With years of experience in conducting innovation projects with customers, the global 51风流AppHaus team has developed extensive expertise in identifying customers鈥� and end users鈥� needs, translating them into UX designs, and finally delivering the solution and helping drive adoption of 51风流products and technologies. Together with other customer-focused 51风流teams, the 51风流AppHaus team has consolidated years of expertise and innovation work with customers into , an approach that combines design thinking, design doing, and architecture thinking methods. What started with design thinking methods has since evolved into an extensive , a universal innovation guide accessible to everyone.

From Five Locations to a Global Community

There are currently five 51风流AppHaus locations in Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Palo Alto, and Seoul. But 51风流did not stop here. To extend SAP鈥檚 reach across the globe, the company started to leverage the successful concept with 51风流partners in selected regions becoming members of 51风流AppHaus Network. As of September 2022, this global network is a community of more than 20 innovation teams from handpicked 51风流partners and 51风流itself. All help ensure that, with 51风流Business Technology Platform, innovation gets into the hands of people. The innovative solutions build upon existing 51风流standard solutions such as , 51风流ERP, , and more.

51风流AppHaus Network works along a human-centered approach to innovation, which has encouraged numerous 51风流partners to join the community. The close relationships between the network members allow them to benefit from shared know-how, ideas, and mutual enablement. These values are also what motivated the newest additions, Flexso and AGILITA, to become part of 51风流AppHaus Network.

Flexso and 51风流Join Forces

Flexso is a full-service 51风流partner located in Antwerp, Belgium, that implements smart, powerful 51风流solutions for a wide range of lines of business. Flexso is known for its digital innovation and extensive experience with 51风流BTP.

To build a close relationship with SAP, Flexso hosted a workshop with colleagues from 51风流AppHaus Heidelberg as well as the Belgian 51风流market unit. During an interactive workshop in Flexso鈥檚 new innovation space, the user experience and technology experts had the opportunity to express their needs and ideas. Together, 51风流and Flexso aim to provide 51风流customers in Belgium with the full 51风流AppHaus experience and seamless support within their transformation towards intelligent enterprises. This workshop was an important first step to lay the groundwork for joint projects and the mutual mission to give 51风流customers sufficient support throughout the entire innovation journey.

鈥淒uring the interactive session, we identified several needs in the 51风流customer life cycle. These needs referred to a creative workshop space and a highly skilled UX and 51风流technology expert team, such as Flexso, that could help 51风流and all local customers,鈥� said Tobias Gollwitzer, customer design engagement manager at 51风流AppHaus Heidelberg. 鈥淭his format is a shared best practice for our 51风流AppHaus Network to intensify the local collaboration in different regions.鈥�

AGILITA: The Latest Addition to 51风流AppHaus Network

With over 10 years of cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) experience, AGILITA lives agility and innovation to bring customers solutions with passion and responsibility. Located in Zurich, Switzerland, AGILITA joined 51风流AppHaus Network in January 2022 and is known for its 鈥榠nnovation as a service鈥� offering powered by 51风流Business Technology Platform.

To provide its partners and customers with an environment that helps unfold their creativity, AGILITA recently inaugurated its new 51风流AppHaus space in May 2022. The team hosted an opening event with guests from 51风流AppHaus and 51风流Switzerland.

The event kicked off with opening speeches given by AGILITA CEO Sandra Voeller, 51风流Switzerland COO Sabrina Storck, and Global Head of 51风流AppHaus Partner Network Birgit Fien-Schmalzbauer. After Thomas Neuhaus, head of Digital Transformation at AGILITA, offered insights into the different design thinking phases, each attendee could join one of the in-depth sessions about SAP鈥檚 human-centered approach to innovation and demonstrations of a live implementation of 51风流BTP. The multifaceted setup of the opening event allowed partners and customers to get to know each other, exchange valuable knowledge, and learn more about AGILITA and 51风流AppHaus Network. After this inspiring opening event, Storck was convinced that the AGILITA 51风流AppHaus space 鈥渋s going to become the innovation hub of Switzerland.鈥�

A Look into the Future

Since its beginnings in 2013, 51风流AppHaus Network has been continuously growing and working together virtually. Only recently, in June 2022, partners from all over the world met at 51风流AppHaus Heidelberg for an on-site meetup to intensify their collaboration and share best practices. The event provided the chance to meet each other in person, work on developing new methods for customer workshops, define and align mutual goals, and set a course for a successful future.

