The Interdependence Between Innovation, Digitalisation and Sustainability – Dr. Ulrike Tagscherer

Dr. Ulrike Tagscherer is the Chief Innovation Officer at KUKA AG where she is responsible for developing an innovation portfolio for the non-core business, emphasizing the integration of organisational resilience and sustainability through digitalisation into areas primed for growth.

Explain the Interdependence between innovation, digitalisation and sustainability?

I strongly believe that we will not solve the current problems of customers, companies or the planet by doing the same things that have led us here. Innovation will be the only way to move forward, and these innovations have to be far more digital and sustainable than the current solutions.

In order to be more sustainable, we need more data. Only if we know where there is a potential for savings (e.g. energy, material, etc.), can we act accordingly. This synergy between innovation, sustainability and digitalisation is becoming increasingly apparent.

With our company boasting a legacy of 125 years, sustainability stands as a cornerstone of our vision. We have defined sustainability as a sustainable business growth, ensuring our continued success for the next 125 years, safeguarding the future of our organisation.

How does your company integrate innovation, digitalisation and sustainability principles into its solutions and what role does each play in achieving your business objectives?

I believe all three components can’t be separated when achieving business objectives – I see it as one. All our innovation-forward projects address elements of digitisation and sustainability and rely on digitisation and sustainability to both steer and drive them forward.

Profitability is also affected by all three factors, both in the short and long-term. Investing in innovation to develop more efficient, digital and sustainable solutions not only enhances our operations but also delivers tangible benefits to our customers in the end.

As a leader in the robotics sector, how do you navigate the complexities of integrating cutting-edge technologies with sustainable practices and what lessons have you learned along the way?

We have one of the most energy efficient robots on the market and have used sustainability to create value – both for the business and for the customer.

This ties in with one of the most significant insights I’ve gained, shared by a female Chief Sustainability Officer within the insurance sector. She voiced that her position should be temporary, emphasising that sustainability is a collective concern spanning the entire organisation, with everyone playing a role, rather than being solely the responsibility of one individual.

Sustainability has to be a key responsibility for each individual across the business, hence its incorporation into our strategy and business goals.

How do you translate the emerging trends and developments in innovation, digitalisation and sustainability into actionable strategies for your organisation?

We focus on defining and implementing an innovation strategy which extends our business strategy, emphasising long term innovation to fuel business growth. We see the two intertwining, each complementing and reinforcing the other.

Our ambitions are linked to emerging trends, and we focus on covering digital AI and many other mainstream trends, that other companies I am sure are also tracking. At KUKA, it’s important we spend the time on defining those trends which we feel are important to us and which we can prioritise in our future plans.

We continuously reflect on the current state of the industry, delving into the needs and wants of the customer both now and in the future. Take my kids for example, they are not interested in owning cars, and the advent of smartphones has introduced a whole new dynamic too – moving away from those tasks I once did manually.

I think for KUKA, our goal is then to transform these trends into KPIs, instilling personal responsibility for various sustainability and digitalisation topics. This approach makes things more actionable.

As the core business and top leadership outline the overarching strategy for KPIs, we make sure that each department is able to shape their own strategy from this, personalising goals in line with divisional priorities.

For example, we are delivering ‘green customer services’ – and are still learning from past experience of ways in which we can reuse machinery and resources. We are open to, and benefit from, bottom-up and top-down input in developing sustainable strategies.

What challenges does doing this pose?

The biggest challenge that we see right now is that changing processes, and testing out new products comes with a cost, and we have to convince the customer that the change is worth it. Conviction and trust in the product and the KUKA brand then play a huge role in maintaining customer loyalty.

Navigating risks in product development and innovation can be challenging. However, I hold onto the belief that despite the challenges, taking these risks will ultimately prove worthwhile and yield significant returns.

How do you prioritise innovation initiatives within your role, ensuring they align with both short-term objectives and long-term sustainability goals?

Our business strategy is midterm, while our innovation strategy is geared toward the long term. We think about how the world is changing, and what impact that will have on our goals and our products. Questions like “How will robots in 10 years look like?” and “What role do we want to play in shaping the future?” drive our forward-thinking approach.

Our innovation strategy is an extension of the business strategy, as trends develop – we continue to develop our strategy in line with this.

We also focus on the team as a major part of our innovation strategy, and this sometimes surprises people. We see that having the right people for the right task drives forward the visions and innovative initiatives which then drive the execution of our goals.

What steps do you take to ensure cross-functional collaboration within your organisation, particularly between innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability teams?

I think there are two answers to this question.

The first being that we’ve established governance guidelines for our projects, outlining what constitutes an ideal team. We prioritise diversity, encompassing factors like gender, age, education and nationality. Given our global presence, ensuring that teams have a strong mix of individuals from diverse backgrounds adds perspective across divisions. We also try to prevent people from the same department or team joining one of our innovation projects, because they often think the same way. By doing this we gain a wide range of perspectives.

The second element is how we decide which projects and ideas. We have created an innovation board where all the functions are represented, especially those with P&L responsibility. We have created a trustful communication in this board, again sharing different viewpoints openly. Collaboration and trust play a key role in this process, and we really encourage people who do not usually work together to work alongside each other on these projects to support innovation.

If you would like to discuss any if the topics raised in this piece or if you need support with your leadership resourcing strategy, please get in touch with Alex Catana on alex.catana@beaumontbailey.com