Since 2018, the KION Group has been operating the KION Digital Campus in Frankfurt as a creative hub for new digital solutions and business models. The Campus was established with the support of PwC and its strategy consultants Strategy.

Frankfurt, October 10, 2018. Far from being a vision of the future, digital transformation in industry and commerce is already a reality today. It demands new business models, solutions, and ways of working. With the support of the auditing and consulting firm PwC and its strategy consultancy Strategy&, the KION GROUP AG has set up its Digital Campus to focus on – and proactively develop – such new approaches. Through this new innovation laboratory, the KION Group is cementing its pioneering role in the digital transformation of intralogistics and automation technology.

The KION Digital Campus is part of the KION 2027 strategy, through which the Company has set a course for profitable growth in the digital age. Since the start of the year, Campus strategists and UX designers and developers have been working together on new digital projects, implementing them in the shortest possible time. “The KION Digital Campus is the place where new solutions are developed, from the idea to prototypes and on to a minimum viable product. We combine methods such as design thinking and agile application development with modern digital technologies,” explains Patrick Tomczak, head of the Digital Campus. As diverse as the approaches are, they all serve the same goal: to develop advanced digital solutions that offer real added value for their users. “Our customers are at the center of everything we do,” Tomczak adds.

Room for inspiration and innovation

The space in the House of Logistics and Mobility in Frankfurt is tailored entirely to the needs of the team, and features open rooms, mobile workplaces, writable walls, and state-of-the-art technical equipment. “The KION Digital Campus is an excellent example of how interdisciplinary teams can formulate new ideas in a creative workspace and implement them quickly,” says Holger Röder, a partner at Strategy& Germany. The consulting firm was also able to draw on its own experience: “We took these steps ourselves at our Experience Center in Frankfurt, and have been able to bring this knowledge to the KION Digital Campus.”

Collaboration becomes digital transformation  

The first solutions developed in the Campus include a chatbot app for service technicians and an application for data-based fleet optimization. “As well as helping us to develop new forward-looking business models and new customer solutions that can be applied directly, the KION Digital Campus allows us to accelerate the digital transformation of the entire Group. Our employees are learning new ways of working that will help them in their increasingly digital working lives,” says Susanna Schneeberger, Chief Digital Officer of the KION Group.

“Whether it is the Internet of Things, the cloud or artificial intelligence, we are helping KION, its employees, and its customers to make the most of new IT-based technologies and to maximize added value. To this end, we are collaborating with experienced developers both on site at the KION Digital Campus and virtually across borders,” says Michael Bruns, Partner for Analytics and IoT at PwC. The Digital Campus is the latest initiative of the KION Group on its way to becoming an integrated solution provider in an increasingly digital world. Thanks to the Campus, the Group is well placed to become an industry pioneer that will help to shape the world of tomorrow.

About the KION Group:

The KION Group is a global leader in industrial trucks, related services and supply chain solutions. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the KION Group designs, builds and supports logistics solutions that optimize material and information flow within factories, warehouses and distribution centers. The Group is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally and a leading provider of warehouse automation.

The KION Group’s world-renowned brands are clear industry leaders. Dematic, the newest addition to the KION Group, is a global leader in automated material handling, providing a comprehensive range of intelligent supply chain and automation solutions. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on industrial trucks in the economy segment. Among KION’s regional industrial truck brand companies, Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products in France, while OM STILL is a market leader in Italy, and OM Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in India.

With an installed base of more than 1.3 million industrial trucks and over 6,000 installed systems, the KION Group’s customer base includes companies in all industries and of all sizes on six continents. The Group has more than 32,000 employees and generated revenue of around €7.6 billion in 2017.

Disclaimer

This document and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

About PwC:

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 158 countries with over 250,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About Strategy&:

Strategy& is a global team of practical strategists committed to helping you seize essential advantage. We do that by working alongside you to solve your toughest problems and helping you capture your greatest opportunities. We bring 100 years of strategy consulting experience and the unrivaled industry and functional capabilities of the PwC network to the task. We are part of the PwC network of firms in 158 countries with more than 250,000 people committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, and advisory services.

For further information, visit www.strategyand.pwc.com

Further information for the media

KION Group

Henrik Hannemann

Senior Director Media Relations & External Communications
Telefon +49 (0)69 201 10 - 77 52
E-Mail: henrik.hannemann@kiongroup.com

PwC

Martin Reulecke

PwC Communications

Telefon: +49 (0)211 981 - 1657

E-Mail: martin.reulecke@pwc.com

Strategy&
Annabelle Kliesing
Senior PR Lead
PwC Strategy& (Germany) GmbH
Telefon: +49 (0)89 5452 – 5613
E-Mail: annabelle.kliesing@strategyand.de.pwc.com  

Further information for investors of KION Group

Dr. Karoline Jung-Senssfelder
Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & M&A
Telefon +49 (0)69.2 01 10-74 50
E-Mail: karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com