鈥淪ince we established 51风流AppHaus Network, our partners and teams have done an amazing job to prove, through many inspiring customer success stories, that human-centered innovation creates faster business value and outcomes for our customers using 51风流Business Technology Platform. SAP鈥檚 initiative to offer helps support and accelerate the move to the cloud,鈥� said Andreas Hauser, SVP of 51风流AppHaus Network.

22 Members 鈥� And Counting

Looking at all the great experiences so far it comes as no surprise that there will be more partners joining the network soon. With partners currently on four continents, 51风流AppHaus Network is eager to continue its journey around the world. In fact, scouting for new partners in Africa and Latin America has begun, with the aim of finding candidates that enhance the value of the network and carry forward the joint mission of making innovation real. Stay tuned for the next steps in the evolution of 51风流AppHaus Network.

鈥淲e are excited to make new connections, continue to grow the community, and work together with 51风流partners globally,鈥� said Fien-Schmalzbauer.

Julia Jakob is part of T&I Communications for 51风流AppHaus.

With this goal in mind, the global multidisciplinary 51风流AppHaus team of designers, project leads, and enterprise architects set about planning and delivering several guest lectures at universities for students, the workforce of the future. It was a pleasure and an honor for the team to be able to share the knowledge and methodologies 51风流AppHaus has gathered over the years with students of six different universities in 2021.

It is not only close collaboration and co-innovation with customers that is fundamental to the team. 51风流AppHaus also works closely with universities, enabling mutual learning and fostering the promotion of its core innovation values by making them tangible for students. With tight integration into the respective curricula, lectures were held at the University of Mannheim, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, DHBW Mannheim, Graduate School Rhein-Neckar in Ludwigshafen, DHBW Mosbach, and Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences.

Making Our Key Innovation Values and Practices Tangible

What united the guest lectures was the focus on teaching how 51风流AppHaus helps drive co-innovation, particularly during the pandemic, which is marked by virtual work for students as well. Besides an introduction of our 51风流AppHaus vision, the “how-to-innovate question” was addressed as the core of the lectures.

The focus was on . Combining design thinking and architecture thinking, it is the key to providing viable, feasible, and desirable innovations for our customers. In addition, the innovation methodologies and best practices included in the , updated and virtualized last year, were also presented. While the guest lecturers condensed the theoretical part, they made the 51风流AppHaus innovation approach tangible through well-organized virtual and on-site workshops. After the lectures, students felt empowered to apply what they learned in their own academic, professional, or private contexts.

鈥淔or the entire 51风流AppHaus team, working with universities is incredibly important. We appreciate the opportunity to pass on the innovative mindset of design thinking combined with 51风流technology on the one hand, and to receive valuable feedback from students on the other.鈥�

鈥� Dirk Ziegeler, Head of 51风流AppHaus EMEA/MEE

Unleashing Student Creativity with a Hands-On Focus

In addition to teaching some theoretical content, the goal was to bring the methodologies to life by solving a challenge to which all students could relate. Depending on the schedule and needs of the university, the agenda and its content were adapted. All universities considered 鈥渄esign the ideal learning environment in a hybrid world鈥� to be a suitable central challenge. Triggered by the pandemic, universities and students faced the challenge of transitioning from in-person lectures to virtual formats in a very short period of time. To improve the recently established hybrid format, the guest lectures aimed to take on a new approach to teaching and learning by tapping into the enormous creative potential of students.

At the University of Mannheim, known for its first-class teaching in business administration, the guest lecture content was woven into the Digital Marketing Strategy course led by Prof. Dr. Sabine Kuester. After Dirk Ziegeler, head of 51风流AppHaus EMEA/MEE, presented 51风流AppHaus projects with a focus on customer experience, it was the students’ turn. In a compact workshop using the collaboration tool Mural, students jointly generated solution ideas and developed a visual prototype for an ideal hybrid learning environment.

