IoT with the best ROI

You are the new Managing Director of GIB. What was before that?

Björn Dunkel: I have had the privilege of building up sales at GIB for the past ten years.

When I joined GIB in 2007, we had three Dispo Cockpit pilot customers. At that time, GIB was transforming itself from a classic consulting company to a software provider.

For this, the organization, i.e. the sales department, had to be built up. That was my main task in the first few years.

What personal challenges does your new job as Managing Director of GIB bring with it?

Dark: The biggest challenge is that as Managing Director I am now responsible for many more employees and more areas, and I work much more strategically.

As Head of Sales, Marketing and Partner Management, I was responsible for around twenty employees and was largely involved in operations.

Through a large number of meetings with customers and interested parties, I was always very deeply involved in the logistical processes and requirements of our customers. I now benefit from this as Managing Director.

This allows me to bring my experience to bear on product strategy and ensure that GIB continues to pursue a roadmap that moves our customers and us forward.

How many of your customers are also existing SAP customers and to what extent are you aligned with current SAP strategies? Is S/4 Logistics a current topic for you?

Dark: Since we are a manufacturer of logistics-optimizing software based on SAP, all of our customers are existing SAP customers. However, about 70 percent of our customers are SAP midsize companies with less than 5,000 employees.

This means that we develop solutions that are suitable for midmarket companies and these are already executable on SAP ERP, Business Suite on Hana and on S/4. We set the course here very early on in order to be able to offer our SAP ERP customers a future-proof solution.

Today, we already have customers using Suite on Hana or even S/4 with and without S/4 Logistics in combination with our GIB-Dispo-Cockpit.

What strengths do you see in GIB's existing business model? Do you want to build on these strengths? If yes, how?

Dark: The very great strength of GIB is that everything we do always includes a close reference to solutions suitable for medium-sized businesses.

We offer a 1 euro license to 30 cent implementation ratio and have a proven ROI of significantly less than six months.

We want to retain this strength at all costs, and we are now also using this strength in our internationalization strategy.

What impact will SAP's decision to use only Hana as its ERP database from 2025 have on you?

Dark: We need to distinguish between the following here: SAP Suite on Hana and S/4 Hana.

I doubt that all SAP customers will have switched to S/4 by 2025. But nevertheless, the announcement of a revolutionary new SAP solution like S/4 Hana was a master stroke by SAP.

The ERP solution, which was already very outdated, would not have been able to meet the requirements of Industry 4.0 and IoT.

In our opinion, this is the right development, even if it currently requires us to perform the balancing act of offering our customers and interested parties business benefits in three very different system landscapes.

What contact do you currently have with SAP?

Dark: We have never been closer to SAP than we are today. After all, GIB is a wholly owned subsidiary of TiSC AG, whose Supervisory Board is chaired by SAP itself.

This position is held by none other than Professor Dr. Martin Hill, Vice President for SCM in MEE SAP Germany.

I very much welcome this development and look forward to working together without losing GIB's independence in terms of solutions tailored to SMEs. We will definitely preserve this independence!

How important is the planned internationalization of GIB for you?

Dark: Internationalization is the next logical step. Over the past ten years, we have been very successful in the DACH region and have proven that we know logistics optimization in time and in budget inside out.

Our customers have branches all over the world. Today, there is almost no country in the world where the GIB Dispo-Cockpit does not sustainably optimize the logistics of our customers.

The decision to now internationalize this successful concept is spot on!

We are very fortunate to have Nadine Rahman, an internationalization professional, on the TiSC board. Together with Ann-Britt Rheinländer, a GIB veteran, she will drive internationalization forward.

I will be allowed to contribute my energy to the overall development of GIB.

What impact do the Industry 4.0 plans have on the existing GIB Dispo-Cockpit Suite? Do you see any advantages or disadvantages?

Dark: There are only advantages here! The GIB Suite remains and is constantly being developed further.

New functions and modules will gradually emerge within the suite, enabling our customers to enter Industry 4.0 and IoT.