12. November 2019
What will you do differently from your predecessor? What goals have you set yourself?
The question implies that everything will be different now, but this is not necessary at all. Dr.-Ing. Philipp Jussen has led the Center Smart Services into a great direction during the last couple of years and the goal is now to keep going down this path. In the coming months and years, we want to focus on offering a unique service portfolio on RWTH Aachen Campus so that manufacturing companies can build and run a digital business successfully. To do so, we want to acquire new members, work on and realize new formats and projects with already existing members and help many more companies to build their own digital business with the help of the unique infrastructure of the Cluster Smart Logistics – true to our motto “Engineering Digital Business”.
What is special about the Center Smart Services? What makes it so unique?
Many claim that digitalization and digital business models are what they are best at. However, I believe that my team and I provide the special expertise that is required for these areas. Thanks to our close cooperation with the service management department at FIR at RWTH Aachen, topics such as customer value and customer centricity are not new to us, but are instead a core part of our work – and have been, for years. We do not use our strength in building portfolios and digital solutions to create single lighthouse projects, but instead we build our projects in such a way that they have a measurable impact on the operational business of our members and customers. It does not matter whether it is about the internal optimization of service processes, such as via remote service applications, or about the implementation of a digital service as an income generator.
Not only do we successfully help other companies to build a digital business, but we also have our own ideas for new digital businesses, which we turn into reality together with our members and other entities located on RWTH Aachen Campus. Currently, we are working on three projects in the area of air quality measurement, fleet management for electric vehicles and an analysis platform for wind turbines.
You offer different kind of memberships, what do they mean and what are the advantages for members?
The membership was always the closest possible form of cooperating with us. Some companies want more than just the participation in one or two of our projects per year, they are interested in all of the center’s subjects. For those repeating customers we offer the so-called executive membership, which provides the chance to participate in all of our consortial projects and studies as well as making use of our further education offerings without additional financial costs. As a result, they have the guarantee of not missing out on anything in the area of digital businesses and the realization of ideas is not put on hold due to difficult buying and processes. Cling together, swing together, as they say – only in the most positive of ways, of course. 🙂
What benefits does the RWTH Aachen Campus ecosystem offer its members?
RWTH Aachen Campus is a unique innovation environment in Europe. Here, the interconnection of science and industry is not only on a marketing sheet, but is lived every day by our members. Do you have a question regarding IoT platforms? No problem! The experts located in the atrium of the Smart Logistics Cluster and quickly help you to implement a first ready-to-use IoT prototype. Do you want to find out more about the latest trends in service and digitization? Simply log into the Center’s intranet and access current studies and survey results. Would you like to talk to other experts about selling digital products? Come to one of our events and exchange ideas with like-minded people. Within just a few years, RWTH Aachen Campus has succeeded in creating a real innovation environment, where there are no single players but instead everyone works together on digital as well as analogue solutions of the future. I am very proud and happy to be a part of this with the team of the Center Smart Services and am happy to work with the other Clusters and Centers on RWTH Aachen Campus to drive real digital innovation!