What exactly does Lighthouse Consultings do as part of its service?

We take over the active operational management of your project portfolio. This includes: structuring and prioritizing projects, ongoing resource and capacity management, budget tracking, risk assessment, and regular reporting to management. We work as part of your team, not as external consultants at a distance.

Is this a permanent service or project-based?

We work on a project basis. Depending on your needs, this can involve a defined period of time (e.g., 3-6 months for setting up the portfolio structure) or ongoing support. We will clarify this in the initial consultation.

We work with Smartsheet as our central platform. Resource management, scenario planning, budget tracking, dashboards, and risk management are integrated out-of-the-box. If you already use other tools, we will check for integration.

For which company sizes is this relevant?

Typically, medium-sized companies with 10 to 100+ parallel projects that do not have their own PMO department, or whose existing PMO is overwhelmed by the complexity. Our customers come from manufacturing, mechanical engineering, automotive, and production-related industries.

Do you only work with companies from the Stuttgart region?

We are based in Stuttgart, and many of our customers come from Baden-Württemberg: automotive suppliers, mechanical engineers, and medium-sized manufacturing companies. However, we also work nationally and internationally. Thanks to Smartsheet and digital dashboards, project management works regardless of location.

How does this differ from traditional project management consulting?

Traditional consulting provides recommendations and concepts. We take on operational responsibility. We attend your meetings, actively maintain the systems, escalate issues in a timely manner, and report directly to management. The difference is between giving advice and getting involved.

External PMO · Smartsheet Gold Partner

Your project portfolio.
Professionally managed.

We take operational responsibility for your multi-project management, create transparency across all projects, and eliminate resource conflicts before they escalate.

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Smartsheet Gold Partner

120+ projects managed simultaneously

Stuttgart · DACH · International

The challenge

Three problems thatslow down your portfolioevery day

In growing companies, complexity grows faster than the ability to manage it. This costs time, money, and trust.

Resource conflicts without a solution

The same employees are scheduled for five projects at the same time. Capacity bottlenecks only become apparent when deadlines are already at risk.

No uniform project status

Each project maintains its own tracking logic. Management receives ten different status reports and no consolidated overview.

Escalations come too late

Risks are identified when countermeasures are expensive. Early warning systems are lacking, and critical decisions end up unfiltered with the board of directors.

The solution

, active portfolio managementthat really works

We take on operational responsibility, not just consulting. Three interlinked management dimensions.

Resources

Portfolio-wide capacity planning with real-time bottleneck detection. No more double bookings.

Capacity matrix across all projects
Prioritization logic in conflicts
Early warning in case of overload
Integrated into Smartsheet

governance

Structured budget tracking and risk management at the portfolio level. Full control, fewer surprises.

Uniform budget dashboard
Gate review processes
Risk register with traffic light system
Management-compliant reports

transparency

Real-time executive dashboards. The right overview for the right management level at any time.

Real-time portfolio overview
Automated status reports
KPI tracking per project
Clearly defined escalation paths

reference project

FEW Automotive Group:
Measurable results

120+ projects managed simultaneously, across 5 plants on 3 continents. In 18 months.

120+

s managed simultaneously in the portfolio

-50%

Reduction of administrative burden

-30%

Cost reduction through early risk detection with

“As interim COO at FEW Automotive, we restructured the entire project portfolio: uniform control logic, clear prioritization, real-time transparency for management. The results speak for themselves.”

Nico Roepnack, Interim Chief Operating Officer · FEW Automotive Group

What you get

A functioning portfolio.

No consulting concept that gathers dust on the shelf. Operational implementation with measurable results.

Portfolio structure and uniform overview

Set up a central project database based on Smartsheet. All projects, all statuses, all dependencies on one dashboard.

Resource and capacity planning

Portfolio-wide resource matrix with automatic conflict display. You can immediately see who is overloaded and where capacity is becoming available.

Budget tracking and risk management

Uniform budget control across all projects. Risks are identified and prioritized at an early stage before they escalate.

Management reporting automation

Automated status reports for all management levels. No more manual compilation. The board gets exactly what it needs.

Your contact person

Nico Roepnack

Founder, Lighthouse Consultings · Smartsheet Gold Partner

20+ years of experience in project portfolio management in the manufacturing industry. I didn't just provide consulting services: I took on operational responsibility, built portfolios, and delivered results.

