Blog & Inspiration

It’s about adrenaline, freedom, speed and testing your limits. Far away from civilisation, mountain bikers are exploring extraordinary and unspoiled places. Adventure athlete Joey Schusler told us how he combines his physical abilities, on a mountain bike as well as on skis, with his creativity as a photographer and filmmaker.

How can companies win the most talented employees while skilled workers are scarce today? How does good and honest loyalty work in detail? Dirk Jurkowksi, Managing Director of Xtentio GmbH, and graduate psychologist Silke M. Jürgensen reveal the positive effects a consistent strategy for personnel development can have.

Online trade is on route to become a two-tier class society. Observers see a development in which Amazon, Otto and other big players dominate the markets with their capabilities and capital at hand. In conversation with Saim Rolf Alkan, Managing Director of ax semantics, a technology leader in automated copywriting, Temel Kahyaoglu, Chief Analyst at The Group of Analysts, discusses the new requirements for online trading and whether marketing automation holds the answer to future questions.

Richard introduces the aeronautical concept of Centre of Gravity and applies it to the way content is managed within a company. ERP stored content produces a tail-heavy centre of “Content Gravity” and content stored in commerce applications causes a nose-heavy centre of Content Gravity. The experienced CEO explains why both scenarios can be dangerous and outlines the advantages companies can gain by re-centring their Content Gravity.

So rockt man die Bühnen dieser Welt BY TAMARA KATJA FRAST (Published in The Produktkulturmagazin issue 4 2016) Wer weiß am Besten, was Musiker von ihrer Ausrüstung erwarten? Die Musiker selbst. Daher arbeitet die Klotz AIS GmbH seit Jahrzehnten eng...

In view of the digital economy and the Cloud, CIOs are today taking on important strategic leadership roles. Forward-looking CIOs have recognised that the Cloud is here to stay. For this reason, they are preparing their companies for a digital future that will be characterised by constant change, at the same time also endeavouring to achieve solid results. As innovators, they step out of the traditional role of the implementation manager and consult their companies on how they can exploit new technologies to tap into innovations. They enable new forms of collaboration and future-oriented business models. The software corporation SAP has now moved to the USA to establish a new business model. There, the enterprise is currently creating a new division focused on the business of data. Ingrid-Helen Arnold knows what she is talking about. She was CIO at SAP for many years and meanwhile heads up the new unit in Palo Alto. She spoke to us about the background and details of the venture.

Artificial Intelligence is creating new ways for people to engage with technology and with one another. Various forms of AI already power for many years some of the world’s most popular consumer experiences, such as Apple’s Siri or Facebooks deep learning facial recognition algorithm.

Nowadays market analyses show significant change in behaviour and demand of retail. It is therefore imperative for retailers to not only have a physical presence but to be present across channels also - to engage in omnichannel retailing ideally. To do this efficiently, targeted and while exploiting additional advantages for customers and retailers, a strong back-end is required, which means a corresponding PIM or MDM system.

Communicating across all channels is a challenge all companies face in times of cross-channel. But only those that provide high-quality information in their external communication while creating a personalised customer experience will have success in the long-term. Modern content management must effectively and accurately align with the business requirements.

TomTom is a market leader in providing traffic services and products around the globe. With a market reach of 47 countries, its services aim to make the journey of the driver both safer and faster. However, the customer portfolio of the company, although indeed placing a strong focus on users and drivers, also caters to public authorities. It is public authorities that are the ones burdened with the responsibility of ensuring viable traffic flows and efficient use of the infrastructure, as traffic is very much related to enabling transport, commerce and healthy economies. But with rapid speed, new options become available. With Nick Cohn, Senior Traffic Expert at TomTom, we talked about how intelligent traffic management will look like in the near future.

