Optimizing processes and technology for manufacturers across the globe.

– I’ve worked for some of the biggest companies in the world, as well as some smaller ones. I learned that I need to be at a place that is big enough to make a difference but small enough for me to make a difference right away, says business consultant, Lasse Dahl Hansen.

In 2023, Mazeppa employed six young and talented people in a trainee program we’re setting up together with our biggest partner, Infor. The goal is to find new talent and develop the next generation of ERP consultants.

Hansen is 37 years old from a very small town in the south of Denmark, just by the German border, called Tønder. He’s a passionate worker, someone who deep dives into the work at hand and who loves to learn new things. Hansen is also active in Danish politics.

– On the organizational side, mind you, I’m not running in any election. I sit in the leadership of one of the political parties in Denmark. Not surprising, I’m passionate about our root causes: people having freedom to do what they want, Hansen says.

Apart from politics and a love for music, Hansen marks that he doesn’t have any concrete hobbies, rather he enjoys life: good food, good wine, good music.

‍

From politics to ERP

As far as being a trainee goes, Hansen is almost over-qualified, having a solid educational background and a lot of previous experience working with ERP – but from the other side of the table.

– Having first completed a bachelor’s degree that would only be useful if I wanted to work in public sector (which I didn’t), I worked a few years as a team leader in a warehouse, before going back to school to study logistic management, says Hansen.

He finished his second degree in 2014 and has since been working with procurement, planning, and as project manager in different IT projects – also doing ERP implementations.

– Hence, I have a lot of experience with ERP, working with some of the biggest systems there is, not on the technical side, but rather with change management.

After a while, Hansen felt he reached at a point in his career where the natural choice would be to become a middle manager with staff responsibility. That choice didn’t feel right, having touched upon the consultant business, a career change was much more appealing.

– I had so far only been on the other side of the table, but I liked what I saw so I thought: If I were to go down that path, I needed to hit the right company.

Not just a cog in the wheel

The right company turned out to be Mazeppa: A company big enough to get interesting projects and attract different competences, but small enough for Hansen not to become “a cog in the wheel”.

– I don’t want to be a very small ant at a big company, just following orders. I’ve done that while working as a logistics controller where I had no leeway. That just killed me.

– I feel at home at Mazeppa: They are some of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with. At the same time, they’re open, welcoming, and supportive. They let us grow and influence, and they let us make our own mistakes; helping us when we fail without holding our hand the entire time, says Hansen.

It was over a year and a half ago, that Hansen first spoke with Christian Gierahn, country manager for Denmark, about joining Mazeppa. However, Hansen knew that being hired as a consultant right away wouldn’t work.

– Even though I knew ERP, I needed to get a way in to the more technical side. So, when Christian reached out again, ready to kickstarted the trainee program I knew I wanted to be apart of it.

An ever-changing business

The most significant thing Hansen has learned so far, he says, are the soft skills: about what the consulting role is and how you act in a project and toward a customer.

– I can learn to work in any system but to succeed in the consulting role is something completely different. That’s where I feel I’ve grown the most.

Having spent seven months at Mazeppa, and his biggest expectation of being challenged met, Hansen sees himself being in the business for many years.

– This is the place where you can stay in the same position without doing the same job. This business will always be interesting, always evolving and you’ll always get new challenges.

Hansen has great faith in trainee programs like Mazeppa’s being the right way to get fresh blood into the industry. Reskilling or upskilling people from different educational and professional backgrounds.  

– It shows that Mazeppa have the intention of still developing, still being relevant and being an interesting place to work. If I were to hire a company, being on the other side of the table, it would weigh heavily that Mazeppa do more than “just” consulting, and actually making a difference.

‍

‍

– I am someone who is always eager to learn new things that can help me in the future. Whether it's acquiring new skills or knowledge, I believe that learning is a lifelong process that can only benefit us in the long run, says ERP consultant and trainee at Mazeppa, Vit Brandejs.

In 2023, Mazeppa employed six young and talented people in a trainee program we’re setting up together with our biggest partner, Infor. The goal is to find new talent and develop the next generation of ERP consultants.

The travelling consultant

Brandejs is 27 years old, from the Czech Republic, and aside from learning, he’s always looking to stay active, and explore the worldaround him. In addition to a passion for sports, hiking, biking, and running,Brandejs loves to travel. – There's something about exploring new places, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures that makes me feel alive, he says.

Thus, a life as a consultant is well suited for Brandejs. Even if it’s for business, travelling is always another adventure, and the dream is to travel exciting places, have some meetings during the weekand then spend the weekend exploring, he explains.

Brandejs has a master’s degree in logistics and wrote his thesis on optimizing production, stock handling, cooperating with suppliers and improving service level. Since then, he’s specialized in logistics and ERP, becoming a SAP key user for Materials.

– Overall, I like projects, small or large. The most important thing for me is to work on projects where there are improvements to be made in a company's efficiency and profitability, says Brandejs.

Changing sides of the ERP table

When Brandejs was first asked to join the trainee program, he declined. He was happy in the position he was in and didn’t want to change. Luckily for Mazeppa, after a few chats with Petr and Stepan at the Prague office, he changed his mind.

– I found a passion in Mazeppa’s area of expertise because I want to someday become a consultant. My problem was always that I wanted to gain more knowledge before I could become one, and it’s often required that you have at least five years of experience before you can start being a consultant. Through the trainee program however, I learned that I could start much earlier and learn on the go, Brandejs says.