GETRAG/MAGNA: EUR 1.5 billion CAPEX portfolio managed across six countries

FEW Automotive: Restructured over 120 projects as interim COO

Forbes Business Council Member

Smartsheet ENGAGE 2025 Speaker

Lecturer at DHBW Stuttgart

Frequently asked questions

What youshould know
before you start

What exactly do you do when you take on an engagement?

We take on operational management responsibility for your project portfolio. This means active portfolio management, resource planning, risk monitoring, and management reporting. No recommendations from the sidelines, but direct implementation within the company.

How long does a typical engagement last?

Depending on the initial situation: Initial structured portfolio development typically takes 8 to 12 weeks. After that, many customers opt for an ongoing retainer model, in which we permanently take over the operational PMO functions. Both options are possible.

What tools do you use?

Our core tool is Smartsheet, and as a Smartsheet Gold Partner, we are particularly specialized in this area. We use n8n for automation and KNIME for advanced analytics. If your company already uses other tools, we can seamlessly integrate Smartsheet.

For which company sizes is this suitable?

Our target group consists of medium-sized companies and corporate divisions with 10 to 150+ parallel projects. Typically, 10 or more simultaneous projects create a level of complexity where structured portfolio management can have the greatest impact.

How do you differ from traditional management consulting?

Traditional consultants provide concepts and recommendations. We take on operational responsibility and measure ourselves by results. No concept ends up on the shelf. We build the structures, implement them, and ensure that your team can then work independently.

Can you also work remotely or internationally?

Yes. Our headquarters are in Stuttgart, but we regularly work in the DACH region and internationally. At FEW Automotive, we have coordinated projects in Germany, China, India, France, and the United Kingdom. Remote working is a matter of course for us.

self-check

Where does your company really stand?

10 questions · 2 minutes · Instant results with specific recommendations for action

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Nico Roepnack

Founder, Lighthouse Consultings

Next step

How much potential is there for "
" in your portfolio?

In 15 minutes, we will analyze together where your greatest leverage lies. Free of charge, non-binding, directly implementable.

Start free potential analysis Or: Read the FEW Automotive case study →

Transparent collaboration

Three entry points.
A clear engagement model.

No confusing hourly rates. No endless discussions about the scope of work. We work with you from the start to define exactly what you need, and then we deliver exactly that.

PMO Starter

€2,500 per month

Perfect for getting started: Establish a structure without operational overhead.

2 consulting days per month
Set up a portfolio structure
Define a governance framework
Monthly Management Report
Smartsheet setup included

Start

From real-world experience.
Measurable results.

FEW Automotive isn't the only example. Here are two more examples from our work, anonymized at the client's request.

Mechanical Engineering · Southern Germany · 1,200 employees

From Excel Chaos to a Real-Time Portfolio in 10 Weeks

"We had 47 ongoing projects and no consistent overview. Each department maintained its own Excel spreadsheet. Issues were always escalated too late."

Projects centralized

-40%

Reporting burden

10 Where

to the real-time dashboard

Approach: Smartsheet Portfolio Hub with automated status tracking. Weekly 30-minute review sessions for project managers. Executive dashboard live after 6 weeks.

Pharmaceuticals / Life Sciences · Germany, Austria, and Switzerland · Business Unit

Resource conflict resolved: Capacity planning across 5 product lines

"Our project managers spent 30% of their time negotiating for resources. Who gets which specialist? It was a daily struggle."

-30%

Conflicts over resources

Product lines synchronized

+22%

On-time delivery has increased

Approach: Portfolio-wide capacity matrix in Smartsheet with prioritization logic. Weekly coordination regarding bottlenecks. Conflicts are automatically identified before they escalate.

Customer testimonials

What customerswho have experienced it firsthand say about
.

★★★★★

"Finally, someone who doesn't just present a plan, but actually puts it into action. After three months, we had a portfolio dashboard that our management team uses every day."

Markus R. Head of PMO · Mechanical Engineering

★★★★★

"We had consultants who provided concepts. Lighthouse Consulting took on operational responsibility. That is a fundamental difference."

Sandra K. Vice President of Operations · Automotive Industry

★★★★★

"After eight weeks, transparency regarding our 60+ projects had completely changed. My executive board can now see at a glance where we stand. No more manual data entry."

Thomas B. CTO · Industrial Technology · Germany, Austria, Switzerland

resource management

Project & Portfolio Management

process automation

Case studies

Smartsheet

n8n Workflow Automation

KNIME

Your project portfolio.
Professionally managed.