Success Stories

Embracing Clients Impact

All Success Stories
H&Z product & business innovation visual: confident consultant in an orange shirt with a blue H&Z heart graphic overlay | H&Z

IMPACT YOU CAN POINT AT

Every engagement on this page started with a decision someone could not postpone. Rising cost pressure, a supply chain that stopped being predictable, a transformation that had stalled somewhere between ambition and execution.

What follows is not a portfolio. It is a record of what changed, told with the numbers that changed, and named by the people who lived through it.

Rail

Hidden champion on rail

Facing rising tender requirements, Vossloh standardised its product and sustainability proofs with H&Z, accelerating bids, reducing risk, and enabling data-driven optimisation.

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Healthcare

B. Braun’s global integration journey

H&Z partnered with B. Braun to unify indirect procurement across 60+ countries and 40,000+ suppliers, creating one operating model with governance, category frameworks, and streamlined policies.

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OUR CLIENT IMPACT

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Three MacGregor workers in high-visibility jackets observing crane equipment at a shipyard | H&Z
Success Story
 

How MacGregor established an independent procurement function that delivered savings above target, strengthened governance and positioned procurement as a strategic contributor.

Exterior view of the HARTING office building with a curved wood-panelled entrance canopy | H&Z
Success Story
 

How HARTING strengthened operational resilience across its global production, logistics and IT landscape, building the capability to protect value creation.

keenfinity building | H&Z
Success Story
 

How Keenfinity Group built an independent procurement function after the €1bn Bosch carve-out, delivering EBITDA impact above plan within the first standalone phase.

Company signage on a wall with the tagline "enabling green mobility" behind a staircase railing, representing corporate sustainability focus and infrastructure services.
Success Story
 

Facing rising tender requirements, Vossloh standardised product and sustainability proofs with H&Z, accelerating bids, reducing risk, and enabling data-driven optimisation.

Large industrial manufacturing machine with workers in protective suits inside a clean production facility, representing consulting expertise in high-tech manufacturing and process optimization.
Success Story
 

Brückner Maschinenbau, together with H&Z, has built a quality culture that goes beyond technical precision.

Automated assembly line with robotic arms constructing a car body, reflecting manufacturing innovation and consulting services
Success Story
 

Within three months, H&Z and an automotive supplier identified and implemented SG&A levers, reducing overhead costs and boosting profitability across global functions.

Industrial robotic arm working in a manufacturing facility, illustrating advanced automation and process efficiency achieved through consulting expertise.
Success Story
 

Haselhorst Associates secured the future of an automotive supplier through targeted restructuring and operational management.

Female lab technician inspecting glass bottles in a beverage production facility, highlighting quality control and operational excellence consulting in the food and drink industry.
Success Story
 

With a tailor-made restructuring concept, Haselhorst Associates stabilised a leading beverage manufacturer and ensured its long-term viability.

Industrial stainless steel equipment and vessels in a manufacturing plant representing process optimization and restructuring consulting in manufacturing.
Success Story
 

By optimising the sites and significantly reducing fixed costs, Haselhorst Associates carried out the restructuring of a plant manufacturer.

In their words

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The cooperation was characterised by a high level of professionalism, swift and precise support, and a consistently structured approach.

Kira Brings

Kira Brings

Programme Management Smart City

We have worked with the H&Z team on a wide range of clinical and non-clinical procurement savings initiatives over the last three years. They have seamlessly worked with our business, and consistently delivered against plan.

Martin Alley

Martin Alley

Supply Chain and Procurement Director

I was able to see a glimpse of the detailed work that was undertaken from H&Z to support this exercise and I thought it was amazing. In fact, I was so impressed that I am convinced there are learnings for everyone in a leadership position in our organization.

Michael Parden

Michael Parden

CEO

We work more efficiently today, and our products are improving. This saves time and money – and increases our responsiveness to customers.

Timo Budzinski

Timo Budzinski

Head of Sustainability

For us, quality is not a final check but a mindset that flows through every part of our organisation. With H&Z, we built the framework and the conviction to lead through quality.

Nicolas Beyl

Nicolas Beyl

CEO

In global competition, we must continuously increase our efficiency and speed. Together with H&Z, we have reorganised our order and implementation process to meet this challenge. The established methodology, proven expertise in the automotive sector and pragmatic approach of the H&Z team were the factors that made the difference for us.

Christian Wallstabe

Christian Wallstabe

CEO

We have transformed our value reporting into a variance-oriented standard reporting based on a unified data foundation with the use of SAP SAC.

Ursula Urbas

Ursula Urbas

Vice President Corporate Controlling

In the past, the operational effort involved with suppliers was enormous. Today, the JAGGAER software solution makes supplier relationship management easier for us and offers RATIONAL full transparency. The tool has reduced the operational effort. This allows us to concentrate more on relevant issues such as strategic alignment.

