First port of call for news business models

In the newly established Center of Business Model Engineering (CBME), Fraunhofer IAO and audit firm KPMG AG lend their advice and expertise to companies that are looking to take their business model in a new direction. The CBME is conceived as an interface between technology and the market, serving as a platform for the exchange of ideas about new models and strategies for the future.

With the lifecycle of business models shortening by the day, companies need to keep up with a rapidly changing business environment – as KPMG’s recent “Survival of the smartest” study testifies. Often it is a challenge that companies cannot cope with alone. To come to their aid, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO and audit firm KPMG AG have teamed up to establish the Center of Business Model Engineering (CBME), which officially opened its doors in Stuttgart on November 8, 2013.

The CBME’s goal is to support companies as they redefine their business model, and to continue to provide support over a longer period should this be required. “Irrespective of the sector, markets are now changing so fast that companies run the risk of getting left behind. We see an urgent need for companies to adapt, but they clearly also need advice on how to develop and implement new business models,” explains Markus Deutsch, Director at KPMG.

Dr. Marc Rüger of Fraunhofer IAO’s Board of Directors says: “With KPMG’s consultancy expertise and our own applied research know-how, we can establish an interface between technology and the market. And founding the CBME is the right way to go about it, as it’s the only way for us to offer companies a truly thorough insight into the latest developments in research and practice.”

As well as helping to develop suitable strategies for the future within companies, the CBME also helps to analyze whole value creation chains and the companies they involve. This makes it possible to take a comprehensive view of any given problem. What is more, the CBME offers companies facing a need to implement similar measures an opportunity to form networks within which to discuss their ideas for new models.

“I am delighted we have set up the Center of Business Model Engineering, a platform that promotes the exchange of ideas on current business model trends and actively helps define specific ways to respond to them,” affirms Dr. Robert Gutsche, Head of Consulting at KPMG.

IAO Director Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Bauer is equally enthusiastic: “These days, if companies want to remain competitive over the long term, they absolutely must be able to develop innovative business models. We want the CBME platform to give companies the chance to benefit from the very latest research findings on business models.”

Contact:
Dr. Marc Rüger
Business Development
Fraunhofer IAO
Nobelstraße 12
70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Phone +49 711 970-2044
E-Mail: marc.rueger@iao.fraunhofer.de