challenge was the heterogeneous corporate structure with acquired stores, department stores, and various retail financial services (customer card systems) that were not yet integrated technically or organizationally.
The main part of the project was to build a unified integration and eBusiness platform to which all existing eCommerce activities, services, and required backend connections would be migrated one by one. This architecture also aimed to serve as a platform for the planned integration of the corporate landscape (EAI). The company followed our recommendation. A detailed ROI calculation was prepared for this solution.
After defining the specifications and technical architecture, a tender was carried out and the winner based on .Net was verified in a POC. Training was designed and delivered for the project managers of the various corporate organizations.
Further strategic tasks included a personalization and cross-selling concept, the integration of business processes and marketing communications between online and offline offerings, and defining the workflows for the shop systems.
My role in the project: Project Manager, Architect, CIO Coach.

Jan 2000 - Dec 2000

1 year

E-Business Strategy and B2B Integration

Purchasing Consortium of Medium-Sized Retailers

E-Business strategy and B2B integration for a purchasing consortium of medium-sized retailers.

Oct 1999 - Dec 2024

25 years 3 months

Business and IT Consultant

Self-Employed

Process consulting, project management, IT architecture, and strategy consulting.
Creation and alignment of requirements and specifications documents.
Agile project methods, change management, data cleansing.
Test, quality, and requirements management, roll-out management.
Financial planning, marketing and sales consulting.
Trainer for IT, marketing consultant.
Since 1999, the design and delivery of about 50 management seminars on topics such as project management for web technologies, e-commerce strategy, CRM projects, e-business technologies, personalization, internet security and payment, KPIs, and project controlling (e.g., for Management Circle, Plenum Institute, IIR, Management Forum, Siemens Business Services, Deutsche Telekom AG, the Association of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade).

Jan 1997 - Sep 1999

2 years 9 months

Management Consultant Strategic Marketing

Detecon Marketing Consulting GmbH

As a Management Consultant for Strategic Marketing, I carried out the following projects:
Planning and building an indirect sales channel for the Internet Service Providing area of a telecommunications group (1998-1999): In a purely strategic preliminary project, common partner models of complementary product providers in the IT and telecom sector were examined (there was no benchmark for ISP). Based on value chain and market analyses, we developed 5 partner models and described the necessary project steps. Meanwhile, 3 of the 5 models have been implemented and transferred to other product areas within the group. I led the preliminary project. The partner model "Value Added Reseller" was then implemented together with a partner. The partner provided the project manager, while I was responsible for the content. This included product and service design, cost planning, business case, marketing concept, communication, creating marketing materials, partner contracts, and planning and conducting partner training. In the first phase, we acquired 120 partners. Then the partner acquisition was integrated into a standard process at the client. This project was done during my time as an employed Management Consultant at DMC and lasted a total of 1.5 years.
Business Consultant for ITC products in healthcare (1997): On behalf of the healthcare sales team, we evaluated the market readiness of new internet-based products for healthcare and supported it through workshops and business cases with key players. The healthcare processes were recorded quantitatively and qualitatively and used to estimate the market potential of possible automation technologies (electronic patient records, drug logistics, online consultations, etc.). The results were communicated through training for a specialist sales team. My role in the project: Business Consultant Strategic Marketing, creator of business cases.
Setting up a Customer Service Call Center (1999): In a follow-up project to the ISP project (see above), I was the project manager for setting up a three-tier customer service call center. The task was to build a technical partner service hotline. Starting with service level definitions, processes, and call volume analyses, this project included both the technical and organizational/economic project planning and execution (ACD/CTI, trouble ticket (Remedy), EAI (Tibco), job descriptions, call planning, equipment, staff selection and training, and KPIs). I managed and was responsible for this project from start to finish. At full capacity, the call center had 30 agents and 50 line employees as third level support. My role in the project: Project Manager.
Functional planning (process and IT) of a communication platform for healthcare (1998).
Marketing planning, technology platform, and market launch of software and music-on-demand (1998).