Considering the statement "In the future, it will not just be about bending steel”, we came up with the idea that META should move into Digital.Hub Logistics in Dortmund. META proactively took up the challenge of digital transformation and looked at new ways of changing, extending or adding to our core business.

The move into Digital.Hub

Like so many medium-sized companies, META is not unaffected by digital innovations. So in 2018, it was agreed that META would have two of its employees move into the logistics location at Digital.Hub in Dortmund. Digital.Hub Logistics originates from an initiative taken by the German Bitkom Digital Association and is part of the Digital Hub Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Economy and Energy (BMWi), with a total of 12 hubs. At a distance of nearly 50 km from our main location at Arnsberg in the beautiful Sauerland, they were far enough away not to be distracted by our everyday business.

Events and activities

Networking with like-minded people and startups, with their innovative products and services, works best through events and activities. Although, at the start, it does not always feel like time meaningfully invested, networking mostly pays off at a later stage.

Innovation in-house

Different projects have been started with the aim of giving everyone at META the chance to learn a bit more about innovation and digitisation, Besides an innovation corner with the hypothesis and questions of the month about innovations, posts have been published on the internal intranet about the activities at Digital.Hub. Opportunities have also been provided to take part in events in order to learn about the new technologies.
“Go ahead and do it - it just might be a good one” (“Einfach mal machen – Es könnte ja gut werden”) was the slogan of the Transfer.Festival at Digital.Hub.
This set out a platform for industry, medium-sized businesses, researchers and up-and-coming talents, which demonstrated the latest digital innovations in logistics and IT. Networking with experts, problem-solvers and lateral thinkers, by building, planning, conceptualising, programming, puzzle solving, decrypting and debating was also on the agenda. It could also be about machine learning, data sovereignty, digital culture & transformation, an escape game or open problem discussion.

It was also shown:

    - how new technologies can be transferred in practice,
    - how new concepts and strategies strengthen your own company,
    - how scientific knowledge can give a company a pioneering role,
    - how new methods improve everyday work routines

and what value-added comes with networking and digitisation. A tour around the theme of research and implementation, and the use of drones in research, was also on offer.

Best practice for startups - medium-sized businesses

Creativity meets expertise. Innovative services and products meet with established processes and networks: When startups work together with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it can be like worlds colliding. All those involved can learn from one another and derive numerous mutual benefits.
This is why META decided to explore new territory and develop partnerships with startups in order to open up new business areas.

One of the partners is MotionMiners GmbH in Dortmund. This startup specialises in automating and anonymising the analysis and optimisation of manual processes. Their concept is clear and consistent and the related technology is implemented in warehouses - just where META has its home ground. Through its large distribution network in Europe and the USA, META brings startups into contact with customers in the trade and industry sector, where their new products can be tested and generate feedback from customers. META thus provides startups with access to the market and our customers.

Another one of META’s partners is the Logistic Lights startup, which offers a flexible alternative to Put-to-Light and Pick-by-Light. This alternative system projects a light spot at the related storage bay from which items are to be removed or picked. Training is completed in five minutes, productivity increases immediately, and the projected light spot reduces worker fatigue. This leads to a higher pick/put rate and, above all, creates a more stable material flow. The simple handling brings greater acceptance and raises worker satisfaction. The essential difference is in the price. This solution from Logistic Lights is many times cheaper than Pick and Put by Light solutions.

In this way, we are sending our customers a clear signal that META is looking towards the future and putting the needs of its customers first.