Edmund (M.sc.) Niederkofler
Sr. Manager Operation- Site Karlsruhe (Interim)
Experience
Sr. Manager Operation- Site Karlsruhe (Interim)
Thermo Fisher Scientific Karlsruhe
- Responsibility for all operational areas from logistics, production to supply chain, quality, planning, and improvement
- Building a new operations organization structure in response to increased demand during the COVID-19 situation
- Redefining internal processes and establishing a leadership structure for quick market response
- Setting targets and continuously tracking operational goals
- Reducing lead time in the extruder area from 28 weeks to 10 weeks within 15 months through sustainable supply chain and flexible manufacturing methods
- Cutting lead times in the lab area for analytical devices from 15 weeks to 3–4 weeks
- Increasing output in the analysis department by 35% while reducing capacity by 20%
- Implementing measures to reduce inventory and increase inventory turnover
- Improving supply chain strategy, cycle time reduction, and flow production for serial products
- Driving digitalization in production and warehouse management
- Implementing a comprehensive reporting system
Director Supply Chain & Operation EMEA – Site Manager Ulm (Interim)
LTG Luminator Technology Group
- Stabilizing the organization in purchasing, production, and logistics at the Gdansk plant after high turnover due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Coaching and supporting the purchasing and production teams
- Calculating demand forecasts to secure production materials
- Introducing shop floor management and supporting teams in coordinating processes
- Planning insourcing activities
- Leading and coordinating the company relocation from Ulm to Neu-Ulm
- Setting up the warehouse in Poland
- Coordinating activities from suppliers to customers during the 2021 semiconductor and material crisis
- Optimizing supplier management and reducing backorders by consolidating suppliers
- Setting the supply chain strategy and coaching teams on implementing shop floor standards for supply chain processes
- Introducing and advancing S&OP at manufacturing plants
- Optimizing assembly lines at the Ulm plant through one-piece flow production
- Statistical process control and capability studies
- Change management by implementing lean tools on the shop floor
Managing Director (Interim)
Haas Maschinenbau GmbH
- Taking over management after financial difficulties and negative developments in 2019
- Restructuring the workforce based on financial considerations
- Preparing profitability analyses for banks and lessors
- Developing action plans to reduce costs and waste
- Setting up KPI management to measure processes and lower production costs
- Strategic alignment based on the company’s strengths
- Improving sales structure and expanding quality management
- Implementing a data protection management system and preparing for certification
- Implementing 6S measures to set shop floor standards
- Introducing standards for working hours, overtime, and vacation
- Introducing an approval system for purchasing and project management
- Implementing project plans to track customer projects and their profitability
- Communicating with customers and suppliers about delivery capability and project status
- Planning layout and storage plus defining machine locations
- Setting measurement parameters to achieve strategic goals
- Achieving a positive result in 2020
- Digitalizing data management and developing EHS projects
Operations Manager, Technical Manager
Allegion
- Leading teams in production, logistics, procurement, and quality management at both sites
- Advising and interacting with operations managers at other plants in Europe
- Reducing inventory through active supplier management
- Analyzing supply chain processes
- Continuing the developed supply chain model to standardize batch sizes and implement the supermarket method on the shop floor and in the warehouse
- Expanding and optimizing strategic procurement
- Planning, implementing, and evaluating a pre-treatment line for the powder coating plant
- Creating business cases for investments
- Increasing efficiency in the injection molding department and SMED activities to reduce setup times
- Conducting value stream analysis and improving material flow as well as reducing dwell times on the shop floor
- Introducing standard lead times and improving delivery performance
- Planning layout for assembly, warehouse, injection molding, and powder coating
- Implementing supermarket systems and streamlining intralogistics
- Implementing automated processes in pre-treatment and powder coating
- Reconfiguring assembly lines to increase material flow efficiency
- Managing metrics and advising other plants in SCM
Head of Supply Chain & Operation EMEA
LTG Luminator Technology Group
- Planning and executing production relocations from sites in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland to Gdansk (Poland)
- Consolidating all plants at a single production site and building a lean production in Gdansk
- Building and developing strategic procurement as well as standardizing and optimizing processes in inventory management, purchasing, and production
- Improving logistics services from supplier to customer
- Introducing supermarkets in the assembly process to reduce lead time
- Reducing inventory by implementing standardized and greatly reduced batch sizes
- Reducing picking processes by setting up supermarkets on the shop floor
- Transferring the supply chain strategy to suppliers and subcontractors
- Applying lean management tools at all locations
- Cutting transport costs by switching from air freight to sea freight
- Regularly analyzing implemented processes through performance measurement
