Wilo is the digital pioneer in the pump industry for building technology, water management and industry applications. On the 24th / 25th January, Siemens Innovation & Digitalization Labs in Munich hosted an IP design Innathon with over 20 Wilo employees from eight different countries, moderated by MHP – A Porsche Company. For the one and a half days of the IP Design Innathon – a combination of innovation and hackathon – the WILO team slipped into the roles of the digital attacking competition in group work sessions. Together with WILO, MHP selected the business areas in which the attack should take place.

In previous briefings, the groups were prepared for their respective attacking roles. Through intensive engagement with the attackers, their business logic, resources, their strategy and their customer approach, the group members were able to think deeply into their roles and thus develop conclusive attack models. The goal is to beat Wilo in the chosen business area and to disrupt the business with superior approaches. After an excursion to the Hofbräuhaus in Munich, the team went into the second round and the teams tried to find innovative approaches and business models from the company’s existing positions that gave attackers no chance against the established company.

The teams particularly praised the opportunity to get to know each other in this very unusual constellation and to work together intensively across all departments, responsibilities, hierarchies and regions. Wilo CTO, Georg Weber, was also very impressed and enthusiastic about the spirit of the participants, the constructive cooperation, the enormous creativity and the concrete suggestions on how the digital transformation can be designed successfully for a traditional company like Wilo.

Thanks go to the advisory boards of the Dieselkuratorium, Dr. Markus Kirchler from MHP – A Porsche Company – and Mr. Urban August von Siemens, as well as to Dr. Katharina Schubert and her team during the preparation and implementation of the Innathon.

Here are some impressions of the one and a half very intense and fruitful days: