From vision and strategy to implementation: Otto Bock Kunststoff’s strategy project

“Our goal is to market our polyurethane products in the three global markets of Europe, Asia and North America by offering excellent service and outstanding quality,”  explains Jürgen Henze, CEO of Otto Bock Kunststoff. In October 2003, the company decided to turn this vision into reality by implementing a continuous  strategy process with the help of Sycor.

“Today‘s companies are faced with constant change. Competition is getting tougher and technological changes are resulting in a growing drive for innovation. Also, market and industry structures often change from one day to the next,“ says Dr. Achim Link from Sycor's Executive Board. "A systematically planned business strategy helps companies overcome these challenges, and it provides orientation.“ However, when conditions are in a constant state of flux, businesses cannot simply define a strategy once. Instead, they have to establish a long-lasting process.

And that was exactly Otto Bock Kunststoff’s goal with the strategy project in 2003. The company decided to implement its vision systematically as part of a strategy process and create a comprehensive strategic and goal-oriented system for communication and leadership. The new process was based on methodologies developed at the University of St. Gallen. Implementation support was provided by Sycor, which is well-versed in the St. Gallen strategy process through its own experience. At various milestones in the project, the vision, values and guidelines of the company were formulated in a long-lasting way and the strategic approach was defined.

A system of goals was established using the balanced scorecard methodology. This included translating the vision into a strategy with specific objectives and defining the relevant metrics. As part of a final milestone in 2005, the overall system of goals was subdivided into objectives for the individual departments and two departmental target plans were developed to showcase the process. One advantage to this approach was that all employees were actively involved with the company’s strategy.  Ultimately, it is the employees in the departments who work towards achieving the strategic goals of the whole company based on the core tasks of the department. This target plan system also features a review process in which the Executive Board and the individual departments exchange information through direct communication with each other.

“The strategic process is alive and kicking,” says Jürgen Henze, CEO of Otto Bock Kunststoff. “We’re well prepared for the future and are working on our shared goals. We thank Sycor for the professional support they provided during the development and implementation of our goal system.”