Consulting for pharma and the process industry

The view from above. Delivery on the ground.

I advise decision-makers in pharma, the process industry and mechanical engineering where technology, organization and people meet. With an eye for the whole picture and the experience to deliver it myself.

Book an initial call → View services

A red hot-air balloon floats above a snowy mountain landscape

Altitude is only worth as much as the landing.Illustration: © Andrea Fischer

GroundingIT & OTTechnical understanding from 28 years of practice, from the data center to process control

AltitudeSystems thinking & MediationSystemic consultant and mediator: an eye for the whole and for what happens between the people involved

AttitudePeople before methodsHonest, independent, impartial

A humpback whale dives beneath the water's surface in front of a mountain backdrop

What you can't see is often the biggest part.Illustration: © Andrea Fischer

The starting point

Most projects don't fail because of technology.

They fail because IT, automation, QA and other departments talk past each other. Everyone is right, and still nothing moves. What's missing is someone who understands both worlds and brings what goes unsaid to the surface.

How you can tell

01People nod in the meeting and object in the hallway.
02Conflicts are politely avoided instead of resolved.
03Technical objections are really about power.

Services

Three mandates.
One standard:
In the end, it has to run.

An eye looks through a magnifying glass, surrounded by fish

Illustration: © Andrea Fischer

Modular automation

From the MTP standard to a running plant.

Done right, MTP makes plants flexible and projects faster. Done wrong, it becomes a drag instead of an advantage.

I support you from the initial assessment through module design all the way into operation. I co-developed one of the first Process Orchestration Layers and programmed the first PEAs for it myself.

Typical questions

MTP? Can you eat that?
Where do we start?
How do we get the module boundaries right?

What you get

A solid roadmap, a pilot that runs, and a team that knows what it's doing.

Interdisciplinary projects

Bridges that hold.

I'm the Babel fish for projects where departments speak different languages: IT and production, engineering and sales, business units and management.

Contradictory requirements become solutions everyone can stand behind. In automation just as in any other industry.

Typical questions

Why do our departments talk past each other?
Who decides at the interface?
How do we arrive at a shared vision?

What you get

Clear responsibilities, a shared vocabulary and decisions that hold.

Stalled situations

When everyone is right and nothing moves.

Conflict consulting and mediation for projects that have stalled, where emotions run high or trust is missing. Even where others have already failed. Confidential, impartial and with technical understanding. Offered in German only.

Typical questions

How do we break the deadlock between two departments?
How do we rescue a project without anyone losing face?

What you get

Movement again. Agreements that everyone involved supports.

More on conflict resolution and mediation →

A meerkat stands on a ladder at eye level with a giraffe

Eye level is a matter of attitude, not of size.Illustration: © Andrea Fischer

Attitude

At eye level.
In both directions.

ValuesPeople before methods

Honest, independent, impartial. I say what I see, even when it's uncomfortable, and I treat everyone involved with respect.

Am I better than your best people? No.
But I bring an unclouded view from the outside and I'm not tied to any department, position or internal entanglement.
Christof Franzke

How I work

Four steps.
No end in themselves.

Every mandate follows the same logic:
First understand, then decide, then deliver.
And in the end, the knowledge stays with you.

Unearthing the value that's already there.Illustration: © Andrea Fischer

Assessment

Listen, look at plants and organization, find the question behind the question.

Clarity

Evaluate options, develop a vision and roadmap, prepare everything ready for decision.

Delivery

Pilot, support, facilitation. I work with you, not just alongside you.

Handover

Your team takes over.
I step back,
but stay within reach.

Reference · Merck KGaA, Darmstadt

One of the first Process Orchestration Layers worldwide.

When Merck set out to automate lab plants in a modular way, there was no off-the-shelf system, just the standard. I programmed the first PEAs, led the development of the POL and, together with lab technicians and process specialists, brought the system to market readiness.

Role: PEA development, lead of POL development
Result: Market readiness, presented publicly in July 2022
Team: Lab technicians, process specialists, COPA-DATA

Merck: press release, July 2022 → COPA-DATA: success story → All references →

Soap bubbles rise from a bubble wand, little rabbits sitting inside two of them

About me

Christof Franzke

In IT since 1998, in automation since 2011, most recently nine years at COPA-DATA as Senior Technical Consultant for major pharma accounts and in sales. Independent since July 2026.

Along the way, training as a pastoral counselor, systemic consultant and mediator. This combination is no coincidence: technical problems are almost always human ones too. I work independently, honestly and directly, with an office in Bensheim (between Frankfurt and Heidelberg) and happy to work on site anywhere in Germany.

Industries: Pharma, process industry, mechanical engineering
Focus areas: MTP, IT/OT, interdisciplinary projects, mediation
Training: Mediator, systemic consultant, pastoral counselor
Memberships: ISA, ISPE

View CV → Personal →

A person lies in a hammock in the middle of a tall library

Perspectives

Thoughts on technology and working together.

No fixed rhythm, no posts by schedule. I write when a thought is ready: about modular plants, IT/OT and what happens between people.

Thirty minutes. An honest answer.

By phone or video. You tell me what it's about. I'll tell you honestly whether and how I can help. Free of charge and without obligation.

Book online → +49 151 29 40 90 90

Email: christof.franzke@ps19.consulting
Office: Darmstädter Straße 120, 64625 Bensheim, Germany
Availability: on site across Germany and remote

A hand sends paper planes flying in front of a waterfall

The view from above. Delivery on the ground.

Most projects don't fail because of technology.

Three mandates.One standard:In the end, it has to run.

Modular automation

Typical questions

What you get

Interdisciplinary projects

Typical questions

What you get

Stalled situations

Typical questions

What you get

At eye level.In both directions.

ValuesPeople before methods

Four steps.No end in themselves.

Assessment

Clarity

Delivery

Handover

One of the first Process Orchestration Layers worldwide.

Christof Franzke

Thoughts on technology and working together.

Thirty minutes. An honest answer.

Three mandates.
One standard:
In the end, it has to run.

At eye level.
In both directions.

Four steps.
No end in themselves.