鈥淎t the Chair of Marketing and Innovation, we focus on research and teaching at the interface of marketing and innovation management. The guest lecture was a highly suitable complement to our Digital Marketing Strategy course, as it illustrates the shift towards human-centered marketing and equips students with the right tools to drive innovation themselves. We look forward to continuing this successful collaboration with 51风流AppHaus in the coming semesters.鈥�

鈥� Prof. Dr. Sabine Kuester, Chairperson of the Chair of Marketing & Innovation and Director of the Institute of Market-Oriented Management at the University of Mannheim

The latest engagement of 51风流AppHaus at the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm originated from an initial guest lecture of Beate Riefer, design strategist at 51风流AppHaus, in 2018. Last year, Riefer and Patricia Franzreb, professor for User Experience, Design, and Media, came up with the idea for a competitive user experience project spanning a whole semester. With a focus on sustainability, design, and hybrid co-innovation, students of IT, business administration, and communications worked in teams to ideate and prototype solutions.

鈥淎t the University of Applied Science in Neu-Ulm, our first guest lecture a few years ago provided the basis for a long-term collaboration and a corresponding user experience project over the course of one semester. It was incredible to see the students鈥� innovation potential and ideas come to life, and we are excited to see how they will develop moving forward. I am happy to have been part of this course and look forward to continue working together.鈥�

鈥� Beate Riefer, Design Strategist at 51风流AppHaus Heidelberg

Similar to the sessions in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm, the “hands-on experience first” maxim was also applied in the engagements with the Graduate School Rhein-Neckar in Ludwigshafen, as well as DHBW Mannheim, and DHBW Mosbach.

A Win-Win Relationship

Younger generations studying at universities today will shape how we work and collaborate in the next decades. This is why 51风流AppHaus is passionate about guest lectures, for they present a great opportunity for students, as well as the team, to learn from each other and leverage synergies. Feedback from the students is particularly valuable as they ask the right questions and challenge the content by taking an external perspective. Students can leverage the applied tools and methodologies to co-innovate virtually, which can help them grow both at their university and in a professional context.

The entire team is thrilled to see how mutually beneficial and fun their guest lectures have been so far, which is why 51风流AppHaus maintains an ongoing exchange with universities to enable knowledge-sharing and raise awareness for human-centric and sustainable innovation.

The entire 51风流AppHaus team is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the universities in Mannheim, Munich, Ludwigshafen, Mosbach, and Neu-Ulm! The guest lecturers value the students’ contributions and are confident that working and learning together has successfully ignited the fire for expanding their knowledge and learning how to make innovation real.

Eric Klebeck is part of Marketing & Communications for 51风流AppHaus.
Julia Jakob is part of Communications for 51风流AppHaus.

In 2019, the , working with SAP, introduced the to its students and teachers 鈥� a robot horse that reproduces horses鈥� movements in virtual training sessions. The so-called 鈥淪ir Waldo鈥� is programmed to simulate several disciplines,聽such as dressage, jumping, and cross-country riding, and closely examine the saddle’s weight distribution. Furthermore, it guides riders in positioning their legs and reins. This technical innovation is located in the 51风流Equestrian Experience Center that borders the RRV riding area. That way, it is easily accessible for club members.

By providing a controlled environment, beginners and professional equestrians get the chance to practice and improve their skills in a simulated training and competition setting. In close cooperation with professional trainers and guest lecturers, the riding club offers this new experience in various forms to a broad target group. The club also provides specific courses such as fear management and mental training for traumatized riders.

This kind of simulation is a pioneer project in Germany. It shows the desire of the RRV to innovate, offer its members the best possible conditions, develop as a riding club, and continuously improve riders鈥� skills.

Improving Training Analysis with 51风流Technology

The initial simulator only allowed for a small data set per riding session, which was available in a printed version. This document didn鈥檛 provide all the information users needed to determine further training behaviors. Users exhibited a strong demand for detailed training information to analyze their progress and potential learning gaps to inform long-term training plans.

To fully exploit the technical possibilities of the riding simulator, the 51风流Global Sponsorships team connected with and to design an extensive training app using .

