With the “Denkfabrik”, Krone has created a format that enables a conscious change of perspective: personalities from the industry share their thoughts and experiences.
What were your goals in initiating the Krone “Denkfabrik”? We sought the exchange of ideas and then selected personalities from various areas and responsibilities from our network. We wanted to bring different minds together and listen carefully to what they are observing in their respective fields of activity, what interactions there are, how those involved can benefit from each other – and what Krone can learn from all this.
How well does it work? Our first meeting in February 2020 has already shown how constructive and inspiring it can be to step away from day-to-day business, take the helicopter perspective and discuss strategic issues with a medium and long-term view. In the future, we want to incorporate additional expertise beyond transport and logistics, for example by visiting companies in the chemical industry or food production as well as scientific institutes and taking the opportunity to gain insights into how they discuss and find solutions. We can also imagine opening the fixed round of the “Denkfabrik” at least on individual dates and inviting guests – always with the aim of being really open to new things, learning from others and thus developing ourselves further.
ABOUT DR FRANK ALBERS
Dr Frank Albers, born in 1971, has been Managing Director Sales and Marketing in the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group since 2018. The graduate in business administration has completed his training at Krone. After his studies, dissertation and other professional stations, he has been with Krone since 2003 in leading positions in marketing and sales.
To what extent is the Krone company itself a “Denkfabrik”? Of course we have our traditional departments such as the technical office, development, product management, sales and marketing, where we are constantly developing new products and services internally. In addition, however, there is always an exchange of ideas with external parties; for example, the development department team is in dialogue with customers, suppliers and universities. We then draw conclusions from this, not only on how to move forward in our production, but also in digitization and service.
You are also in permanent contact with your customers. Which topics are important for them? Digitisation is still the most important keyword. I’m thinking, for example, of start-ups that entered the industry with freight exchanges or platforms and offer our customers direct added value. We accompany this, for example, with considerations of different billing models: In addition to the classic purchase of semi-trailers, pay-by-use models have also become established, so that our customers pay for the real-time use of transport space, for example. This enables them to offer their services in a particularly flexible way. And with a view to our strong network of customers throughout Europe, they were also able to network with each other and handle routes together, for example. The ultimate goal is always to make transport more economical and to protect the environment.
