EIF 2018 - The war for talents

Digitalization challenges and solutions for mid-size companies was discussed by Uhlmann, a packaging OEM, and Wittenstein, a servo technology specialist.  Both companies can be regarded as hidden champions in their respective niches.  Uhlmann is the leading packaging OEM for the pharmaceutical industry.  Wittenstein is a specialist on high-end and customized servo technology solutions, being it aerospace, oil & gas, or medical applications.  Both companies are of comparable size with around 2000 employees.

Uhlmann’s digital concept is strictly oriented towards customer needs, solving real life problems, instead of generating high-level concepts.  Still, the company has a clear picture in mind when it comes to digital business, spanning from business models and services over digital products, to digital sales concepts.  Examples included using virtual reality as a training accelerator and using augmented reality to speed up maintenance, trouble shooting, and on-site work.  Next to speed, this also can increase the quality of the work.  The key lies in the integration of machine related information and the MES / ERP system, otherwise the full potential cannot be reached.  All this is always related to customer needs.

Wittenstein reported on a challenge we all are facing, the war for talents.  Especially, when the requirements now including digital skills, in addition to the traditional skillset.  How to persuade talents to work for a mid-size technical company, which is not located in a fancy city?  As a participant noted: “We are all fishing in the same pond!”.  The company is expanding to new fields, opening offices in Augsburg and Munich, in addition investments have been made for a good working environment at the HQ and production facilities to keep the talents once found.  Again, digital services will enable remote access to leverage the experts available. For all this, a set of soft and management skills are needed, which is even more challenging than the technology itself. 

The bottom line is striking.  Two technology-centric companies, prototypes of German engineering, put the human in the center of their strategy for the next years.