Onboarding: SAP experts at Stuttgart Airport

E3: Stuttgart Airport is a central hub for mobility and innovation. What is your vision for the future of the digital working world?

Sebastian Zeller, Stuttgart Airport: Stuttgart Airport is driving forward the sustainable transformation with the STRzero climate strategy and the Fairport Code. We are setting standards for climate-friendly aviation and are committed to reducing our directly caused emissions to net zero by 2040. The Fairport Code stands for our clear commitment to sustainability, responsibility and transparency. It defines our values and principles for fair and sustainable business practices. Our IT strategy focuses on the use of state-of-the-art technologies to optimize the IT infrastructure and the comprehensive digitalization of airport operations. The aim is to optimize Stuttgart Airport with smart technologies, AI-supported processes and flexible working models in order to increase efficiency, safety and sustainability. In this way, we are shaping future-proof, climate-friendly mobility and are permanently developing into one of the most efficient and sustainable airports in Europe.

E3: How does Stuttgart Airport position itself as an employer for IT and SAP experts in the region?

Zeller: We offer IT and SAP experts a secure and stable working environment with long-term prospects. As a central mobility hub with public sponsorship, we stand for economic stability and a sustainable corporate strategy - underpinned by our more than 100 years of existence. Our employees benefit from attractive benefits, including flexible working models, a wide range of training opportunities for different career paths and sabbaticals to balance professional and personal development. In addition to an appreciative working environment, we place particular value on a strong team culture in which personal responsibility and ideas are actively encouraged. Those who work for us not only shape the digital future of the airport, but also actively contribute to efficient, sustainable and therefore future-proof airport operations with their expertise. Whether through the optimization of SAP-supported processes, the development of intelligent data platforms or the digitalization of operational processes - our SAP experts drive innovation. At the same time, we offer reliable working hours, planning security and a healthy work-life balance - a decisive advantage over the traditional IT industry. Our SAP team relies on a balanced mix of internal specialists who have learned the company's processes from scratch and have developed into SAP experts via the career path, as well as external specialists who contribute valuable know-how and new perspectives.

E3: What additional benefits does the airport offer specifically for SAP specialists?

Zeller: We offer SAP specialists a comprehensive overall package that optimally combines professional development, flexibility and financial and health protection. A good work-life balance is very important to us, which is why we offer flexible working hours, mobile working, part-time options and sabbaticals to best support individual needs. To promote the continuous development of our employees, we offer individual development plans, training courses, specialist conferences and certifications. In addition to various sports and fitness activities, a wide range of sports activities, a fitness room, a company doctor, regular health checks and an on-site physiotherapist, ergonomic workstations ensure a healthy and pleasant working environment. Our employees also benefit from a company pension scheme, comprehensive family services, exclusive employee discounts, discounted canteen offers and free hot drinks and water. Team cohesion is particularly important to us - which is why we regularly organize employee events, such as the ski trip, our anniversary celebrations last year or the STR SummerNight summer party, which is taking place again this year. We also promote sustainable mobility through a job ticket, a job bike and free parking. With these versatile benefits and development opportunities, we create a modern, stable and future-oriented working environment in which IT and SAP experts can actively shape their long-term career.

E3: What measures do you take to attract and retain SAP talent?

Zeller: Stuttgart Airport pursues a targeted employer strategy to attract and retain SAP experts in the long term. In addition to attractive working conditions, we focus on actively approaching talent through our presence at trade fairs, career events and in relevant networks. We seek a direct exchange with IT and SAP talent in order to highlight individual career prospects and make our working environment tangible as a future-oriented and stable employer. In a dynamic environment with a wide range of interfaces, our SAP experts work on technological solutions that are highly relevant to the operational safety and efficiency of the airport. A particular focus is placed on IT security, sustainability and the continuous optimization of our processes. We attach great importance to a work-life balance and offer reliable working hours - a decisive advantage compared to the traditional IT industry. We are constantly working on promoting our talent and targeting new specialists. This combination of career opportunities, innovative fields of work and a proactive approach to talent has established us as the employer of choice for SAP talent who want to work with us to shape the digital future of the airport.

E3: How many employees do you have and how many of them work in the IT department?

Zeller: As the operator of the airport, Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH employs around 1,200 people. In total, over 10,000 people work for more than 300 companies and authorities at the site. Around 130 employees work in the IT department itself. In order to cope with the broad portfolio of IT tasks, which ranges from the provision and operation of the IT infrastructure, special systems for aviation and security and services for corporate management (SAP) to strategy and control, appropriately specialized teams are required that cooperate closely with each other.

E3: What are the current challenges in the SAP area?

Zeller: A central challenge in the SAP area is the continuous further development of existing systems in order to adapt them to new requirements and technologies. The aim is to ensure stability and security while at the same time making processes more efficient, transparent and sustainable. IT is therefore responsible for the central planning and control (master plan) as well as the introduction, operation and maintenance of the SAP solutions used within Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH, as well as project planning and control in the areas of strategic change management, organizational development and special investigations. We are happy to partner our specialist departments in the implementation of process studies and projects with interdisciplinary project teams. We are also responsible for the central further development and maintenance of our project management standards. As a company, we are currently making our way into the future. The S/4 transformation project is a challenge for the entire company to further optimize operational processes and drive forward digitalization at the airport. One focus is on the automation and integration of cloud technologies in order to create a more flexible and scalable system landscape. We are also playing a leading role in the current realignment of materials management processes, both in terms of process consulting and implementation in the system. We are also improving the data analysis and reporting functions to enable well-founded, data-driven decisions in real time. Linking SAP with sustainable technologies is also playing an increasingly important role, particularly as part of our climate strategy.

E3: Are SAP experts involved in strategic technology decisions?

Zeller: SAP experts at Stuttgart Airport are directly involved in strategic technology decisions and play a central role in the further development of the digital infrastructure. They work on an interdisciplinary basis with various specialist departments to develop innovative solutions that make airport operations efficient, secure and sustainable. Thanks to their technical expertise, they have a direct influence on the design and optimization of operational processes - be it the introduction of new SAP modules, the automation of processes or the integration of new technologies such as cloud services or AI-supported analyses. They are also part of IT strategy projects in which they play a key role in shaping future technology decisions together with managers and specialist departments. This active involvement in innovation processes enables SAP experts not only to further develop existing systems, but also to set new standards and solutions for the airport of the future.

E3: What makes the airport an attractive employer for SAP experts?

Zeller: Our airport can be compared to a city in which a large number of different professions and people come together in one place. Whether in the areas of building construction and civil engineering, technology, IT, automotive, aviation or purchasing - our STR Airport Crew keeps the airport moving. It is therefore a challenge to map such a 360-degree view in SAP, to operate it and to continuously improve it with the various departments across the entire range of tasks of an airport operator and its subsidiaries. The SAP experts at Stuttgart Airport are working on strategically important digitalization projects that have a direct impact on airport operations. They optimize business processes and thus actively contribute to the further development of one of Germany's most important mobility hubs. In addition to exciting professional challenges, SAP talents benefit from flexible working models, mobile working, individual training and certification programs and the opportunity to work on innovative technologies. The airport also offers a stable, sustainable working environment with long-term prospects, supported by the Fairport Code and our STRzero climate strategy. This combination of technical innovation, job security and sustainable corporate strategy makes Stuttgart Airport an attractive and future-oriented employer for SAP experts.

flughafen-stuttgart.de