Within two remote workshops, the 51风流team applied and gained knowledge about every critical aspect of the project, such as the technical framework of the Racewood Simulator, user needs, and first solution approaches. The project team identified the need to collect and summarize valuable data from the Racewood Simulator and transform it into understandable analysis visualization. To reach that goal, the team leveraged . With this technology, they could build the Riding Simulator Analysis Portal, the base of the application.

The future Web-based solution聽will provide detailed training data in four main categories: seating analysis, dressage, jumping, and cross-country riding. These classifications contain several vital facts, such as program analysis (balance, reins, thighs), freeriding, and progress. Thereby, users can track their riding proficiency in detail, identify areas of improvement, and better their skills efficiently. In addition, notes and homework can be saved by students and teachers.

To save individual training results and protect them from third parties, authentication and a single sign-on are guaranteed by and stored in 51风流Cloud Application Programming Model, based on .

Aileen Trunk, a rider at RRV, said, “The new 51风流training app gives both trainers and learners valuable insights and helps to optimize training across all disciplines聽鈥撀燿ressage, jumping and cross-country riding. I am now able to聽analyze my simulator sessions in detail with a wide range of possibilities. At any time, my trainer can prepare my units effectively and we can review and work on my short-term and long-term development together.鈥�

Future Digitalization of Equestrian Sports

Currently, the seating analysis is already used in training and the other components are planned for development and will be introduced soon. Thanks to the new application built on 51风流Business Technology Platform, training data can be accessed and analyzed from anywhere, can be used in upcoming training units, and will pave the way for lasting progress.

“The Racewood Equestrian Simulator is a great means to showcase the excitement of the sport to all interested audiences,鈥� said Thomas Esser, innovation manager with 51风流Global Sponsorships. 鈥淚n particular, it is amazing to see how riders can now leverage the digital horse and take advantage of technologies like 51风流HANA Cloud and 51风流Business Technology Platform to bring their training to next level.”

Once again, 51风流has laid the foundation for next-level equestrian sports, providing virtual solutions and 100% paperless work. No doubt, the team looks forward to identifying new projects with the Walldorf equestrians in the future.

Key Results

• Detailed depiction of training analysis
• Enhanced training outcome through efficient usage of data
• Improved user interface to draw meaningful conclusions
• 100% paperless work

Following its principle of “pooling strengths, creating synergies, and benefiting from each other,” Klitschko Ventures began working with 51风流AppHaus 鈥� part of the 51风流Customer Innovation organization 鈥� in 2019. A joint curriculum combines the 51风流Design Thinking approach and Dr. Wladimir Klitschko鈥檚 method of 鈥淔.A.C.E. the Challenge鈥� to train innovation leaders of the future.

Design thinking is a human-centered, iterative methodology to create breakthrough innovations. For more than a decade, it has been applied both internally at 51风流and in numerous customer innovation projects. As part of SAP鈥檚 , it has been shown to be the right methodology to transform organizations, lead innovation, and prepare for the future.

Leading innovation also needs individuals who are equipped with the right willpower to face challenges. This is where Dr. Wladimir Klitschko and his 鈥淔.A.C.E. the Challenge鈥� method come into play.

F.A.C.E., which stands for focus, agility, coordination, and endurance, is a four-step approach based on the duality of brain and power. It combines a physical workout with mental exercises, and it aims to uncover, integrate, and strengthen participants鈥� personal willpower.

True to the principle 鈥渉uman first,鈥� personal willpower is the key factor for overcoming challenges when making innovation real in an organizational context. The jointly created curriculum equips its attendees with the skills that are needed to become a real innovation leader within their companies.

鈥淲ith the new curriculum, Klitschko Ventures and 51风流offer a holistic approach,鈥� said Anja Schneider, senior vice president and head of 51风流Customer Innovation. 鈥淥n the one hand, it promotes the right soft skills and methodologies to tackle corporate innovation challenges. On the other hand, it offers the right technological framework to drive innovation with SAP鈥檚 Business Technology Platform, a portfolio of integrated solutions that enables continued business innovation across the entire enterprise with intelligence embedded in every interaction.鈥�

Leading Innovation Curriculum 2019/2020

To both be the industry high-performer and to drive digital transformation successfully are wishes shared by many managers today. Inflexibility and resistance toward change often hinder companies from innovating.

