Strategy & Business Building Consulting
5 Questions for Dr. Svenja Wagner and Hameed Haqparwar
Developing successful business models with the Bosch Methodology
In the global world, the Internet connects anything that is economically relevant. Sensors provide a great amount of data that form the basis of future and innovative business models and represent considerable potential for customer loyalty and revenue generation. Nevertheless, building these digital business models challenges companies considerably, as only a small percentage of previous IoT initiatives in companies are economically successful.
Svenja , Hameed , you are experienced strategists and business model experts at Bosch Engineering GmbH. How do you support your customers?
We accompany our clients comprehensively in all project phases, from the conception and validation of business ideas to the development of digital product strategies. In doing so, we plan with short iteration cycles in order to be able to react agilely to changes. Using Lean Startup principles and our exclusive Business Model Builder 2.0, we offer our clients the best possible support to lead their digital business models to success. Aligning the product strategy with the actual customer needs is crucial for the sustainable success of the business model. We develop prototypes and MVPs with our clients, which help to incorporate real customer feedback as early as the development phase.
You work with the IoT Business Model Builder 2.0, what advantages does this framework offer?
This scientifically based and field-tested framework, which was specially developed by Bosch Digital in collaboration with the University of St. Gallen and the Industry IoT Consortium (IIC), makes the complexity of business model development in the Internet of Things manageable and ensures consistent customer orientation. The "IoT Business Model Builder 2.0" offers a variety of tools and methods to jointly identify new entrepreneurial opportunities, build value networks and develop IoT-based business models in a well-founded and low-risk manner.
„Even as complexity increases, we offer our partners the best possible support to make their digital business models a success.“
You were involved in the founding of two start-ups. What can we learn from start-ups?
Start-ups develop their business models iteratively, customer-oriented and agile. The methods used in Lean Startup and Design Thinking, such as the Business Model Canvas and the Customer Journey Map, make it possible to create an initial, well-founded business model from a rough idea, which can then be validated and adapted if necessary. The methods not only serve to structure the initial idea, but ultimately also minimise the risk of spending too long developing business models that turn out to be unsuccessful.
What is a key success factor of digital business models?
A decisive criterion for the success of digital business models is the creation of a value network that also includes partners and does not only consider linear exchange relationships with suppliers. Especially in the context of IoT, a wide variety of domains must be united in order to provide a value-creating offer for the end user. No company can manage this complexity alone, so cooperation with partners is essential. Potential partners should be planned into the company's own value network at an early stage. For active involvement and incentivisation, it is therefore indispensable to also offer the partner a value proposition.
„We always make sure that we approach our partners with empathy and commitment. We master challenges together.“
What makes you unique as a team?
In times of constant change and uncertainty, you need experts who have the courage to break new ground and discover unknown terrain. It is clear to us that today's success does not have to be tomorrow's success. We as a Strategy & Business Building Consulting team are ready to dive into these unknown terrains together with our clients and to examine and rethink existing business models. Our clients also benefit from our interdisciplinary network of highly qualified IoT specialists, engineers and user experience experts with multi-layered and long-standing expertise, which we can integrate into the projects as needed.
In focus
Dr. Svenja Wagner
Digital Strategy Business Consultant
Svenja accompanies teams on their path to digital transformation and supports them in the development of digital product strategies, among other things. The projects benefit from her interdisciplinary experience and her inner drive to create something new in a sustainable way.
In previous positions, Svenja managed digitalisation and transformation projects, primarily in the public sector.
She also worked on quantitative research projects in organisational economics (e.g. in the area of demographic challenges).
Hameed Haqparwar
Senior Manager New Business Building & Digital Business Strategy
His expertise includes designing and validating customer-centric business models in the Internet of Things space. Previously, he was a Product Owner at an innovative venture capital funded start-up in the insurance industry. As an entrepreneur, Hameed also gained hands-on experience in the lean startup space. He now successfully contributes his experience from the startup world to various innovation projects at Bosch.