Alice Lüddecke

Alice Lüddecke

Project Team Member

It was time to establish a standardized supplier relationship management system for RATIONAL AG in order to safeguard the company’s values along the value chain.

Nikolas Bayer

Nikolas Bayer

Project Manager

H&Z.digital is characterized by not only mapping the status quo in a solution, but also thinking ahead and being able to develop and implement technological ideas that fit our business (…).

Jessica Muthweiler

Head of Business Intelligence

A tremendous achievement: Having someone by your side with such a foresight and experience is invaluable. The Interim Management support by H&Z helped us in setting up the overall project covering non-procurement topics as well and was decisive for the successful and timely awarding of the 3 core aggregates.

Friedhelm Felten

Friedhelm Felten

Kaufmännischer Programmleiter

Customer centricity is more than a strategy—it’s a mindset. With H&Z, we’ve succeeded in making this mindset tangible for our global leadership team. The combination of creativity, customer dialogue, and structured reflection has helped us turn a strategic vision into shared conviction. This marks a decisive step in our journey to become a global leading customer-centric thermoplastics provider.

Matthias Schönberg

Matthias Schönberg

CEO

WHAT SETS US APART

Four things show up in every story on this page.

We stay until it runs

Our work does not end with a recommendation. We stay through rollout, hypercare, and the first full reporting cycle, because a strategy that never reaches the shop floor is not a result.

Warehouse interior with shelves stacked with boxes and pallets, symbolizing supply chain logistics for business consulting.

Your team owns the outcome

We work inside your organisation, not alongside it. Joint teams, shared decision rights, and expertise that stays with your people after we leave.

Collaborative brainstorming session with hands sketching diagrams on a whiteboard, illustrating strategic planning and creative problem-solving in our consulting projects.

Numbers agreed before we start

Every engagement is measured against a baseline both sides sign off on. Savings, throughput, and working capital are tracked in your systems, not in our slides.

Hand-drawn flowchart on paper over product brief documents representing project planning and user goals for business consulting.

Senior people on the ground

The partner who scoped the project is the partner in the workshop. Small teams, deep expertise, and no handover once the work begins.

Two professional women engaged in a discussion at a table with city skyline in the background, illustrating collaborative consulting conversations and client engagement.
Tailored Consulting

THE WORK BEHIND THE RESULTS

Every story on this page came out of one of these service lines. From strategy design to hands-on delivery.

Procurement

Unlocking external value through smarter sourcing and stronger supply.
Aerial view of blue semi trucks lined up at a warehouse loading dock, representing logistics efficiency and supply chain management in consulting solutions.

Operational Excellence

We improve operations end to end by reducing costs, freeing up cash and increasing performance with measurable impact.
Minimalist white cube on a smooth surface with soft lighting symbolizing clarity and solid solutions in consulting services.

Product Improvement

Cut costs, accelerate engineering and build scalable architectures for faster decisions and better products.
Modern industrial facility with sleek metal architecture representing manufacturing and operational excellence, aligning with our consulting focus on performance improvement.

Organisational Efficiency

Reduce SG&A, redesign operating models and build leaner structures with measurable EBITDA impact.
Abstract minimalist architecture with light blue angular fins casting shadows in a corridor | H&Z

Digital & AI

Transforming business performance through intelligent digital solutions.
Minimal geometric white cube rolling over a futuristic digital planning dashboard representing innovative solutions, data integration and strategic consulting

Corporate Restructuring

Guiding organisations through critical transformations and turnaround recovery.
Abstract view looking up through glass building facades reflecting the blue sky, symbolizing transparency, modern architecture, and visionary perspectives in consulting.

Sales & Customer Experience

Creating commercial systems that grow revenue and deepen loyalty.
Modern stainless steel building with curved surfaces illustrating innovative architecture and forward-thinking infrastructure solutions in consulting.

OUR LATEST INSIGHTS

Strategy Paper
13.08.2026

Europe’s defence ramp-up will be decided by industrial execution: how quickly manufacturers can scale production, strengthen the supply base and decide at the pace of demand.

Print mock-up of the English fibre-optic market white paper on a light blue background | H&Z
Strategy Paper
10.08.2026

The logic of ‘homes passed’ first, monetisation later is faltering. Fibre-optic companies must reassess their operational and legal options to secure a future in the market.

Print mock-up of the traffic development practice dossier on a light blue background | H&Z
Strategy Paper
10.08.2026

Building a robust data foundation that starts taking hidden costs into account enables cities to tap into new potential for sustainable mobility planning.

Get in touch

LET US MAKE AN IMPACT TOGETHER

Whether it is digital transformation, shifting supply chains, sustainability, or financial resilience, we help you turn your ambitions into measurable impact.

With head, heart, and hand, we combine strategic clarity, close partnership, and hands-on execution, from strategy to implementation.

Talk to us
Stefan Herz in conversation, framed by the blue H&Z Heart brand icon | H&Z