Digital working
Digitalization is changing all business processes and bringing new forms of collaboration. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend (keyword: “new work”).
The world of work experienced an unprecedented surge in digitalization last year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies were forced to adapt their work processes to contain the coronavirus and put daily teamwork on a new footing. At Rosenbauer, this conversion to digital platforms was already on the way, so it worked perfectly right away.
In the future, the control statioin in production will be directly linked to the ERP sytem.
Bodyshell meetings and vehicle handovers are conducted online.
Telecooperation and e-learning
One example of digital working at Rosenbauer is the “DigitAll” project that aims to introduce a new, Group-wide ERP system. Here, the project team is in contact with employees from all over the world several times a week, and there was virtual collaboration even before COVID-19. All team meetings and discussions are held online, and documents and presentations are edited together in the cloud. In March 2020, only the office workstations were swapped with the home office and work continued seamlessly and without disruption.
Another example is the Rosenbauer e-learning platform, which employees and service partners can use to gain further qualifications and complete training courses independently. In the previous year, it was particularly used for mandatory compliance training, to certify Sales and Purchasing as well as Rosenbauer executives in accordance with the latest compliance guidelines.
In 2020, the annual financial officers’ conference was also organized for the first time as an online event rather than a face-to-face event. More than 50 employees from all companies took part in the three-day event and exchanged views on the latest strategic and operational topics. “We recorded all presentations, webinars, and discussions and were thus able to make them available to the entire finance organization after the conference,” says Sebastian Wolf, CFO of Rosenbauer International.
»Digital working makes it much easier to collaborate and work across borders and time zones.«
Sebastian Wolf, CFO
Virtual loading and handovers
But digitalization is not only on the rise in internal collaboration; it is also becoming more and more prevalent in processes involving customers. For example, bodyshell meetings and vehicle handovers now take place online when international customers are unable to travel to the location or wish to do so. The systems are also used to conduct teletraining and to provide international partners with information and demonstration material so that they can independently conduct vehicle handovers and training on behalf of Rosenbauer.
Online Product Days
Digitalization is also becoming increasingly important in marketing. Rosenbauer hosted the first Online Product Days event in December 2020. Visitors to the virtual trade fair were met by avatars at information stands and in the exhibition hall, could take part in webinars, and directly download product information, data sheets, and presentations. Product managers and specialists from the development departments were available as virtual contacts, and employees from the area sales organizations were also available for the second edition of the event in March 2021. This enabled international Collaboration customers to contact the respective area sales managers directly.
Moreover, the market launch of the “Revolutionary Technology” (RT), Rosenbauer’s first fully electric firefighting vehicle, took place in September 2020 with global participation. The event, which included the official handover of the first three customer vehicles, was available via livestream and was met with great enthusiasm by the global firefighting community.
FUTURE BOX
At the end of 2020, Rosenbauer hosted the world’s first virtual firefighting trade show. At the Rosenbauer Online Product Days event, the new products for the year were presented in a realistic, three-dimension exhibition space, while avatars allowed interaction with the trade fair audience.
OVER 10,000 FOLLOWERS
Rosenbauer Product Days recorded over 10,000 followers every day.
NETWORKED FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY
Facebook, Instagram & Co.
The Online Product Days events were supported on all Rosenbauer social media channels.
3D VEHICLE EXHIBITION
Virtual presentation and interaction
Virtual vehicles can not only be viewed from all sides but also loaded with equipment.
LIVE-CHAT WITH EXPERTS
Up-to-date communication
Visitors to the trade fair were able to take part in webinars or chat with employees.