Semperit faced challenges in managing a vast portfolio of global innovation projects due to fragmented systems and manual processes. CrowdWorx provided a centralized, customizable platform that streamlined workflows, automated reporting, and enabled real-time portfolio management. As a result, Semperit significantly improved agility, achieved expectations to double its Innovation Rate within three years, and enhanced visibility for top management, empowering them to make faster, data-driven decisions.

About Semperit

Semperit is a leading manufacturer of high-quality industrial polymer and plastic products with over 200 years of innovation history. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the company operates across North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, serving industries such as healthcare, industrial applications, shipping, automotive, and renewable energy. With a rich heritage dating back to 1824, Semperit is the oldest rubber products company in continental Europe, continuing to drive innovation through changing markets and technological revolutions.

• Industry: Manufacturing
• Company size: 7000+ employees
• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

Challenge

Before adopting CrowdWorx, Semperit faced the challenge of managing a vast portfolio of innovation projects across its global operations and divisions. The lack of a centralized view of all projects made it difficult to track the full life cycle of projects – from idea generation through R&D to market launch – and to exercise strategic Program Management. Innovation teams in different divisions used individual Excel files to manage their projects, making it nearly impossible to consolidate data into a unified view. This fragmented approach hindered effective portfolio management and made generating reports and insights for stakeholders time-consuming and inefficient. Additionally, Semperit emphasized measuring innovation profitability but lacked the tools to assess the effectiveness of its activities systematically. The company struggled to compare project data, maintain a balanced portfolio, and track key metrics such as Rate of Innovation or Innovation Profitability, limiting its ability to steer innovation effectively.

Solution

Semperit’s leadership recognized the need for a robust platform to centralize and streamline innovation management processes. After evaluating various options, they selected CrowdWorx for its ability to customize their specific workflows and its advanced automation features. CrowdWorx’s no-code solution allowed Semperit to adapt the platform without relying heavily on IT resources, ensuring that the system could meet the company’s precise requirements. Additionally, the seamless integration of the CrowdWorx API with Semperit’s corporate data warehouse ensured data consistency across the entire organization. The implementation of CrowdWorx was carried out in two phases:

1. Operational Level: The platform was first deployed across innovation teams, enabling project managers to collect and manage innovation data within a decentralized workspace.
2. Corporate and Top Management: In the second phase, the platform was extended to all division heads and to top management, providing strategic, real-time oversight of the entire innovation portfolio.

With CrowdWorx, Semperit introduced a highly customizable workflow engine that automated innovation processes from idea generation through to evaluation and project management. The platform automatically routed tasks to the appropriate decision-makers and project owners, streamlining the innovation pipeline. In addition, CrowdWorx enabled the innovation teams to use an advanced portfolio analytics dashboard. This offered early insights into potential risks and enabled the team to maintain a balanced innovation portfolio. The dashboard allowed them to make informed decisions by identifying non-ROI projects early and adapting to changing circumstances with confidence. Real-time reporting and analytics provided immediate visibility into key innovation performance indicators (KPIs), allowing the company to track progress and outcomes more efficiently than ever before.

Results and Benefits:

Through its partnership with CrowdWorx, Semperit achieved its goal of a state-of-the-art innovation management process, transforming the way the company steers, tracks, and measures the success of its innovation activities. By moving from manual, Excel-based systems to a centralized platform with real-time reporting, the company significantly enhanced its agility and ability to manage its innovation portfolio both on the Operational level as well as one the Program level. With continuous tracking of key innovation metrics, Semperit was able to make faster, more informed decisions and respond quickly to changes on the market and in its innovation pipeline.

Key results include:

• Doubling Innovation Rate: Semperit achieved a remarkable improvement in its Innovation Rate, with expectations to double this key metric within three years.
• Enhanced Visibility: For the first time, top management had instant, real-time access to the status of all innovation programs. This visibility allowed for more efficient and strategic program management, enabling leaders to steer the portfolio more effectively.
• Real-time Reporting: CrowdWorx’s real-time reporting tools and dashboards replaced the outdated quarterly or annual reporting cycles. Innovation Leaders and Division Heads could now monitor KPIs continuously, allowing them to react faster to emerging risks and make timely adjustments, reducing potential setbacks and increasing the overall success of innovation projects.

“The real-time Innovation Reporting enabled by CrowdWorx was a huge paradigm shift for us. We were able to double our Rate of Innovation within three years.” – Reza Beglari, Global Head of Innovation

About CrowdWorx

CrowdWorx® is the leading integrated software and consulting provider for all aspects of Idea and Innovation Management. With locations in Berlin and Poznan, we help our customers in numerous regions of the world with an excellent and comprehensive product and service portfolio for small and medium-sized businesses as well as corporate clients.