Thumbs up for MBA´s Company Projects!
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Congratulations to our 3rd semester students for having achieved another milestone of their MBA studies! Once again, well-known companies such as Bosch Rexroth, the start-up Faros Linen and MAHLE collaborated with students from the MBA International Management program in research projects which were supervised by Prof. Jürgen Janovsky, Prof. Harald Strotmann and Prof. Markus-Oliver Schwaab from Pforzheim University. The three projects from different industries enabled the students not only to get a better insight into the German labour market but also to further develop their leadership skills, enhance their communication within the group and with the clients, and most of all sharpen their individual professional profiles.
Bosch Rexroth
With their product BODAS Connect, Bosch Rexroth provides a holistic end-to-end IoT solution for various mobile applications. They offer the required hardware to intelligently connect off-highway machines and to transfer data from these machines into the cloud making use of the Bosch IoT suite. The goal of the MBA students´ Company Project was to assess the potential and provide the market analysis for a new Remote View feature for the Off-Road Market in the context of BODAS Connect. Remote View would enable users to login on an HMI terminal of a machine to be able to see and control the onsite machine remotely. The MBA team along with the BODAS Connect team completed and presented a market research consisting of competitor analysis, customer segmentations, multiple remote view use cases and possible USPs of the feature.
Vipul from India reports about his experience with the project: “The telematics market was something which I had limited knowledge about. So, this project gave me an opportunity to enhance my knowledge about the telematics sector. I was also able to implement what I learned during my MBA classes especially strategic management. I am grateful to both Prof. Janovsky and Bosch Rexroth for their constant support and motivation throughout this project. Overall, it was a great learning experience and helped me grow professionally.”
After the final presentation Prof. Janovsky thanked the MBA students for their outstanding contribution to the Company Project stating “I do not remember a university project with such important obstacles, beyond our internal scope for intervention. Despite of this, the client seems to be very satisfied. To achieve this is an art, more than a totally convincing result in very favourable conditions.”
Faros Linen
For the first time, MBA students worked on a company project with a start-up - Faros Linen, a German based men's linen shirt company. Since linen is a summer material, the project focussed on expansion of the company in countries with tropical climate, to help Faros Linen survive during winters in Germany. The initial stage of the project dealt with a thorough secondary research of multiple countries, with the aim to select two countries that seemed most probable for entering into. A primary research was conducted with a motive to validate the selected markets in the later stage of the project. The students talked to industry experts and social media influencers to gain insights about markets in the selected countries. The findings were presented to the CEO, Mr. Israel, the MBA Program Director Prof. Harald Strotmann and the supervising professor of the project Prof. Markus-Oliver Schwaab during the final presentation, where entry in one country was recommended. Prof. Schwaab appreciated the start-up experience by stating "The specific setting of the project allowed the students to gain insights regarding the challenges of start-up companies." The students learnt the agile approach, as Surel from India stated "The agility of our approach to taking on this project and the needed flexibility shown by my teammates made this start-up experience so much more exciting than it was already supposed to be!"
MAHLE
The Company Project team for MAHLE did an in-depth analysis of the Indian Aftermarket. Prof Harald Strotmann guided the group. The students conducted extensive primary research and had the opportunity to interview various actors in the supply chain and key personnel of the Indian Automotive Aftermarket. In the final presentation, the team made recommendations to MAHLE on how to improve their current position in India. The final presentation was delivered to Mr. Olaf Henning, General Manager of MAHLE Aftermarket and Member of the Management Board, Mr. Christian Küchlin, Director and General Manager Aftermarket Asia / Pacific, Mr. Marco Ilotti, Strategic Sales and International Key Account Management Aftermarket, Mr. Sharad Bhatia, Head of MAHLE India Aftermarket and Ms. Caroline Gass, Technical Assistant to Olaf Henning. At the end of the presentation, Mr. Olaf Henning commended the students' efforts and was greatly satisfied with the quality of the university – company collaboration. This was MAHLE's fourth collaboration project with Hochschule Pforzheim, and they were looking forward to continuing these collaborations, which provide MAHLE with valuable insights for their business.
Mavin from India states that the Company Project proved to be a wonderful experience to make him familiar with the whole German approach. He enjoyed the process and is convinced that this trial run makes a big difference for his future career.
The Company Projects which are a vital component of the MBA program are seen as a great opportunity for the MBA students to network with companies from different industries and work fields. At the same time, it's a fantastic way for the students to use all tools they've studied in previous semesters and put into practice what they´ve learned in class. The Company Projects are real-life challenges through which the MBA students can create valuable solutions for the project partners which are ready to be implemented.
Thank you to all of our MBA students who participated in this year´s Company Projects and for all their dedication and hard work that they´ve put into the projects!
A big thank you also goes to our project partners for their highly appreciated and ongoing support of our MBA program!
Text/ screenshots: MBA