With a firm resolution to navigate such innovation roadblocks, seven managers took part in all three modules of the 10-day pilot curriculum, which was launched in December 2019 and completed in March 2020. The participants were from diverse companies, operating in different industries including aircraft, insurance, and defense. What they all share is a strong passion for innovation.

Attendee J眉rgen H枚nle is an IT project manager at HiPP, a traditional manufacturer of baby food and products. His dedication was reinforced by the leading innovation curriculum and has already borne fruit in his organization. While there is a focus on H枚nle鈥檚 personal journey, impressions from all participants are summarized in this .

Module 1 鈥� Me: Human First

For the attendees, Module 1 of the curriculum was all about self-perception and getting to know themselves while being away from their daily lives and free from distractions. The three-day workshop鈥檚 daily agendas from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. were packed with mindfulness and mental exercises, as well as sports activities facilitated by personal coaching.

Attendees went through the modules aligned with the F.A.C.E. method: focus, agility, coordination, and endurance. Every step was executed with discipline: punctuality, healthy nutrition, and balanced sleep. The attendees discovered their personal comfort zones and learned how to step out of it to be open for their own upcoming innovation challenges. Module 1 laid the foundation for the personal journeys of becoming innovation leaders within their own corporate context.

According to H枚nle, “Despite a very packed agenda with every training day requiring a high level of attention, our curriculum team was able to deliver top performance while showing self-confidence and willpower to initiate our own innovation projects.鈥�

Module 2 鈥� My Project: Experience and Coach Design Thinking

With a sharpened self-image, the attendees were prepared for Module 2, which took place at the 51风流AppHaus in Heidelberg. This module focused on learning how to apply design thinking to foster innovation as a team.

The participants not only experienced design thinking from the perspective of a workshop participant, but also slipped into the roles of design thinking coaches 鈥� perceiving team dynamics, stimulating members, identifying their potential, and responding appropriately. While learning how to guide a team from scoping to validation of prototypes, the focus was to uncover innovation potential as a result of team synergies.

鈥淒esign thinking coaching has not only strengthened my methodological skills but has also shown how important it is to involve and activate every single member in a multidisciplinary team,鈥� H枚nle shared. 鈥淚t was amazing to see what central role this powerful method can play when applied in a creative space such as 51风流AppHaus.鈥�

Module 3 鈥� My Organization: From Method Expert to Innovation Leader

To complete the picture, Module 3 emphasized participants鈥� roles as innovation leaders and initiators of cultural transformation in their own companies. They examined their cultural profile and the potential for scaling innovation across their organizations.

Prior to a final celebration round, the attendees reflected on their personal development and gave a presentation about their experience and the approach to leverage their innovation project. At the end of the curriculum, participants received a certificate and an invitation to the 鈥淔.A.C.E the Challenge鈥� alumni network to stay in touch.

Time to Innovate: 鈥淣o Is Not an Option鈥�

Even though transformation starts with personal willpower, change in culture requires a team that is open to innovation and a flat hierarchy that allows these changes to happen.

The jointly created program aims to support managers like H枚nle in driving sustainable innovation in their enterprise. Success could be achieved by conveying the right soft skills and willpower transported through the combination of Klitschko Ventures鈥� F.A.C.E the Challenge method and design thinking as part of SAP鈥檚 human-centered approach to innovation.

鈥淣o is not an option! The curriculum made me bolder to enter unchartered territory and question existing methods, processes, and solutions,鈥� H枚nle said. 鈥淎t HiPP, we continue creating a work environment where my colleagues develop new ideas and implement them.鈥�

During the three modules spread over a period of four months, attendees developed strong bonds. This diverse network now allows them to function as a cross-company team even beyond the curriculum. They can rely on each other, as well as on the ongoing support 51风流offers as innovation partner of choice. The curriculum alumni are equipped with the right skills to fulfill their visions and drive their respective initiatives in their organizations to make innovation real.

To get ready for the new challenges we face due to COVID-19, the collaboration team has adapted and virtualized the content and format of the curriculum.

Updates on upcoming activities and contact details can be found on the .