We consolidate questions, share best practices and solve common challenges through our collective power – In departmental exchanges and targeted networking.
Sharing experience & knowledge
Digititalization. Sustainability. Modernization of organizations. Family businesses face the same tasks. 80% of initiatives in functional departments are identical or similar between different companies. In order to solve the important challenges, we connect in a targeted, approachable and effective manner in the specialist areas. We consolidate issues and exchange information openly and consistently.
Using our diverse formats, we engage in exchange exactly as the topic require at that moment. We are a vibrant network that is simply and systematically built on the experiences of other companies – swarm intelligence in action.
functional areas of expertise
exchange formats per year
participants
Targeted networking
Orchestrated expertise: we organize, curate and moderate virtual and physical exchange formats on a daily basis. Functional areas of expertise are purposefully networked and exchange experiences and knowledge, best practices and challenges as well as impulses with each other. The topics are systematically chosen by our members.
Maschinenraum to go
The Maschinenraum Online Community is everything in one: event calendar, newsroom, Wikipedia, address book, networking platform for our members. Here we enlarge our personal network and initiate exchange formats.
Right answers to individual questions
Employees of member companies can ask specific questions from their daily work via our Navigator tool and are connected with relevant contacts from other companies. This way, employees get faster orientation on new topics and can take shortcuts and make better decisions thanks to the assistance of other members.
"The focus is on cross-industry exchange – it's important that we exchange ideas with companies inside and outside the industry, on topics such as innovation management, digitalization and sustainability. Because these are the topics that will affect us all the most in the next ten years."
Claus Höning
Deputy Head Corporate Development & Sustainability Representative, Basalt Actien Gesellschaft
"Maschinenraum always manages to create a magical space for exchange. Only here is there such an honest and helpful exchange across company boundaries; with people who are facing exactly the same challenges. The knowledge we need today is not in books, we put that on the table together at Maschinenraum."
Britta von Selchow
Head of Sales Circular Solutions, Interzero Circular Solutions
"If Maschinenraum didn't exist yet, we would urgently have to invent it. Networking with experts from other companies is immensely important, especially for medium-sized companies. Maschinenraum creates the space and the opportunities to learn from each other in an uncomplicated way."
Nadine Kraft
Head of HR Development
"The Maschinenraum exchange formats give me the opportunity to exchange ideas with other member companies at eye level, in a trusting atmosphere and without pressure from consultants. I get valuable feedback, can reflect on myself and my actions, and share my own knowledge. This creates a network that is resilient for me, on the currently relevant challenges that are driving us. The virtual exchange formats have already resulted in analog approaches for concrete collaboration and projects."
Robert Reisch
CEO, Alfons W. Gentner Verlag
Examples for typical questions from the departments
After Sales & Service
Maintenance & Repair | What is the best workflow for warranty processing and which tools are used?
Customer Experience | How can customer touchpoints be consolidated in the course of digitization?
Customer Satisfaction & Excellence | To what extent can the establishment of a shared service center increase the quality of customer service?
Communication
Blue collar communication | What channels and approaches are used to reach blue collar workers and successfully involve them?
Employee app | How can an employee app help to reach all employees, inform them about strategy and vision and anchor these in the company?
Employee Experience
Recruiting | What competencies and skills will companies need in recruiting in the future in order to attract talent?
Employer Branding | How do companies create an employer brand that is attractive to internal and external talent?
Workplace IT | How can digital tools be used smartly for HR processes?
Finance & Controlling
Controlling | How can complexity in budgeting be reduced?
Financial Accounting | Which digital tools are helpful for the optimization of the dunning process?
Innovation Management
Digital services | Does it make sense for companies from hardware-oriented business areas to invest in the development of digital services, and what requirements must be met?
Foresight & trend management | What added value does the use of methods such as trend scouting or design thinking offer for the emergence of new product ideas and business models?
Ideation | Which processes and tools promote innovation and can be used for idea validation?
IT & Services
IT Security | How can companies best prepare for cyber attacks and what are the most important reactions in the event of an attack?
Workplace IT | Which tools and applications make sense and how can their added value be verified?
Device Management | What is the legal basis for the use of mobile devices and how can they be managed in a meaningful way?
Leadership & Culture
Diversity | How can companies attract female talent for leadership positions?
Leadership Principles | What process can be used to develop authentic and effective leadership principles and who is involved in their creation?
Legal
Patents | What impact will the introduction of the European unitary patent have on German SMEs and how can the topic be successfully communicated to the company?
CSR | What specific requirements are associated with the Supply Chain Compliance Act and how are they implemented
Compliance management | How do you consistently build up a compliance management system and what resources are required for this?
Logistics
Materials management | Where can materials management contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality?
Supply chain management | How do we make our supply chain resilient in times of global crises?
Data science | What requirements must be met in order to make data usable for material planning?
Warehouse management | What will the warehouse of the future look like?
Manufacturing
Lean Management | How do companies design an efficient and effective value chain and how does the transition to lean production succeed?
Future of Work | How can manufacturing companies deal with a changing work environment and which elements of New Work can be transferred to production?
Smart Manufacturing | What concrete measures can companies take to equip themselves for the “Industry 4.0” age, and what smart networking opportunities can benefit them?
Marketing
Corporate identity | How do we further develop our brand in the context of increasing internationalization?
Marketing analytics | Which tools do we use to check the success of our marketing measures and what are suitable KPIs?
Brand & design | Can the brand core of a medium-sized company be transferred into a digital brand experience?
Social media | How can we build up a corporate influencer network within the company?
Operation, Quality & Process
Quality Management & Processes | How do you create acceptance and understanding for the added value of management systems among employees and management?
Risk Management | How can the assessment of risks be made as objective as possible?
Procurement
Supply chain management | What are the central control elements in setting up a transport management?
Strategic procurement | What are relevant evaluation criteria for minimizing the risk of delivery failures?
Contract management | What is the best arrangement for contracting external service providers that combine classic project organization with agile approaches?
Product Management
Product Development | How do we gain new insights into customer needs and improve the reliability of our own products through the development of IoT platforms?
Digital Business & Product Management | How do we effectively manage, organize and distribute our product data?
Public Affairs
Ecosystems & Partnerships | How do we identify the right stakeholders and build long-term relationships with them?
Government Relations | How do we represent the interests of German SMEs vis-à-vis politicians?
Research & Development
Project management | How do we promote a culture of innovation in development through a hybrid development process?
Product development | Which tool can we use for lean idea management and how do we promote it throughout the company?
Sales
E-commerce | What skills do we need to set up and run an online store?
Digital business & product management | What is the right pricing for digital services?
CRM | How can we smoothly introduce a company-wide CRM system and which system best suits the organization?
Sales digitization | How do we increase our competitiveness by standardizing processes, structures and data?
Strategy
Corporate Strategy | What is the best process for developing a new corporate strategy and how can employees be involved in it?
Business Development | How is the creation of new business areas meaningfully integrated into the corporate strategy?
Sustainability
Sustainability Strategy | How can the sustainability strategy be integrated into the corporate strategy, and how can its value foundation be anchored in it?
Reporting | What are the KPIs of sustainable businesses and what legislative changes are companies facing?
Sustainable Supply Chain | How can companies build a sustainable supply chain and what needs to be considered in regards to the new supply chain law?
Venturing
Startup investment & relations | What is the importance of cultural fit for the success of an investment?
Incubation & acceleration | How much time and resources do you need to plan for the development of an independent spin-off?
Venture building | What are the arguments for a consistent exit strategy and in which cases are strategic investments also promising?
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