diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 15767c8f..848dd28a 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -358,9 +358,6 @@ jobs:
           ssh root@alpha.mintel.me "cd $SITE_DIR && docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file '$ENV_FILE' pull"
           ssh root@alpha.mintel.me "cd $SITE_DIR && docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file '$ENV_FILE' up -d --remove-orphans"
           
-          # Automate DB Seeding (Migrations are handled via Payload autoMigrate)
-          ssh root@alpha.mintel.me "cd $SITE_DIR && docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file '$ENV_FILE' exec -T klz-app pnpm run cms:seed"
-          
           ssh root@alpha.mintel.me "docker system prune -f --filter 'until=24h'"
 
       - name: 🧹 Post-Deploy Cleanup (Runner)
diff --git a/next-env.d.ts b/next-env.d.ts
index 9edff1c7..c4b7818f 100644
--- a/next-env.d.ts
+++ b/next-env.d.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /// <reference types="next" />
 /// <reference types="next/image-types/global" />
-import "./.next/types/routes.d.ts";
+import "./.next/dev/types/routes.d.ts";
 
 // NOTE: This file should not be edited
 // see https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/typescript for more information.
diff --git a/payload.config.ts b/payload.config.ts
index 8cb88cdb..25b314e6 100644
--- a/payload.config.ts
+++ b/payload.config.ts
@@ -21,11 +21,17 @@ import { Posts } from './src/payload/collections/Posts';
 import { FormSubmissions } from './src/payload/collections/FormSubmissions';
 import { Products } from './src/payload/collections/Products';
 import { Pages } from './src/payload/collections/Pages';
+import { seedDatabase } from './src/payload/seed';
 
 const filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
 const dirname = path.dirname(filename);
 
 export default buildConfig({
+  onInit: async (payload) => {
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
+      await seedDatabase(payload);
+    }
+  },
   admin: {
     user: Users.slug,
     importMap: {
diff --git a/scripts/seed-payload.ts b/scripts/seed-payload.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 6e49c855..00000000
--- a/scripts/seed-payload.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-import { getPayload } from 'payload';
-import configPromise from '../payload.config';
-
-async function seed() {
-  console.log('🌱 Starting PayloadCMS seed process...');
-
-  try {
-    const payload = await getPayload({ config: configPromise });
-
-    // Check if any users exist
-    const { totalDocs } = await payload.find({
-      collection: 'users',
-      limit: 1,
-    });
-
-    if (totalDocs === 0) {
-      console.log('👤 No users found. Creating default admin user...');
-      await payload.create({
-        collection: 'users',
-        data: {
-          email: 'admin@mintel.me',
-          password: 'klz-admin-setup',
-          firstName: 'KLZ',
-          lastName: 'Admin',
-          role: 'admin',
-        },
-      });
-      console.log('✅ Default admin user created successfully.');
-    } else {
-      console.log(`ℹ️ Database already contains ${totalDocs} users. Skipping user creation.`);
-    }
-
-    // Check if any products exist
-    const { totalDocs: totalProducts } = await payload.find({
-      collection: 'products',
-      limit: 1,
-    });
-
-    if (totalProducts === 0) {
-      console.log('📦 No products found. Creating smoke test product (NAY2Y)...');
-      await payload.create({
-        collection: 'products',
-        data: {
-          title: 'NAY2Y Smoke Test',
-          sku: 'SMOKE-TEST-001',
-          slug: 'nay2y',
-          description: 'A dummy product for CI/CD smoke testing and OG image verification.',
-          locale: 'de',
-          categories: [{ category: 'Power Cables' }],
-          _status: 'published',
-        },
-      });
-      console.log('✅ Smoke test product created successfully.');
-    } else {
-      console.log(
-        `ℹ️ Database already contains ${totalProducts} products. Skipping product creation.`,
-      );
-    }
-
-    console.log('✅ PayloadCMS seed completed successfully!');
-    process.exit(0);
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error('❌ Failed to seed PayloadCMS database:', error);
-    process.exit(1);
-  }
-}
-
-seed();
diff --git a/src/payload/seed.ts b/src/payload/seed.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fa23a2e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/payload/seed.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { Payload } from 'payload';
+
+export async function seedDatabase(payload: Payload) {
+  // Check if any users exist
+  const { totalDocs: totalUsers } = await payload.find({
+    collection: 'users',
+    limit: 1,
+  });
+
+  if (totalUsers === 0) {
+    payload.logger.info('👤 No users found. Creating default admin user...');
+    await payload.create({
+      collection: 'users',
+      data: {
+        email: 'admin@mintel.me',
+        password: 'klz-admin-setup',
+      },
+    });
+    payload.logger.info('✅ Default admin user created successfully.');
+  }
+
+  // Check if any products exist
+  const { totalDocs: totalProducts } = await payload.find({
+    collection: 'products',
+    limit: 1,
+  });
+
+  if (totalProducts === 0) {
+    payload.logger.info('📦 No products found. Creating smoke test product (NAY2Y)...');
+    await payload.create({
+      collection: 'products',
+      data: {
+        title: 'NAY2Y Smoke Test',
+        sku: 'SMOKE-TEST-001',
+        slug: 'nay2y',
+        description: 'A dummy product for CI/CD smoke testing and OG image verification.',
+        locale: 'de',
+        categories: [{ category: 'Power Cables' }],
+        _status: 'published',
+      },
+    });
+    payload.logger.info('✅ Smoke test product created successfully.');
+  }
+}