Gamification solutions sought by German logistics company

Short summary A German logistics company seeks to implement gamification elements in processes for the improvement of employees’ motivation and overall results. Sought are start-ups or young SMEs from the IT sector with an expertise in gamification solutions for technical cooperation agreements. Test runs and pilot application are possible on-site. Early stage seed capital is available. This request is part of an open innovation challenge in the context of the European Logistics Innovation Day (Dec 8 & 9). Full description

While gamification has become more and more popular, for example in the field of education, training or fitness, its usage in logistics is still very limited. Reasons for this might be a focus on points and badges and not on long-term motivation, the lack of of game progress or changes in the game, a general reservation about video games, complex implementation or a focus only on learning and education. All in all, a lot of pressure is on logistics companies to transform IT processes, but gamification is still only considered as “nice to have”. However, loyal and motivated employees are becoming increasingly important in the logistics industry. Monetary incentives can only be set to a limited extent. Gamification could therefore be a very important lever for logistics companies to improve motivation and overall working results. Therefore, a German company that provides logistics services is looking for start-ups or young SMEs with expertise in gamification to jointly develop or customize and implement respective solutions. Eventually, these could also be delivered to the company’s customers The German company was founded 90 years ago with a focus on road freight, warehousing and Value Added Services (VAS). The company is family-owned with about 300 trained and competent employees. The envisaged solution could comprise, in the first step, the creation of a gamification app as a stand-alone solution to avoid complex integration work. It should be a one-size fits all approach focusing on standard logistics processes, such as storage or packaging. The app should address as many customer needs as possible with only just one solution. The app should come with frequent updates to keep user engagement high and to be able to test at an early stage, which games turn out to be effective and which do not work in reality. In a second step, customers of the German company could be offered individually designed solutions that meet individual targets and fit into individual processes. This would mean developing solutions along the respective customers’ processes and harmonize them with the rules and challenges of the game.. Furthermore, the integration of gamification approaches into the customer’s system is imaginable (enterprise resource planning system (ERP), warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS)). The German company seeks cooperation with Start-ups or SMEs from the IT sector with an expertise in the creation and implementation of gamification solutions. Envisaged cooperation is a technical cooperation agreement. Role of the cooperation partner would be to develop the solution in cooperation with the German company and implement it on-site. Also early stage seed capital is available to finance the development and test runs. The German company will supply the necessary logistics knowhow and expertise. IMPORTANT: This technology request refers to an innovation challenge in the context of the European Logistics Innovation Day, an Enterprise Europe Network online event which will be held on December 8th and 9th. Interested start-ups and SMEs are invited to take part in the virtual event in order to get in direct contact with the German company. Participation however is not mandatory. All submissions will get feedback by the company.

Technical Specification or Expertise Sought The cooperation partner should have expertise in the development and implementation of gamification elements into business processes. Experience in the logistics sector would be a plus, but not a prerequisite.
Contact / source: NEXT EEN Widgets (europa.eu)