Consulting - Development - Training - Teaching
The following examples show how we support organizations in managing knowledge systematically, further developing business models, integrating artificial intelligence in meaningful ways, and building the capabilities required to do so.
In our projects, we combine strategic clarity, proven methods, and a deep understanding of everyday work and the challenges of working with knowledge.
One key insight guides our work: isolated measures rarely lead to effective improvement. What matters is aligning knowledge, people, processes, and technological possibilities in ways that create sustainable value in everyday practice. That is precisely the difference between well-intentioned initiatives and effective transformation.
Knowledge in medium-sized businesses
Since 2015, for example, we have supported a medium-sized engineering company in establishing and gradually advancing its knowledge management. The starting point was a strategic assessment based on the Intellectual Capital Statement. Building on this, structures, responsibilities, and measures were developed to make business-critical knowledge deliberately usable, including through stronger P2P knoweldge sharing, a campus, and a knowledge portal.
Today, knowledge management is an integral part of the company’s strategic development. Every two years, this development is reviewed using the Intellectual Capital Statement and, where necessary, adjusted through appropriate measures.
Since 2015, the company has grown smoothly from 50 to 140 employees.
Developing business models further
Together with a medium-sized industrial company, we developed an approach with which existing business models can be systematically developed further and new earning opportunities can be opened up. The approach builds on established methods of business model innovation, but is designed in such a way that development does not stop at generating ideas, but leads to concrete changes in the business.
In this case, the benefit becomes very tangible: new processes such as 3D printing were integrated into existing processes, a recycling programme was initiated and sales were internationalised. In this way, an effective further development of the business model emerged, with noticeable effects on market position, processes and value creation.
Integrating AI
For a medium-sized company, we support the integration of artificial intelligence into value creation. The focus is not only on AI tools themselves, but above all on the organisational framework, processes, roles, capabilities and the question of how AI can create concrete value for the organisation in day-to-day work.
On the one hand, this involves supporting knowledge work in everyday practice; on the other hand, it also involves developing new AI-based services and business options. AI is therefore not introduced in isolation as a tool, but deliberately embedded in existing and new value creation contexts.
Expert knowledge globally
For an internationally active industrial corporation, we helped develop comprehensive knowledge management for its globally distributed expert organisation. The aim was to make mission-critical knowledge available across organisational, country and language boundaries so that it could be used locally, further developed and strategically managed.
The approach developed combines top-down and bottom-up mechanisms: a Knowledge Management Board manages strategic knowledge development, Centres of Excellence bundle knowledge in important business areas, and Communities of Practice drive exchange in operational and exploratory fields. The implementation builds on existing standard software and was developed together with the FH Potsdam.
The value of the approach becomes visible in its scale and effect: within four years, knowledge management grew to more than 2,000 members, who implemented more than 1,500 knowledge-management activities each year. This resulted in cost savings and additional revenue in the millions.
Methods - Tools - Standards
In addition to consulting projects, for many years we have also been working on methods, tools and standards for the professional handling of knowledge. These include, for example, contributions to methods such as the "Wissensbilanz", "process-oriented knowledge management" and standards such as DIN SPEC 91443.
Our solutions therefore build not only on extensive practical experience across almost all sectors and company sizes, but also on solid professional expertise.
Making knowledge measurable and manageable
With instruments such as the "Wissensbilanz" and "Integrated Knowledge Assessment", for example, we helped develop methods that make knowledge measurable and thus a manageable success factor. Only on the basis of measurability can a robust foundation for priorities, investments and measures emerge.
In particular, the "Wissensbilanz" as an instrument for the strategic management of the "intellectual capital" of organisations has proven itself in practice both in medium-sized companies and in large corporations and has found wide dissemination. The guide "Wissensbilanz - Made in Germany", which we co-authored, has been downloaded more than 100,000 times.
Training and coaching
For us, training and coaching do not take place detached from day-to-day work, but in concrete work on real initiatives. In this way, not only understanding and methodological knowledge emerge, but also the ability to actually implement and further develop knowledge management in one's own context.
In practice, this often starts with a seminar or a project initiative. Depending on the point of entry, we design the training individually in line with our clients' needs. To do this, we support those responsible, teams or individual employees over a longer period in the conception and implementation of their initiatives. We qualify in a needs-based way and thus initiate a learning and development process in which knowledge is built exactly when it is needed. Step by step, confidence in action and useful results emerge at the same time.
For example, over several years we supported a managing director in building and steering strategic knowledge management in his own company. In another case, we supported those responsible for a project in building group-wide knowledge management, trained community managers and helped them implement their professional activities across the organisation. Together with them, we reflected professionally on ideas and concepts, discussed proposals for improvement and supported critical meetings or workshops. We work similarly in teaching, by the way: theory, practical project, critical reflection and accompanying coaching are interlinked in such a way that a beginner becomes an expert and ideas become viable results.
Teaching
For us, teaching is not a side issue, but part of our quality claim. It ensures that our work remains professionally connected, methodologically precise and capable of proving itself in demanding learning and application contexts.
For many years, Dr. Alwert has also taught the central topics of his offering in university and continuing-education formats. Since 2014, he has taught in the master's degree programme in e-learning and knowledge management at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland. Since 2006, he has also taught in the international MBA programme Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development at Leipzig University. In the field of Wissensbilanz, he has been involved for more than 20 years as co-developer of the method, trainer and auditor; for the Fraunhofer Academy, he co-developed the training programme and has worked there as a trainer and instructor since 2004.
For our clients, this means sound content, clear didactics and an offering that remains robust even in complex contexts.
If you would like to discuss a concrete initiative or develop a suitable format, please simply contact us.