Despite having quite a bit of experience working with ERP-projects previously, Brandejs has always been on the other side of the table, being the one to work with consultants on the systems. Regardless, he came into training with an advantage in already being a technical person.  

– I’m fortunate having worked with large ERP systems like SAP previously. It gave me an advantage going into learning Infor LN from scratch. Technically, there are some similarities between the systems, but for the end-user, they are completely different. So, it’s exciting to be able to help clients navigate and use the system in a way that suits them perfectly.

After finishing the pure training, the trainees are now moving on to “shadowing” the seniors. The goal being to connect what they’ve learnt in training with a more practical usage and to start working with real clients.

– Since I had a lot of the technical knowledge already, the most valuable things I’ve learned at Mazeppa so far is about consultancy: to work with clients, help them understand the systems and how technology can help their business, says Brandejs.

Giving back

Moving forward, Brandejs has a goal to cultivate the knowledge he’s gained, and to become an expert in one area to give back on Mazeppa’s investment in him.

– I find it a bit difficult to suddenly be a trainee and not immediately bring value into the company. I’m an asset, but I’m also an expense. I feel in debt, but also very grateful, so I’m looking forward to paying it back, Brandejs says.

He emphasizes how important it is for companies to invest in new talent, in a market and an industry that lacks professional expertise.

– I’m impressed and happy that the senior consultants at Mazeppa were able to search in three different countries and find six completely different people (but with similar mindsets and values) to join the program. Everyone has different backgrounds and strengths, which means we get to share our knowledge and learn from each other, which is great.

– If we’re going to have all the competence that the ERP industry needs, it’s necessary for companies like Mazeppa to invest in new talent, to carry on industry experience. Also, all companies need to have bright minds to improve their business, to have people come in with fresh ideas and new perspectives to the IT world.

‍

– Learning to become an IT consultant is something completely new for me. Luckily, I’m the kind of person who thrives on learning and trying new things, and not least: to leave my comfort zone. So, when I was approached with this opportunity I jumped, says Trainee, Michal Brandl.

In 2023,Mazeppa employed six young and talented people in a trainee program we’re setting up together with our biggest partner, Infor. The goal is to find new talent and develop the next generation of ERP consultants.

Football player turned marketer turned ERP consultant

Brandl is 25 years old and comes from Teplice in the Czhech Republic. He has a huge passion for sports in general, but have played football since he was five years old, and professionally for a number of years.

Different from his trainee colleagues, Brandl has previously studied marketing in Prague and worked in a marketing agency specializing in sports and e-commerce.

– It matched my personal passion for sports and football, when I had the opportunity to help manage the e-shop for a football club in the Czhech Republic while I was still in school, he says.  

Having no prior experience working in the ERP industry, Brandl knew he was taking on a challenge when he decided to join the trainee program with Mazeppa.

– I was approached by our county manager here in the Czech Republic, Stepan Ludvik, who told me about the trainee program and asked me if I’d like to join. As it happens, I’m the kind of person who loves to learn and try new things, and to leave my comfort zone. So I thought, this is something completely new, so my response had to be “why not!”

A rewarding journey

Four months into the program, the trainees have finished their initial training with courses and workshops, getting to know and navigating the Infor LN system. Brandl admits that it was quite challenging at the start, with a lot to learn, but that he sees the reward in the end.

– The world of ERP is complicated and the systems are complex, but the training we’ve received from the senior consultants is top notch, and they’ve shown a great ability to reach all of the trainees on different levels, he says.

– Also, the other trainees had previous experience working with ERP, and while I think they’ve been able to build on that during the program, it’s a bit different for me since I didn’t have that same experience to build on. On my part however, I’ve been able to learn about the Infor LN system from scratch, from knowledgeable and experienced people – both the seniors in Mazeppa and from the trainees. That has been a great challenge and really rewarding.

Having had this deep dive into the system on the technical side, Brandl is now looking to specialize in model CPQ which communicates with the LN system.

– This is moving more toward sales and configurations which share some similarities to my field of expertice which is marketing. That would be very exciting for me, he says.

Currently, the trainees are in the process of moving past the very technical part of their training, and over to working with clients, which is something Brandl is looking forward to.

– It’s great to see how everything actually works and works together in an real project. The consultant job itself is very practical and hands-on, so having a more practical approach to our training in the coming months will probably be what teaches us the most.

Great expectations

Going forward, Brandl hopes to learn even more about business from an ERP point of view; how business and ERP work together and how he can actually utilize all the possibilities within the systems to help clients improve and grow their business.

– I’m eager to learn more about how to work with and communicate with clients. Really how to actually be a consultant, he adds.

Being a social person with a great passion for travelling and an interest in technology and business, life as a consultant is appealing to Brandl.

– The trainee program has way passed my expectations! One thing is learning so much about the system itself, but a whole other thing is the team at Mazeppa. More times than not I feel like they’re more friends than colleagues. We’ve really connected well, and we support each other both personally and professionally.

In the end, Brandl emphasizes the importance of tech companies doing these kinds of trainee programs to preserve competence and lift young talent up and forward.

– It's a big investment for a company and it might be too early to say anything about the return after a year, but I’m confident that it will be worth it in the end. The current trainees at Mazeppa is a great team, the program is really high quality, and the seniors have a unique know-how that is exciting to learn from.

‍