Challenge
Transforming a rough product idea into a viable business that enables customers to make more data-driven and faster decisions in their factory’s day-to-day operations.
Our customer Netzsch, a leading manufacturer of industrial mills and pumps, and their innovation unit NEDGEX developed a small prototype of an intuitive machine monitoring software for their own milling machines before approaching wattx. The idea behind Notify was to, firstly, notify operators and technicians about machine issues ad-hoc so that they could respond faster, and, secondly, to create transparency of the production site in order to extract business-critical insights from machine data.
After receiving overall very positive feedback from their customers on the concept of the machine monitoring software, Netzsch approached wattx to bring the vision of this product to life.
Solution
A cross-functional team of wattx experts, working closely together with Netzsch’s internal development as well as sales and marketing teams.
In order to transform the initially rough idea concept into a viable business that delivers a tangible value to Netzsch’s customers while also generating a significant impact on Netzsch’s business, we needed to think holistically. We first formed an internal cross-functional team consisting of product, UX, and industry experts, as well as engineers and business professionals. In close collaboration with the Netzsch development, sales and marketing team, we sketched out a development plan for an effective MVP and recruited first pilot customers. While our team of engineers and designers was building the actual feature set, the venture development team was working closely with industry experts and members of different departments inside Netzsch to define a fitting business model and go-to-market strategy (including initial sales and marketing materials). Lastly, we analyzed organizational and structural challenges that Netzsch would need to overcome before entering the market.
Outcome
IIoT Remote Monitoring MVP
Our step-by-step approach yielded a well-functioning and reliable MVP that incorporated low, one-time entry-costs and could provide immediate value for Netzsch's customers. Along our go-to-market strategy, Notify was successfully launched in two of Netzsch’s key global markets.
It was a real pleasure working with wattx. The team was very professional and executed the whole project on time and on budget, delivering a fully functioning MVP and an accompanying business strategy.
Christian Baier
Managing Director NEDGEX & Head of Innovation
NETZSCH GmbH & Co. KG
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Idea validation is a crucial part of innovation. It assesses the potential of new products based on facts rather than on gut feelings.
Managing Director @ wattx