patents. As for digital transformation, equipping their systems with software to be able to control the logistic processes in an automated way is no longer enough. The system provider wanted to react to the massive changes in the industry and not wait for the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, or young up-and-coming companies, to lead the way. Their aim was to create this disruptive attack from the outside. So, at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, the management team looked at ten logistics start-ups with software-based business models in Berlin. They formed an internal team to promote digitisation under the auspices of the Department for Research and Development. But they soon found that it was not easy for their technicians and engineers to deal intensively with the core business of machine and plant design as well as with digitisation and all that entailed. Internal workshops were organised to “sensitise” staff and make them aware of its significance and how to deal with it. The team discussed the content and all of the organisational implementation before Dr. Stemmer went to Berlin for several months to establish contacts in the start-up scene.
“I attended a lot of events and had a lot of conversations with extremely interesting young companies,” he recalled. As a result, the two spin-off companies were formed to complement the existing innovation department. The BEAM GmbH, for example, was established in Berlin as an autonomous company builder.
DORTMUND - THE NATURAL HOME Team leader Robert Bach explained: “We try to solve unique problems in logistics together with the start-up teams. My job is to find founders with business ideas which are relevant to us. We want to create three start- ups per year and transform them into a separate company under the umbrella of BEAM.”
And BG.evolution was established in Dortmund. Their team leader, Christopher Kirsch explained: “With our team in Dortmund and the support of start-ups, we are working on a customer problem to develop ‘Minimum Viable Products’. These are minimally equipped prototypes which are tested as possible solutions for a concrete customer problem. This makes it easier for us to decide quickly whether a new technology will work for such a problem.” From the outset, that company operated from Dortmund, instead of the head office in Beckum, a deliberate decision to allow the team the freedom to devote themselves to
new technologies and projects. “Here we have access to various research institutions, including the Fraunhofer Institute” said Kirsch. “In addition, there are universities with prospective programmers and IT experts in the field of logistics, which are very interesting for us.” Going forward, Berlin’s BEAM will be key to building up digital companies in the context of intralogistics with the aim of them becoming part of the Group in the long term. But how does a start-up company actually benefit from this kind of co-operation? “We offer them comprehensive intralogistics know-how and access to BEUMER experts, suppliers, and customers,” said Bach. “We open doors and show them opportunities and challenges. We are looking for new founders and talents who want to solve a concrete problem with us in their own limited liability company”. Founders are given seed funding and can own up to 80 per cent of their companies, something deemed important as they are able to manage and control what is new and could disrupt the
core business. And, of
course, the young companies also want to grow and build something of their own, under their own name. “The motivation of the founders is very important to us,” said Bach. “Initially, they benefit from BEUMER
Group’s network and extensive knowledge, but after only a few years they are more familiar with their own business model and customer base than any BEUMER specialist.” But of course not everyone is suitable for this sort of collaboration. “We
have two specific requirements,”
explained Dr. Stemmer. “We require at least two years of start-up experience and we are not interested in people who have just left university or come from a corporate group as employees.” “If they can demonstrate this, they have to face a video interview and credibly show their motivation and passion. If they are still willing to invest at least four months, they can start. “During this time, we look closely at where their focus lies”. Are they making progress? How seriously do they take their tasks and manage to develop their own business model? “The worst thing about this work is
to tell
the young entrepreneurs that it simply isn’t enough,” says Bach. But, of course, this is necessary because BEUMER Group wants the two spin-offs to be successful and in the black. This should be achieved by the end of the current strategy cycle
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