- Leading and expanding the organization at the Poland plant and at sites in Europe
- Coaching employees in lean management and Six Sigma
- Building and developing flow production at the site
- Making make-or-buy decisions and creating business cases
- Advising all sites on operational areas and actively working with ERP systems
Project Manager – Operations Management
König Automotive GmbH & Co. KG
- Programming production equipment and optimizing manufacturing processes
- Reducing setup times in series production and toolmaking
- Establishing and expanding a production line for turned parts
- Transitioning from a toolmaker to an automotive supplier for high-volume production
- Planning automation projects to improve efficiency and quality standards
- Implementing the ISO/TS 16949 quality standard, conducting internal audits, and leading certification audits
- Introducing a purchasing structure for tools and automating ordering processes
- Communicating with customers and suppliers
- Planning and designing the production layout
- Statistical process control and capability studies (SPC)
- Personnel management and leadership
- Planning machine layouts based on lean principles for multi-machine operation
- Implementing 6S measures
- Reducing internal throughput times and implementing optimization measures in administrative and operational areas
- Planning and introducing an ERP and MES system, including data management and optimizing parameters in the ERP system
- Driving digitalization in the company on the shop floor and in administration
Training as a protective gas hardening plant operator
Bodycote
- Trained as an equipment operator in protective gas hardening at the leading contract manufacturer in Schaan
Staff member for assembly and shipping of crane systems
Liebherr Nenzing
Skilled worker in drive shaft production – FAF operator in the flexible automated axle pin production
GKN ADD Bruneck
- Setting up welding robots and configuring production equipment
- Welding, aligning and turning
- Setting up and monitoring automated robotic and logistics systems since 1995
- Optimizing production programs
- Assisting with serial production launches
Industries Experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.
Experienced in Automotive (24.5 years), Manufacturing (19.5 years), and Biotechnology (4 years).
Business Areas Experience
The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.
Experienced in Operations (34.5 years), Production (21.5 years), Project Management (11.5 years), Quality Assurance (11.5 years), Supply Chain Management (10.5 years), and Logistics (5.5 years).
Summary
Building organizational structures in medium-sized companies with a focus on cost reduction and sustainable efficiency; analyzing production, logistics, and procurement processes and planning measures to optimize operational processes for efficiency and effectiveness; outsourcing and relocation processes; optimizing value streams in operational and administrative areas; industrial engineering, process design, standardization, and automation; layout planning and implementation, forecasting, and supply chain standardization with the goal of reducing inventory and ensuring delivery capability; supplier management and optimization of supplier policies; implementing lean principles to eliminate waste on the shop floor, in the supply chain, and administrative processes; active KPI management; strategic alignment, leadership, and optimization of projects.
Skills
Building And Expanding A Cnc Series Production For The Automotive Supplier Industry In Turning.
Successfully Relocating Production And Setting Up Lean Manufacturing Including Organizational Structure In Poland.
Planning And Implementing Cell Production Including One-piece Flow Production In The Assembly Plant.
Introducing A Supply Chain Model To Reduce Inventory By More Than 10% And Lead Times By Over 60%.
Increasing Material Availability Through Standardized Batch Sizes And Process-controlled Demand Planning.
Optimizing Logistics Process Costs.
Implementing Kanban And Supermarket Systems On The Shop Floor To Achieve Delivery Performance Of 98% And Higher.
Reducing Transport Costs By More Than 50% By Adapting The Planning System.
Reducing Variable Manufacturing Costs In Assembly And Logistics Processes.
Cutting Setup Times By 50% Through Smed Activities.
Increasing Outputs In The Assembly Area By 15% To 35% Through Layout Adjustments.
Overall Management Of A Mechanical Engineering Company.
Reducing Variable Costs By More Than 20% Through Restructuring And Focusing On The Company’s Actual Strengths.
Shortening Project Lead Times Through Consistent Project Tracking In Mechanical Engineering.
Increasing On-time Delivery By More Than 30% Within A Few Months.
Planning A Company Move And Creating Production Layout Including Administrative Areas.
Implementing 6s Measures On The Shop Floor And Increasing Output By 10% Through Shorter Lead Times.
Cutting Backorders By 50% Within 12 Weeks.
Reducing Delivery Times By Optimizing The Supply Chain.
Introducing Erp, Bde, And Caq Systems As Project And Budget Manager.
Building A Lean Supply Chain And Installing Standards In Batch Sizes, Lead Times, And Inventory.
Material Management
Logistics
Production Management
Lean Management
Corporate Management
Information Management / Quality Management
Supervision And Coaching Of Project Work For Technical Business Administration
Languages
Education
Master · Industrial Engineering
IHK
Technical Business Administrator IHK · Germany
IHK
Technical Business Specialist IHK · Germany
Certifications & licenses
Lean Advisor
Lean Manager
Auditor ISO TS16949
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Profile
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