Dr. Scherf Schütt & Zander GmbH

Name

Dr. Scherf Schütt & Zander GmbH

Legal name

Dr. Scherf Schütt & Zander GmbH

Website

https://ssz-beratung.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Feldkirchen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Consulting & Advisory Services: Core revenue stream from consulting projects covering workforce management, personnel deployment planning, working time models, shift scheduling, and workforce analytics. Projects range from small/medium engagements to comprehensive long-term consulting mandates with DAX corporations. Revenue is generated through professional services fees based on project scope, duration, and seniority of consultants deployed.
2. Training & Webinars: Revenue from webinars, seminars, and the Masterclass New Workforce Management program. Webinars are offered at regular prices (285–550€ per person) though free in 2026 under the 'Smart statt hart' initiative. 2-day in-person seminars priced at 1,440€ per person through Haufe academy partnership.
3. Publications & Book Sales: Revenue from book sales. 'NEW WORKforce Management' priced at 59.90€ (hardcover) and 45.99€ (e-book). 'Die faulen Deutschen?' priced at 22€. Books sold through Bod Verlag, Amazon, and Haufe.
4. Software (Workforce Analytics Plus): Own software tool for workforce analytics and personnel demand forecasting sold to clients. In software topics outside their own product, SSZ acts as an independent advisor helping clients select the right HR/Workforce Management software.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SSZ Beratung delivers specialized management consulting combined with proprietary software for workforce management, working time design, and personnel deployment planning. Services include shift planning, personnel demand forecasting, working time model design, software selection advisory, and training, supported by in-house tools (Workforce Analytics Plus, Retail Forecast, Call Center Forecast, WFA Healthcare). The firm serves mid-market to DAX-30 enterprises across all industries in the DACH region.

Product overview

SSZ Beratung is a consulting firm offering workforce management solutions combining consulting services with proprietary software products. The core portfolio includes Workforce Analytics Plus (analytics platform), Retail Forecast (AI-based retail demand forecasting), Call Center Forecast (AI-based call center forecasting), WFA Healthcare (healthcare-specific analytics), and custom personnel needs determination tools. These products are complemented by consulting services covering shift planning, employee scheduling, working time management, and workforce management strategy under the NEW WORKforce Management framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Workforce Analytics Plus: Software tool for working time and personnel requirement analysis
• Retail Forecast
• Call Center Forecast
• WFA Healthcare
• NEW WORKforce Management
• Smart statt HART Initiative
• Masterclass New Workforce Management

Products and services

• Workforce Analytics Plus Award-winning analytics and reporting tool for workforce management that delivers maximum transparency from working time and demand data, helping enterprises measure efficiency, employee satisfaction, and customer-service goals and optimize staffing and scheduling decisions.
• Retail Forecast AI-based, fully automated demand forecasting tool designed for retail operations to predict staffing needs based on demand signals and historical patterns.
• Call Center Forecast AI-based forecasting tool providing precise predictions for call center workforce planning needs.
• WFA Healthcare Workforce Analytics solution tailored for the healthcare sector, addressing specific staffing and scheduling challenges in hospitals and care facilities.
• Kundenspezifische Personalbedarfsermittlung (Custom Personnel Needs Determination) Bespoke personnel-needs determination and capacity-planning solution built without Excel, tailored to each client's specific business requirements for workforce planning.
• Workforce Management & Arbeitszeitberatung (Consulting) Core management consulting covering shift planning, personnel deployment planning, personnel demand determination, working time models, Homeoffice, Mobile Work, and lifetime working time accounts for enterprises across all industries.
• Software Selection Consulting for HR & Workforce Management Independent advisory service helping enterprises select the right HR and Workforce Management software outside SSZ's own product portfolio, including precise requirements definition and objective bid evaluation.
• Lebensarbeitszeitkonto (Lifetime Work Account) Consulting Specialized consulting on the design, introduction, and operation of lifetime work time accounts (Zeitwertkonten) for enterprises.
• Masterclass New Workforce Management (Webinar Series) Educational webinar program covering modern workforce management topics, including personnel demand determination, time tracking, trust-based working time, lifetime work accounts, and flexible shift planning; awarding the 'New Workforce Manager' certificate upon completion.
• New Workforce Management In-Person Seminar (via Haufe Academy) Two-day in-person seminar in Munich covering modern workforce management, distributed exclusively through the Haufe Academy at €1,440 per person.
• NEW WORKforce Management (Book) Standard-reference hardcover book (468 pages, 100 figures) by Guido Zander and Dr. Burkhard Scherf, published by BoD; priced at €59.90 (hardcover) and €45.99 (e-book), ISBN 978-3-7534-6341-4.
• Die faulen Deutschen? (Book) Standard-reference book (~220 pages, 170+ sources) published by Haufe, priced at €22, ISBN 3689510546.

