Michael Schmid

Chief Operating Officer

Fox4Pets GmbH & Co. KG · Dietmannsried · Jan 2025–present

Responsible for business workflows, financial planning and performance management, operations, customer service and e-commerce. Full cost, revenue and profit responsibility for D2C and Amazon Vendor; functional and line management of eight employees.

• Expanded the digitalisation and automation of operations: approximately 95% of orders are processed automatically from receipt through invoicing, incoming payment checks and verification of early payment discount eligibility.
• Independently developed the Amazon API integration, AI-assisted order capture and early payment discount checks using AI development tools; led the team’s implementation of a B2B shop.
• Introduced AI applications for procurement, delivery monitoring and quality management into daily operations. Automated matching of goods receipts to purchase orders saves approximately 8–10 hours per week.
• Established structured demand planning and early detection of delivery delays. Rolled out new applications in stages, with plausibility checks and pilot testing by business teams.

Head of E-Commerce / Digital / Operations

GranataPet / Fox4Pets · Kempten · Sep 2020–Dec 2024

• Built digital infrastructure and end-to-end business processes. Led ERP and EDI implementation, including process design, data modelling, project management and coordination of external service providers.

Results across both roles since 2020: significant growth in D2C and Amazon Vendor through social media advertising, catalogue optimisation and improved order fulfilment, while maintaining stable margins. Repeated bestseller rankings in wet dog food on Amazon.

Product Owner / Business Development / Project Management

Newsfactory GmbH · Augsburg · Oct 2018–Aug 2020

• Product Owner for redFACT from Nov 2018: consolidated and prioritised customer requirements and worked with development teams to translate them into product improvements.
• Developed the service portfolio and workflows across teams; managed client projects involving CMS implementations, single sign-on and portal relaunches.
• Led a data project, managing external service providers, monitoring project performance and coordinating delivery with executive management.

COO / Head of Production and Development

rta.design GmbH · Jul 2008–Sep 2018

• Across successive roles, helped transform a portal operations team into a web agency and subsequently a full-service advertising agency; the business grew from two to approximately 25 employees.
• Led around 20 employees across technology, design and content management, with full line management, budget, financial performance and strategic development responsibility.