We can’t just ignore the changes. BEUMER
Group’s core lies in plant engineering.
In the past, we focused primarily on
physical products and their automation,
like a packaging system, a sorter or a belt
conveyor. That is our expertise. But over
the course of the last few years, software
became increasingly important, so that we
are now employing more than 200 software
engineers in our group. This trend will only
continue.
HOW CAN THIS
TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
PLAY OUT? ARE THERE
DIFFERENT STEPS?
Stemmer: It would be naive to think that
we could make this change happen at the
push of a button. It is a process that will
take several years: we need to prepare
our company for the digital age and bring
our employees on board. For this we are
launching several pilot projects that are
aimed towards solving concrete customer
problems, improving our processes and
targeting new business models with the help
of digitization. Depending on the success
of the pilot phase, the lessons learned will
be integrated and developed further in our
processes, products and services.
HOW DO YOU MEET THE
ENTREPRENEURS?
Stemmer: We launched this process about a
year ago at Factory Berlin, the biggest start-
up campus in Germany. There is a lot of talent
among the 1,500 to 2,000 entrepreneurs.
Our Managing Director there is Robert
Bach, himself an experienced entrepreneur.
In Berlin we are right in the heart of the
start-up scene, can benefit from events, give
presentations ourselves and arrange offline
events to get people’s attention. Of course
we can also use that framework to advertise
for BEUMER Group: Who are we? What is
our goal? Who are we looking for and what
can we offer young entrepreneurs? It is the
perfect platform for us for networking and
elevating visibility.
WHO ARE THE BEUMER
EMPLOYEES IN DORTMUND
AND BERLIN?
Stemmer: The team in Dortmund is led by
Christopher Kirsch. He is an experienced
IT specialist and used to work for research
institutions and industry projects for many
years. Our goal in Dortmund is to bring
more software and sensor technology
expertise into our company. So we are
always looking for new talent in areas like
Internet of Things (IoT), sensor technology,
full stack development and UX design. All of
which are relatively new job descriptions in
the plant engineering sector. Let me come
back to the smart glasses: we don’t only
need the hardware in the form of the actual
glasses, but they must also be connected
and integrated into our existing BEUMER
tool landscape. We also need experts that
are familiar with the exact conditions on site
and can recognise typical error patterns, so
that, by using the smart glasses, they can
provide better service. This is why Dortmund
is working in close cooperation with the
colleagues and customers at the head
offices, while Berlin has a more autonomous
character.
WHAT ARE YOUR
RESPONSIBILITIES?
Stemmer: My task is to build a bridge
between BG.evolution in Dortmund, Beam in
Berlin and BEUMER Group. I am responsible
for BEUMER internal digitization projects as
well as the management of BG.evolution.
I’m basically the interface between the
colleagues in Dortmund, Berlin and the
BEUMER Group companies and I support and
foster the mutual exchange. I want to make
our colleagues more aware of this topic,
which is a big part of my job. Communication
is probably the most important element
when it comes to digital transformation.
HOW DOES THE
COOPERATION WITH
BECKUM WORK?
Stemmer: It works very well in general, and
we also learn new things every day and try
out new formats of cooperating. Several
times a year, we organise “Pitch Days” at our
locations in Denmark, Beckum and the US,
for example. We encourage our colleagues to
bring in their own ideas and challenges from
their everyday working life. This takes place
in a very relaxed atmosphere in the cafeteria.
Our goal is to generate new input that we
address internally in Dortmund and Berlin, if
possible, and include the colleagues and idea
providers in the validation process.
BEUMER Group works in different business
segments, such as the Center of Competence
(CoC) for Logistics and the CoC Airport.
Here we participate in central meetings
and present our topics, learn about new
problems and challenges and ensure a
continuous dialogue. We want to keep our
colleagues up-to-date and communicate
transparently through various in-house
events. They are a crucial key element for
us. Because there is a legitimate interest in
what we are doing and why. We continue to
learn every day what format works and what
doesn’t. For some projects, our colleagues
from Beckum can also come to Berlin or
Dortmund themselves.
The BEUMER Group is an international
leader in the manufacture of
intralogistics systems for conveying,
loading, palletising, packaging,
sortation, and distribution. With 4,200
employees worldwide, the BEUMER
Group has annual sales of about EUR
770 million. BEUMER Group and its
subsidiaries and sales agencies provide
their customers with high-quality
system solutions and an extensive
customer support network around
the globe and across a wide range of
industries, including bulk materials
and piece goods, food/non-food,
construction, mail order, mail and
airport baggage handling.
For further information visit
www.beumergroup.com.
Issue 36 PECM
19