Transform. Optimise. Integrate.
You want your business to move forward: a transformation that actually lands, processes and data that finally work, or a new business integrated cleanly. That is what Optero does — with thirty years of complex industrial and consumer operations behind it.
Six dimensions of performance. One of them lifts off.
What Optero means →Turning complexity into outcomes.
An operator, not an advisory team. You get thirty years of actually running plants, supply chains and programmes — not a deck assembled by consultants two years out of university.
Most mandates start with one of these three.
You want to transform your business
A new operating model, an ERP that has to land, ways of working that must stick after the project ends.
See the situations →2You want to optimise your processes and data
Costs back in line, flows debottlenecked, and the digital and AI investments that actually pay.
See the situations →3You want to integrate a new business, site or network
A post-merger integration, a carve-out or a new site — brought together around the customer, in the right order.
See the situations →One name. Six dimensions. One direction.
Five dimensions make a business run. The sixth is the reason for the other five — and the only one that leaves the ring.
Operations
Runs smoothly and predictably
Performance
Measurable cost and service gains
Transformation
New ways of working that hold
Excellence
Standards that stay under pressure
Resilience
Absorbs shocks, not amplifies them
Outcomes
The result that lifts off
Optero — the six initials spell the offer, and the ending is a wing: -ptero, from the Greek πτερόν (pteron), “wing” — the same root as in helicopter. Six dimensions, one ascent.
What we hold to
The human factor
Change holds only when the people doing the work own it. We align leaders, coach managers and make improvement routine.
82-person team led · Change management & coachingConvergence
Business, IT and operations pulled onto one objective. Most programmes fail exactly where those three disagree.
ERP/SAP programmes · PMO & portfolio governanceEvidence over opinion
Decisions from the Gemba and the data, not from the status report. We go to where the work happens before recommending anything.
Lean Leader Champion, EPFL · Go · See · Think · DoDoes this sound like your week?
Eight situations we get called into, and exactly what you get.
Operations & Performance
How do I bring my costs back in line with my volumes?
We find the real cost drivers and fix the biggest ones first.
- Cost baseline and driver map
- Savings roadmap with a business case
- Renegotiated 3PL terms
How do I get my supply chain ready for the next stage of growth?
We debottleneck the flows and resize the network for where you are going.
- Flow and capacity diagnostic
- Network options with a business case
- Service back under control
How do I make my supply chain resilient to the next disruption?
We map the vulnerabilities, close the critical gaps, and build in the right buffers.
- A risk and vulnerability map
- A mitigation plan for critical flows
- Scenario-tested continuity
Transformation & Change
How do I get my ERP programme to land and stick?
We reset scope and governance, and put the business in the owner's seat.
- Honest status and a realistic roadmap
- Governance and decision cadence
- An adoption plan the business owns
How do I know which digital and AI investments will actually pay?
We separate the hype from the few use cases that pay, check your data is honestly ready, and govern them through to benefit.
- Digital and AI use cases ranked by value and feasibility
- A data-readiness check
- A business case and benefits tracking
How do I make change stick in my teams?
We align your leaders, coach your managers, and make improvement routine.
- Change plan with clear ownership
- Coached managers
- Routines that outlast us
Programmes & Integration
How do I get a clear view of my project portfolio?
One list, one set of criteria, one governance rhythm.
- A PMO up and running
- A prioritised portfolio
- An executive dashboard
How do I get my post-merger integration back on track?
We integrate around the customer and harmonise in the right order.
- Day-1 and day-100 roadmap
- A harmonised operating model
- Synergy tracking
How we can help
Consulting and advisory mandates, hands-on when needed and strategic throughout.
What sits under each dimension
Operations
Plants, supply chains and teams that run smoothly and predictably, day after day.
- Operations & Operational Excellence
- Supply Chain & Logistics
Performance
Cost, service and productivity turned into gains you can measure on the P&L.
- Cost & Performance Improvement
Transformation
Changing how the work is done — and making it hold long after the project closes.
- Digital Transformation & Change
- M&A & Post-Merger Integration
- Change Management & Coaching
Excellence
The governance and discipline that keep a standard in place when pressure arrives.
