Insights into our FCM consulting – Interview with Erik Walter, Head of Consulting at PROMOS consult

PROMOS consulting is your perfect match! Why? For us, it’s primarily the people who work at PROMOS and the many years of know-how in the SAP environment. Erik Walter, Head of Consulting at PROMOS consult, gives us an insight into why we and especially our FCM team are your perfect match!

What does FCM stand for?

FCM stands for Facility and Construction Management and deals with topics such as construction projects, maintenance and technical building management. What solutions do we offer specifically?

Keeping an eye on the budget planning and monitoring of construction projects, developing fast entry screens for supply and service contracts for building management or fulfilling complex safety obligations in a structured and uncomplicated way – these are just a few of the many possibilities that we can create with our standardised as well as customised SAP^® solutions. In the interview with Erik, you can find out more about our FCM team and what tips he has for all new consultants.

Hello Erik! It’s great to have you with us! How long have you been at PROMOS and what has your career path been like here at the company?

Erik: I've been with PROMOS since June 2013, which is more than 10 years! I started as a junior consultant during my studies. At the time, I wanted to take up a job alongside my studies that would challenge and develop me both personally and professionally. It was also important for me to have the opportunity to write my master’s thesis in the company and to have the chance of being taken on. PROMOS was exactly the right place for me. I have been a permanent consultant since January 2015 and have specialised very quickly in the area of facility and construction management as well as in our mobile solutions. Little by little, I was given more responsibility. In 2021, I took over the management of the FCM division. Since June 2023, I have also been responsible for the entire consulting area as Head of Consulting together with Elena Wollscheid.

Congratulations on that! What would you say makes our FCM department special? What is your superpower?

Erik: In my view, the FCM Consulting team is very broadly positioned in all areas. Our team has grown significantly recently. We have colleagues who have been with us for more than 20 years, but we have also gained some new colleagues this year. We now have 14 employees in the team – including six women. I’m particularly pleased about that! What makes us stand out is our comprehensive and long-standing know-how in SAP^® as well as our experience in project management.

How would you describe our FCM team in three concise words?

Erik: Solution-oriented. Individual. Well-balanced.

What has been your favourite project so far?

Erik: There have been many great and exciting projects. One highlight, also in terms of my responsibility and the diversity of solutions as well as the complexity, was the SAP S/4HANA^® implementation at ProPotsdam. Here, I took over the overall project management together with our CFO, Katharina Knorr. In general, I have been able to participate in many projects in a wide variety of roles.

What does a typical day of an FCM consultant look like?

Erik: We work in a project-oriented way and coordinate regularly. As Team FCM, we meet at least every fortnight and at least once a month in person at the office. Since we work on a project basis, no two days are the same. From customer calls and training sessions to sales appointments and internal coordination with our developers, anything can happen. Of course, we make sure that everyone can contribute their individual strengths.

What major projects do you have coming up in the future? What are your long-term goals?

Erik: We have many plans for the future: We have various implementation and optimisation projects with different customers coming up. A major corporate project is our strategic realignment #PROMOS2030: By 2030, we want to become the European market leader as a full-range supplier for the real estate industry. Here I’m also looking forward to our new internal Consulting & Training Group, in which we will train consultants in a separate programme in the future.

We also want to continuously optimise and expand our solutions in the FCM field, especially with a view to the new possibilities and interfaces in the Fiori^® Launchpad and in the SAP^® HANA systems.

Finally, do you have any tips for new consultants? Perhaps even in the FCM area?

Erik: As consultants, we are the linchpin in the projects between the different project participants. This means that we communicate a lot with customers, other consultants, developers and different project stakeholders – we are in contact with a lot of people. So you should enjoy working and communicating with people.

In our work as consultants, we are also always involved in the latest SAP^® topics and can therefore actively shape the market and serve the latest customer projects. So you should be keen to get to grips with innovative IT issues and business processes and to optimise them.

Thank you for the insight into our FCM team!