‘Digitalization offers big chances by using digital technologies and data, as well as added value for our customers, increased efficiency and effectiveness.’
Because of that the CDO position in companies becomes more and more important. BASF CDO has therefore also planned several measures to anchor digitization in the company.

Weltweite Vernetzung Personen
All image sources: BASF SE

In the meantime, digitalization has arrived in the chemical industry too. BASF devotes particular attention to their digital system.

CDO

In his position as BASF CDO Dr. Frithjof Netzer leads a 25-member team. With their help, he wants to raise awareness of digitization and implement Industry 4.0 in the various BASF fields.
In the course of digitalization, industry boundaries are becoming blurred. BASF has therefore recognized that they must identify even more precisely the benefits that products and services should offer the customer – also taking digital changes into account.

Why should BASF and the BASF CDO be involved in digitalization?

With the help of additional services like digital products and services BASF wants to create added value for us customers. Therefore they developed a four-phase process (named Innorate) as well as an initiative called ‘Digital Plant’. The chemical industry in general is named as a ‘Late follower’ when it comes to digitalization. Justification therefore is that there is already much automation but for every coming step many safety requirements and -standards have to be taken into account.

Digital subsidiaries

As part of the digitalization new subsidiaries were developed. One of them is the BASF Business Services GmbH. It assists the BASF-group with both shaping and optimizing business processes. On top of that it helps with managing the supply chain and logistic, and especially developing and operating IT-systems.

Furthermore, BASF formed another GmbH. It is the ‘BASF New Business’. This subsidiary opens up new areas of industry by identifying existing problems and generating ideas for possible solutions. In this way they can realize in the end as many innovations as possible.

Accelerators / Incubators

BASF-Incubator – this is the new incubator belonging to BASF which still is in the process of setting up. Here they plan to partner up with successful entrepreneurs working in multiple venture teams. For the entrepreneurs the incubator will be the place where chemicals-related ideas will turn into robust business models.

Especially in the field of sustainability BASF works together with accelerators. Like this they want to help everybody: the costumers, the environment and the community.

Social media

Social media helps to create a connection between a company and its stakeholders. Trough the years BASF opened more and more different social media sub channels. For example, there is one for career, one for sustainability and many more.

Jan

My name is Jan Puder (LinkedIn profile Jan Puder). I am the founder & CEO of the BusinessTech-Company. Me and the BusinessTech-Company want to push the digital frontier. This is the reason, why I started this website. I want to provide information about digital businesses, especially for Chief Digital Officers.

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