Global Head of IS Solution Standards

at  KuehneNagel

We are seeking an experienced and innovative leader to join us as the Global Head of Solution Standards. In this senior leadership role, you will oversee the strategic direction of our IS organization, focusing on solution standardization, roadmap strategy, and innovative technical architecture. Your key mission is to manage and provide oversight for the elevation of our warehousing and distribution capabilities through exceptional solution design, particularly in complex, automation-intensive projects.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Master’s degree in Logistics, Business Systems, or a related field.
• Over 10 years of leadership experience in project implementation and resource management.
• Extensive experience with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) is mandatory.
• Strong understanding of modern technologies, including robotics and AI, and staying up-to-date with the latest tech capabilities.
• Experience in one of the following vertical – Healthcare or Consumer/eCommerce will be a plus
• Commercially savvy with a deep knowledge of the software development process.
• Proven leadership and coaching abilities, with a track record of managing large teams.
• Excellent persuasion and influence skills at a senior level.
• Willingness to travel as needed to oversee global projects.Fluent in English, ensuring effective communication in a multicultural setting.
• This role offers a unique opportunity to lead a global team in delivering cutting-edge solutions and driving our mission of operational excellence.

YOUR ROLE

As the Global Head of Solution Standards, you will be at the forefront of our IS organization’s strategic planning efforts. You will develop solution standards that highlight reusability and innovation, steering the roadmap strategy to ensure our capabilities are robust and agile, aligning with evolving market demands and technological advancements. Managing a global team of professionals and operations spanning more than 40 countries, you will lead customer engagement, demand management, solution architecture oversight, and application portfolio management. Your goal is to blend industry best practices with our deep expertise to deliver high-quality, standardized, and innovative solutions that meet customer needs. The preferable primary location for this role is at our office in HafenCity, Hamburg.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and refine the implementation strategy by incorporating industry best practices to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Ensure the strategy is adaptable to the diverse needs of our global customer base through close collaboration with IS Deployment, Customer Development, Customer Onboarding, IT, and other key stakeholders. Drive standardization and reusability of the solutions across projects. Facilitate communication and cooperation to align goals, expectations, and deliverables across departments.
• Customer Engagement: Lead the definition and oversight of the tender support process, ensuring robust and cost-efficient IS solutions for new customers. Actively listen to and understand customer needs, driving standardization across solutions with minimum necessary adaptation to meet specific requirements.
• Demand Management: Efficiently manage customer demands, aligning them with business objectives and capabilities. Implement effective change management strategies to adapt to and anticipate customer requirements, ensuring solutions utilize the latest capabilities for maximum efficiency.
• Solution Architecture Oversight: Drive the development and implementation of state-of-the-art technical and functional architectures. Ensure scalability, security, and adaptability of solutions, collaborating closely with software vendors to keep our technology stack innovative and aligned with industry standards.Application Portfolio Management: Oversee the application portfolio to support and enhance organizational goals through strategic investment and optimization. Promote rationalization and consolidation of applications, ensuring new additions meet strict criteria for value, interoperability, and alignment with long-term strategic goals.
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