Quantifiable outcome

• Volksfürsorge achieved a 7-figure (estimated 1,000,000€+) savings through optimized personnel deployment in project landscape
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• michels.pmks Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbBcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partnermichels.pmks is a leading German law firm specializing in labor law. The firm supports companies on all questions regarding flexible working conditions, innovative working time models, and modern personnel deployment. The special focus is on legally secure introduction and design of working time models — from flextime and trust-based working time to shift and on-call work, lifetime accounts, and digital time recording. In collaboration with SSZ, michels.pmks adds legal security to the work science and organizational perspective.
• XIMES GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationXIMES offers software and consulting services focused on working time management. Their customers benefit from either the purchase of self-developed software or competent specialist and process consulting. XIMES has specialized expertise in working time management and also trains internal working time managers. The company operates in Austria (Vienna) and Germany (Erlangen). XIMES is referenced as a key player in SSZ's software selection consulting.
• Stephan Meyer Management ConsultingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStephan Meyer Management Consulting specializes in contract logistics consulting, primarily advising industrial and retail companies on logistics strategies, especially make-or-buy decisions, design and negotiation of logistics contracts, and conflicts with logistics service providers. Typically supports comprehensive outsourcing, insourcing, or service provider changes.
• Arbeitszeitgesellschaft (Working Time Society)minorOthersThe Working Time Society is a non-profit German-language association that promotes research on working time across disciplines. Its purpose is to foster interdisciplinary research on working time design (including night and shift work), disseminate knowledge, and develop recommendations for working time design. SSZ is a member of this society.
• Arbeitsgemeinschaft Zeitwertkonten (AGZWK)minorOthersAGZWK is an independent professional association for time value accounts (Zeitwertkonten/lifetime work accounts) based in Frankfurt. Its goal is to provide education about advances and misdevelopments in time value accounts and create uniform standards for both practical models and consulting around time value accounts. SSZ partner Dr. Burkhard Scherf serves as deputy head of the HR management specialist group.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• INFORM GmbH: Aachen-based vendor of workforce management, shift planning and resource optimisation software with strong DACH enterprise penetration. Direct competitor in the analytics-and-forecasting layer that SSZ addresses with Workforce Analytics Plus and its forecasting suite.
• hkp/// group: Frankfurt-based management consultancy focused on HR strategy, executive compensation and workforce topics in DACH. Closely comparable to SSZ as a niche DACH HR/workforce advisory firm with similar buyer profiles and engagement-style services.
• Kienbaum Consultants International: German HR, leadership and organisation consulting firm serving DACH enterprises. Comparable in being a long-established, DACH-centred HR consulting practice with overlapping service lines around HR transformation and personnel strategy.
• ATOSS Software AG: German workforce management software vendor selling shift planning, time management and demand forecasting tools directly to DACH enterprises. Competes head-on with SSZ's Workforce Analytics Plus and forecasting tools as a specialist German WFM software provider.
• XIMES GmbH: Austrian-German working-time and personnel deployment planning specialist combining software and consulting services in DACH. Closely comparable niche focus, vertical scope and buyer profile; explicitly named as a partner in SSZ's software-selection consulting, indicating direct overlap in capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group): Largest dedicated workforce management software vendor globally following the Kronos/Ultimate Software merger. Defines the competitive ceiling for SSZ's software ambitions and is the incumbent most enterprise buyers compare specialist vendors against.
• Mercer: Global consulting leader in health, wealth and career, with a workforce and HR transformation practice. A broad incumbent overlapping with SSZ on workforce strategy advisory for large employers, though operating at much larger scale across many geographies.
• Korn Ferry: Global organisational consulting firm with deep HR and talent practices serving large multinational employers. Overlaps SSZ on workforce/organisational advisory for enterprise buyers but operates as a broad incumbent with a portfolio of services rather than a WFM specialist.

Emerging players

• Personio: Munich-based HR SaaS platform popular with mid-market European employers for core HR, payroll and basic people analytics. Adjacent to SSZ's buyer base and increasingly overlapping on workforce analytics surfaces, but emerging rather than established in WFM.

Regional players

• SD Worx: European HR and payroll services provider with strong Benelux/DACH presence covering workforce management, time and pay. Comparable in addressing DACH workforce administration buyers but as a regional payroll-led platform rather than a pure WFM advisory firm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ssz-beratung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dr. Scherf Schütt & Zander GmbH