Head of operations (COO)

TenneT GFO West builds and maintains the High Voltage Electricity Grid in the western part of the Netherlands. In 2023 the management started the transition to be a data driven organization, with the goal to increase the operation’s productivity and predictability. For this the program “Sharper Steering Together” was started, for which Marcel was asked as program manager. The program covered all aspects of becoming data-driven: data & process quality, data products with insight and foresight, output based management, and the required leadership, attitude and behaviour. The first phase focused on “fixed the basics”: creation and implementation of a managed data model (MVP) as “single source of truth”, the structural improvement of data quality and increasing awareness and data literacy at management and employees, a.o. by introducing management based on reliable and objective data. The second phase aimed to increase operational excellence, in which a.o. a data quality process was implemented, both regional and country wide, and various data products were developed to support the shift from reporting (looking back) to steering (looking ahead). Marcel’s main tasks were:

• Define program strategy, approach, scope and planning.
• Create awareness, insight and improvement potential at management (regional and country).
• Lead, give direction and coach (also on contents) for program team (4 FTE) and management and employees of the departments involved.
• Facilitate various workshop & interventions, both on strategic and operational level.
• Develop and advocate vision on data driven decision-making, the required (IT) means and the impact on leadership’ style.
• Design of data quality process, sharped governance structures, business rules and enabling data model.
• Be the product owner & scrum master.
• Facilitate and support the further development of two departments, to prepare the transition to the standing organization.

In June 2024 the program’s tasks were handed over to a regional and a central department within TenneT.

Successful implementation, migration and roll out of SAP within the whole munitions chain of the Ministry of Defense. The munition chain consists of more than 60 permanent and temporary storage locations across all parts of Defense at home and abroad. To comply with the (regulatory & legal) requirements related to safety and information security, the SAP kernel was expanded with EH&S coupled with warehousing & transport, QM for the purpose of closed loop recall processes and NextLabs for the purpose of information shielding. The Migration Munition Chain program is divided into 6 subprojects per Defense division with the Defense IT department JIVC as internal supplier. In addition to the JIVC consultants the program hired approx. 45 migration consultants, for whom Marcel was responsible. The roll out of SAP over all locations consists of 35 go-live projects, of which 30 went live in the first six months of 2021, in a factory cadence of almost 1 go-live a week. Marcel’s main tasks were:

• Program management, strategy, planning en budgeting.
• Scope, resource and financial management (budget €18 million).
• Stakeholder management at all levels of the organization.
• Alignment of the Defense-wide business operations & facilitation of interventions.
• Regulatory & legal compliance
• Coaching, support and steering of subproject leaders and lead consultants.
• Change and transition management.

Trainer and course developer with the Logistics Course and Training Command, responsible for the training of approximately 15,000 SAP users. The SAP instruction group was a project organization of about 50 FTE that was to be transferred to the line organization as of 2016. With his experience as a change manager and his network within Defence, he supported the management of the instruction group in this transition and facilitated the Defence-internal collaboration concerning SAP knowledge management.

• Managed assignment of Capgemini employees balancing interests of Philips, Capgemini and individual employees during large-scale IT outsourcing
• Ensured business continuity amid uncertainty by fulfilling correct assignments
• Managed multiple fixed-price tenders in cooperation with Philips-chosen sourcing partners
• Acted as sparring partner for Philips team leads and delivery managers on ICT positioning, sourcing and change processes

• Advised on transition of SPEER program to DCSC organization of approx. 350 employees
• Focused on cooperation among market parties, organizational structure based on Competence Centers and desired attitudes and behaviors
• Coached management on leadership, SAP content, project-based work and unfamiliar forms of cooperation
• Aligned program with users, organization and policy makers

Within the SPEER program and based on the developed vision for the SAP realization, Marcel set up the Building Blocks Factory (BBF), to support the process & data harmonization and Defence-wide organizational integration with “generic” ERP (SAP) components. The BBF was an independent entity of the Logica / Capgemini consortium at a separate location which delivered products and services to SPEER in the form of SAP Building Blocks (Demand / Supply Model). Within the BBF, teams from The Hague (Defence), Rijswijk (Consortium), Bangalore (Logica India) and Mumbai (Capgemini India) collaborated in a virtual manner on the further development and implementation of the SAP components. Facilitated (decision-making and acceptance) sessions, based on Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment (ASE) methods, were structurally used to strengthen the cooperation and acceptance. The project execution was based on best practices from Global ASAP and SCRUM within the project management framework of PRINCE2 and the architectural context and management criteria of Defence. As part of the team of Program Directors, Marcel was responsible for the organizational and physical structure (location, resources), the achievement and safeguarding of information security and the operational management for approx. 100 BBF staff. In November 2005, on the basis of a fixed price (€ 26.6 m), fixed duration contract, the BBF began the realization of the first SAP Kernel. As a member of the four-man management team, Marcel was responsible for productivity, method and organization of the BBF and the acceptance process of the products from the BBF. His tasks included: the structuring, starting and facilitation of offshore activities (in Mumbai and Bangalore), the cooperation with Defence (SPEER and IVENT programs, external migration partners), and the validation and acceptance by Defence of the delivered products. Marcel carried out the project management of the facilitated sessions for the whole term, and was also lead facilitator for these sessions. He was also resource manager for the approx. 100 BBF employees in the Netherlands.

The first Kernel was delivered on time and within budget in October 2007 and was accepted by Defence. Based on a determination of the scope of the design and compared to a “traditional” method, this Kernel was produced in half the expected lead-time.

Subsequently, Marcel, together with the Defence Program Management, designed, calculated and supported the implementation of the next phase in the program. In this phase, the project approach was based on agile/scrum in combination with 'waterfall'. The tasks of the BBF were expanded to include the detailed design of the following Kernel and the application management of the first Kernel. Both in collaboration with Defence personnel, some under the direction of the BBF. Marcel also became part of the contract management consortium and as such developed the vision on ICT/ ERP Direction, the future program organization and the application of SAP within the Defence operations.

According plan Mid 2010 the dismantling of the BBF as a separate location began and the people, resources and methods were transferred to the SPEER program. Marcel was the project manager for this transition. With the start of the new organization ‘Design, Construction and Support in Cooperation’ (DCSC), the relocation of BBF employees and facilities to the SPEER program, this transition was completed successfully on time.

• Rolled out global productivity and profitability program in Benelux across all sectors and ERP competencies (~1000 employees)
• Reported to international program manager and Dutch country management
• Established ERP Solutions Center (ESC) as entrepreneur in May 2002
• Supported tender processes and ERP projects, including first Dutch SAP offshore development experiences
• Managed day-to-day operations of ESC (avg. 10 employees) and integrated ESC into Capgemini delivery process by July 2004

• Mapped improvement potential of logistics performance and operational control within 6 weeks of SAP R/3 introduction
• Designed program for structural improvements and realized them over 4 months
• Monitored planning and progress and managed Wella employees, reporting to Managing Director
• Increased service level by over 45% and introduced end-to-end performance management dashboard and working method

• Defined and launched agile SAP development projects supporting process-oriented transformation
• Steered five project managers and advised management on feasibility and impact of business initiatives and joint ventures
• Set up functional SAP monitoring and coached management and application managers