Today, we are considering the question why it is important as company to continuously develop.
solvimus develops not only innovative Smart Metering solutions for its customers, but also continues to develop as a company. We do not only focus on further development regarding sustainability but also in our daily business. Thomas Brand, one of our three CEOs, gives an insight into thinking a company forward.
Mr Brand, how innovative is solvimus?
We do not only see ourselves as innovative in the technological sense or in what we produce. When we think about innovations, we refer to the entire company. Future orientation is not only limited to modern products, but also includes, for example, the way employees are treated. Topics such as health management, work-life-balance and enjoying work are our focus. Innovation is common practice in many areas for us.
What do you mean by “thinking (developing) your company forward”?
There are of course several possible answers. Just like other companies, we are constantly developing processes and trying to automate them. In 2015, we started with the digitalisation, for example, our incoming letters and other paper documents are immediately digitised to enable a paperless office as much as possible. However, it is not only about becoming more efficient, but gaining time for the important things, like our employees. “How do we work?” is one of the important factors in this context.
In your opinion, which topics are currently the most important that companies should focus on in general?
Right at the front is staff – understanding different life situations is important, e.g. for staff retention and also in recruiting. In my opinion, when a candidate comes to us, the person is not only applying to us, we as a company are also applying to the candidate, starting with the qualified personnel and specialists through to the apprentice. Also on the list is to constantly reflect on the management style and adjust it to the needs of the company and the employees – with the aim to understand the employees.
Furthermore: digitalisation. It not only enables more efficient processes, but also modern working concepts for the individual needs of our employees. Equally, sustainability is of vital importance for companies, e.g. resource-friendly production. That is important for the next generations and it helps to save costs in the long term. Moreover, there are more and more applicants, especially in the technical field, for whom this issue is a high priority. And beyond this point, to bear social responsibility as a company. Of course, depending on the possibilities, because today, new employees also bring new cultural areas with them. Companies can build bridges here and take responsibility.
solvimus develops Smart Technology. What further developments can we expect in this industry in the over the next few years?
We can expect a better acquisition of data to use resources more efficiently. This enables a better data analysis, e.g. for benchmarking. Furthermore, we will experience a larger linkage of individual data in order to detect unknown patterns using AI. In this case, there will also be a greater connection between private and business use. I would like to explain this using two examples. The microwave drains power at lunchtime, still half an hour later. An analysis shows that the door was left open and a 40 W light bulb glows unnecessarily inside. A second example is the comparison of all construction markets of a construction market chain. One store recorded a significantly higher electricity consumption in the morning than all the others. The reason for this is that in the affected market, the entire lighting was used during morning cleaning, while others only switched on the necessary lighting. This led to a measurable additional consumption. Detecting these consumption peaks is greatly facilitated by new technologies and helps users to save resources and thus costs.
In which areas is solvimus currently developing further?
We are currently focussing on our sustainability. Both in our daily business and in product development. We also work a lot with the customer for our further product development. Furthermore, our goal is to become even more international. There is a lot of potential on a global scale. Especially there, where people are already significantly further ahead in the application of smart technology or, casually speaking, are dealing with it in a more pragmatic way. This also shows the decisiveness there. Moreover, we are already active in a global market, so we cannot avoid it in the future. However, it is important for us to grow organically despite all the progress we are making.
We thank Thomas Brand for his time and insight into his thoughts.
