” I'm impressed: We always think outside the box, but your preparation has also given us other perspectives and completely new starting points that have led to really good discussions, partnerships and valuable results. “Heidrun Keul, Commercial Director, wienerberger Germany
Customer
wienerberger Deutschland is one of Germany's leading manufacturers of clay building materials. We have already worked with this company for a long time and a relationship of trust that is not self-evident, which repeatedly leads to exciting internal questions and forward-looking projects. The advantage of our exchange on equal footing is that we can provide proactive advice from time to time with small and large tips and information on what has always been well received so far. On the one hand, we are very close to our company colleagues and their topics and, on the other hand, we can fully exploit our core competencies: Be two steps ahead of the curve in the architecture scene and in strategy consulting.
Project focus
Internals remain internals, it's logical. But we can write this much: The focus of this project was on turning future-oriented issues into concrete implementation. A not untypical starting point from which we were able to apply our expertise, external perspective and our standards in a targeted manner. More specifically, it was about creating an overview of startups from the construction industry for the business development team and the innovation team. In the briefing, there were specific questions from wienerberger for orientation and evaluation, which we were able to include in addition (which we will not mention here for reasons described here 🙂).
Performances
Based on this request, we saw the potential to develop a digital tool from a “standard overview” that can be used continuously.
☝️ As a first step, we did a very extensive brainstorming and intensive research from the company (more than 150 startups are a house number after all).
✌️ Second, we developed a structured database that goes far beyond the characteristics of a classic canvas with pre-designed filters and recommended starting points and recommendations for action. The selection was based on the company's strategic pillars, so that further steps could be taken in a targeted manner. This simplified the entire evaluation process and the selection was tailor-made.
Make the invisible visible 💡
We defined, researched, clustered and prioritized the structure of the database with uniform profiles for all registered startups ourselves. Building on this basis, we assessed with our special Target group expertise and customer knowledge, ideas and potential that were not yet visible and thought of possible scenarios for the company.
Our main tool 🎛️
In order to work together in a structured manner, we worked with the “Notion” software. With the help of this digital tool, we were able, among other things, to develop and fine-tune our own filter system, which was an essential part of the process.
Conclusion
In summary, the database is a very structured brainstorming session, including research and initial evaluation, which is intended as a jump for wienerberger's innovation management. So that work done can be used sustainably and does not disappear into drawers as a presentation, we proactively developed a database that can be continuously updated and used by different places — more than a “classic” canvas, rather a CanvasPlus. 🤌💪