Heutige Medienproduktionen besteht nicht mehr nur aus Printpublikationen, es werden auch vermehrt die gleichen Inhalte für webbasierte Ausleitungen verwendet. Eine zentrale Datenhaltung sowie eine effiziente und einfache Bedienung für Anwender wird daher zunehmend wichtiger und optimiert den Zeitaufwand, damit wiederum mehr Medienkanäle bedient werden können.

Continue everywhere BY SANDY STRASSER (Published in The Produktkulturmagazin issue 4 2016) To let one’s thoughts run free in a surrounding that is both beautiful and exclusive: the feeling to write on paper by Montblanc with the respective pen or...

A place for work and fun. A space to cooperate and play. These are some of the elements of LEGO’s new office building. Starting this year, it will serve as a global meeting point at the headquarters of one of the world's leading toy manufacturers. We spoke with Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Services, Claus Flyger-Pejstrup, about the intention behind such a large-scale project, which the company chose deliberately.

Interview with Falke Managing Director Paul Falke BY SANDY STRASSER (Published in The Produktkulturmagazin issue 4 2016) Fashion is driven by our own quest for beauty. The need for people to adorn themselves and to look for, and gradually find,...

Auf was es beim Umgang mit Produktdaten wirklich ankommt BY STEFFEN RAMSAIER (Published in The Produktkulturmagazin issue 4 2016) Die Erwartungen der Kunden noch besser zu erfüllen, ist eines der Hauptziele von Vitakraft. Mit der Einführung einer neuen PIM-Lösungen konnte...

Mit Fokus auf Innovation und Serviceorientierung ist ACO Haustechnik zum führenden Systemanbieter in der Gebäudeentwässerung geworden. Ebenso zukunftsorientiert ist die Kommunikationsstrategie des Unternehmens. Thorsten Christian, Leiter Marketing, berichtet über den Weg zur interaktiven Kommunikation mit seinen Kunden.

As people conduct more of their private lives online, attackers are increasingly focused on using the intersection of the physical and digital world to their advantage. In 2015, the American software company Symantec saw a resurgence of many tried-and-true scams. Cybercriminals revisited fake technical support scams which saw a 200 percent increase last year.

The emerging generation of working people has changed just as strongly as the working environment itself. The classical office or industrial workplace has in many cases disappeared and been replaced with flexible structures and tasks. At the same time, the requirements of young people in terms of their life goals have been subject to considerable change. In conjunction with a shrinking population, the search for the ‘right’ talent is no longer just a search but has quickly become – due to the high demand – a battle that can no longer be decided solely by the level of remuneration. We spoke about this with IBM in-house consultant Dr Markus H. Dahm.

Compass is Europe’s largest mail-order company for motor boating and sailing sports. Ever since its foundation in 1979, the company is independent and family-run. Together with his wife, owner Michael Dehler is the second generation to lead the company in over 25 years. Today, with over 30,000 articles for sale, the mail-order company presents a virtually unlimited selection of products relating to water sports. Optimal customer service, personal advice on special and custom-made orders as well as perfect ordering and delivery service constitute the basis of its success. How to perfectly and efficiently combine sales and logistics under one roof, that is what Creative Director Bettina Hilleke tells us in this interview.

Whether a product fulfils its purpose, whether it’s trendy and stylish, and above all whether it has its finger on the pulse of time — these factors are increasingly being decided by the customer in the digital age. It is he who not only discusses and shares brand content with others but meanwhile also creates it himself. But only few brands are able to successfully exploit so-called open source branding for their own purposes. adidas is now taking this concept to the next level, providing consumers with greater influence in the development of products. The clear objective here is to create the ultimate, personalised product for each and every consumer.

Wer in Sachen Gepäck schon länger auf der Suche ist nach der perfekten Verbindung von Reise und Beruf und dabei auch noch mit Style glänzen möchte, kommt an ihm definitiv nicht vorbei – dem „Boxer“ von Bugaboo. Die Philosophie des Herstellers: Was man für unterwegs mitnehmen möchte, ist nicht wichtig, sondern wie man das tut.