Ecosystem as a key to success

Rapidly changing markets and technologies open up enormous opportunities for manufacturing companies. However, they also mean significantly stricter requirements for aspects such as time-to-market, flexibility, or sustainability. What answers does Körber offer to new challenges?

Jürgen Heller: As a basic rule, the new technologies rapidly emerging on the market also introduce complexity. It's our aim to achieve maximum customer benefit with our proposals at all times. That’s why we focus on networked solutions in this respect. To be more precise, we’re talking about ecosystems: We augment our portfolio through strategic alliances with partners within and outside the Körber Group. This means we’re in a position to adapt to our customers’ changing needs more rapidly and more flexibly. We see such an ecosystem as a group of actors from separate companies or business units which work together on an equal footing and complement one another. As a result, the customer receives comprehensive, all-inclusive solutions from a single source and entirely new offerings are created. These combinations of products, solutions, and services provided by different actors allow us to meet customer needs far more than with individual solutions.

You are in good company if you focus on ecosystems…

Jürgen Heller: That is indeed the case. These days, the global players among technology companies must meet a whole host of requirements, achievable only through a successful ecosystem. Numerous other world-leading companies are also committed to building up such systems besides us.

Are there any areas where these ecosystems play a special role for the tobacco industry?

Jürgen Heller: One very specific example is the development of biodegradable filter alternatives. We’re undertaking intensive research into this area and are working together with experts and renowned material suppliers in the Körber ecosystem on solutions to create biodegradable filter alternatives made of different materials such as nonwoven or paper. This robust cooperative partnership has today enabled us to provide future-proof solutions for conventional cigarettes and next generation products. Customers have access to the consolidated capabilities in the Körber ecosystem comprising both in-house and external experts.

What exactly do you mean when you speak of challenges and solutions? Where do the advantages of ecosystems take effect?

Jürgen Heller: Such integral solutions help customers to achieve their goals sooner. They provide a response to a wide variety of challenges such as cost pressure, data integrity, disruptions in the supply chain, problems in production, challenges with market launches, digital transformation, and product quality assurance. We work together diligently with our partners to provide appropriate proposals to fulfill such tasks, irrespective of whether it’s Körber that offers the solution, or a partner does.

Couldn’t customers bring these partner companies together themselves and coordinate contributions from the individual companies?

Jürgen Heller: This is also common practice, depending on the use case and the level of customer trust. We welcome this approach as it shows the great trust that customers place in our development work. Once the partners and their respective tasks have been determined, we assume responsibility for coordinating and implementing the joint solution. For customers, it’s a clear advantage not having to manage everything for such projects. We offer them the opposite of complex project management: Customers are able to communicate with a single contact person while we effectively act as the general contractor in managing the ecosystem. Multiple companies pool their strengths in this ecosystem, focusing on one or more customer needs. This approach has been proven to offer a greater impact than separate, individual proposals. In business science, we refer to the 1 plus 1 equals 3 principle in such cases. It’s frequently the case that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Let’s take a closer look for a moment: Why should the Körber Business Area Technologies be the general contractor? On paper, any of the other partners could take on this role.

Jürgen Heller: Obviously, that is theoretically true. But when it comes to the tobacco industry, we are in a unique position which strongly qualifies us to assume the role. This starts with our presence in locations close to customers worldwide, encompasses almost 80 years of accumulated in-depth knowledge of all specifics, processes, and challenges in the tobacco industry, and extends to integrating the business area in the Körber Group. The Group offers enormous synergies and expertise for individual projects with its other Business Areas Digital, Pharma, and Supply Chain. In light of this, we’re in a position not only to offer products and solutions but also integral proposals which unite physical and digital aspects throughout the entire value chain. In short, we provide everything which our customers expect from a capable contact to ensure a successful outcome. The entire approach operates based on the win-win-win principle: We benefit from this process as do the customer and partners.

Do these advantages already exist today?

Jürgen Heller: Of course, such an ecosystem is never complete as it continues evolving based on the market and customers’ requirements. However, it does already exist within our organization. We have functioning cooperative partnerships in different areas. One example is the already mentioned development of biodegradable filters, where we work together with different material suppliers to provide customers with an all-inclusive solution comprising materials and our process technology. Another instance is our all-inclusive logistics solutions, for which we primarily use the expertise in the Körber Business Area Supply Chain. We also have the coordinated make-pack lines which are based on many years’ cooperation with Focke & Co. The all-inclusive solutions for oral nicotine products, developed together in cooperation with partners and the Körber Business Area Pharma in Primary, stem from the integration of different expertise fields in different companies. These cooperative partnerships are just the beginning and show the immense potential that an ecosystem-based approach offers. We are continuously investing in these ecosystems. While doing so, we not only look at isolated products and process steps. We also combine multiple components into an integral offering. We are committed to pursuing this strategy, largely due to the exceptional feedback we receive from our customers. This motivates us to continue expanding our working relationship with partners in the ecosystem.