- PMO & Portfolio Governance
Resilience
Operations built to absorb disruption instead of amplifying it down the chain.
- Project & Programme Recovery
Outcomes
Everything above exists to produce this. It is the arrow leaving the ring.
- Savings delivered and banked, not just identified
- Programmes that land on time and stay landed
- Capability that stays with your team afterwards
- Governance that outlives the mandate
Selected results
Digital transformation
Governed the group digital-transformation portfolio and led a 2,500-user SAP GLOBE rollout with 100% adoption and no disruption.
Process optimisation & debottlenecking
Standardised and debottlenecked processes across 30+ markets, embedding Lean continuous improvement that delivered 22% efficiency gains.
Cost & service performance
Redesigned networks and cost-to-serve to cut logistics cost by 16% and supply-chain cost by 10%, while improving service and safety.
Three ways to start
Every mandate begins with a short call. From there, one of three shapes usually fits.
Diagnostic
2 to 5 daysA short, sharp look at the real problem before you commit to anything bigger.
- Findings from the ground, not from the reports
- A prioritised plan with a business case
- A straight recommendation, including doing nothing
Right when: You sense something is wrong and want clarity first.
Project mandate
3 to 12 monthsWe deliver the change with your team, not instead of it, and leave the capability behind.
- A team that owns the result
- Delivery protected while the change lands
- Capability that stays after we leave
Right when: You have decided to act and want experienced hands to make it happen.
Advisory
A few days a monthA senior sounding board for you and your leadership team, without adding headcount.
- Sparring on the decisions that matter
- Governance and a review cadence that sticks
- Coaching for your managers
Right when: You have the team, and you want experienced challenge.
Not sure which one fits? Start with the call and we will work it out together.
Discuss your situationOur approach: Go · See · Think · Do
A Lean mindset applied to programme and project management. Rather than steering from status reports alone, we go to where the work actually happens.
Go
Go to the ground. We start at the Gemba, with the teams and the reality of the operation, not only the reporting.
See
See the facts. We map the processes, data, bottlenecks and dependencies objectively, so decisions rest on evidence.
Think
Think it through. We structure the problem, set clear priorities and governance, and design solutions that will hold.
Do
Do with discipline. We execute against clear KPIs, remove waste, standardise what works and improve continuously.
Executive perspective, hands-on delivery, and a people-first style that makes change stick.
The expertise behind Optero
Optero is led by its founder and CEO, Philippe Schmid. Alongside thirty years of practice, he keeps the toolkit current through EPFL advanced studies (MAS + CAS) and formal method certifications.
Digital & Data
Turning data into decisions across the value chain, and governing the investment that gets you there.
- Data strategy for value chains
- Demand sensing and forecast analytics
- Digital twins
- LLM and AI for planning and decision support
- Advanced planning platforms (o9, OMP)
- Governance of digital and AI investment
Resilience
Building supply chains that absorb shocks instead of amplifying them.
- Risk and vulnerability mapping
- Scenario testing and stress cases
- Business continuity for critical flows
- Network and sourcing robustness
Risk Management
Governing risk, dependencies and priorities across complex portfolios.
- Portfolio and programme risk governance
- Dependency and interface management
- Prioritisation under constraint
- The MoR framework in practice
Sustainability
Leading operations that are efficient with resources, not just with cost.
- Resource-efficient operations
- Sustainable supply chain design
- Sustainability embedded in operating routines
Three decades of industrial leadership, kept current
I am a senior operations and transformation leader with thirty years of international experience at Nestlé, across Switzerland, Ukraine, France, Germany and the United States. I have led supply chain and logistics organisations, a group digital-transformation portfolio, and programme management offices, always with full accountability for delivery, cost and performance.
I am the founder and CEO of Optero, the consulting company I created to do this work. I am a Lean Leader Champion (EPFL), completing an EPFL Master in Sustainable & Resilient Supply Chains, and I work fluently in French, German and English.
For interim executive mandates, where I take the seat and the accountability myself, see schmid-philippe.ch.
Let's talk
Based in Switzerland, available for mandates locally and internationally.