The Digital Strategy

2016. The strategy is launched in Durbach, Germany. Digital transformation is the key topic of the general manager meeting. After that, things really get moving. Two intensive workshops are held in Hamburg in September and December. The group of participants is intentionally heterogenous: Representatives of different ages, hierarchy levels, functions and cultures come together to work on a joint strategy for using future technology in a meaningful way. The work is based on data which has previously been collected during conversations with customers and employees.

This is where the change begins – and it will affect all areas of the company – all locations, all processes and yes, also the work itself, enabling new ways of collaborating and communicating thanks to the staff’s new digital skills.

One of the first steps is opening up the IT infrastructure. The aim is to make knowledge more readily available across the company and to make communication between KNF employees around the world simpler. To this end, KNF introduces Microsoft Office 365 at all locations in February 2018. These innovative tools enable the exchange of documents as well as effective international teamwork and allows employees to work from anywhere. After all, the data are made available on any device with an internet connection. 2018 also sees the introduction of Yammer – a sort of corporate Facebook. The introduction of this internal social media channel enables KNF employees anywhere in the world to share information and connect with each other online.

This can only be achieved by carefully selecting the right digital tools, which is not always as straight-forward as it seems. For KNF to find its own route to success requires many small steps. At the same time, the company needs to strike a balance between transparency and protecting its know-how. The Digital Acceleration Center (DAC), founded in 2018, supports this innovation process. The Future Lab is located in Hamburg and is designed to help recognize digital innovation opportunities, such as projects across several locations or customer projects, and to systematically implement them. “The transition from our traditionally strongly safety-minded corporate culture to a more transparent, agile work approach is an extensive process,” explains Martin Becker. It is a constant struggle to strike the right balance. “How many of the factors which have led to our success in the past should be maintained? And where is it imperative that things change?” 

And then 2020 comes around and everything changes faster than ever expected. The spread of COVID-19 creates new challenges for many areas of life and work. During the lockdown, the world seems to stop. But while the streets are empty and stores remain closed, digital change is gaining speed. Traveling and meeting people in person is no longer possible, so new technologies are creating a new way of collaborating which is effective and full of life. Meetings with colleagues from multiple countries can be set up in no time at all, documents can be edited jointly. Even complex production processes can be upheld using suitable technical solutions. And we are still in close contact with our customers: KNF experts are hard at work presenting new products and helping with maintenance work via video link. Even before the pandemic hit, our employees were well prepared to work from home.