Venture Clienting in Practice: A Study of BSH Startup Kitchen
In Brief: Since starting its operations, more than 100 projects have been supported with an overall adoption rate of ~40% and a multi-million business impact created. BSH Startup Kitchen covers challenges across the full value chain of BSH Home Appliances Group. The three Key pillars of BSH’s success are a clear understanding of the formal and informal rules of the organization and the setup up tailor-made processes, internal network and external ecosystem, and the Focus on Impact through transparency.
Building the Leading Venture Clienting Unit in the Home Appliance Industry
In an era of ever-evolving consumer demands and technological advancements, no single company can monopolize innovation. This is particularly true for industries which are very close to consumers’ every day’s needs – like the home appliance industry. To tap into the pool of external talent, fresh ideas, and emerging technologies from startups and partners, BSH Home Appliances Group – one of the leading manufacturer of home appliances – established a dedicated Venture Clienting unit under the name of BSH Startup Kitchen.BSH Startup Kitchen has been designed to embrace innovation through strategic partnerships with startups with a dedicated Venture Clienting approach.
The unit fosters collaboration, reduces R&D costs, and speeds up product development cycles. Moreover, it ensures that BSH stays competitive by continuously adapting to changing market dynamics and consumer preferences. In essence, BSH Startup Kitchen is one of the key pillar to drive open innovation as the lifeblood that keeps the whole firm dynamic, relevant, and forward-thinking.
Being established in 2018, BSH Startup Kitchen is currently in its fifth year of operations – which has been a journey of constant scaling and optimization. The goal for BSH Startup Kitchen has always been to make startup partnering as easy and smooth as possible – both for startups and BSH business teams. In its core, BSH Startup Kitchen defines itself as a service unit within the organization that supports innovation efforts at quality and speed.
The Key Pillars of BSH Startup Kitchen’s Operations
While the success of the Venture Clienting model is a result of many dimensions and efforts on all ends, the following three aspects are crucial pillars for success:
1. Organization and Process
The key principle for a Venture Clienting unit to perform is the alignment and the coordination within the larger corporate framework. The unit is the key entry gate for startups when they want to engage with a corporate. This can be an overwhelming experience especially for early stage startups. Consequently, it is key to have a clear understanding of the corporate organization and its formal and informal rules. Hence, the unit needs to setup tailor-made processes that ensure a smooth onboarding and engagement between the corporate and the startups. The development of this “process suite” was one of the key foundation for the successful scaling of the overall operations.
2. Network and Ecosystem
A Venture Clienting unit can only perform if it manages to activate and leverage both an internal and external network and ecosystem. In the internal network it is key to activate key decision-makers both on top management and operational level. This ensures access to the most pressing challenges of the organization that can then be supported and processed. The role of the external ecosystem is to provide access and insights to trending topics. If the external ecosystem is not activated there is a significant risk that the company takes a pure focus on its internal challenges, but might be missing out on the latest or upcoming solutions that can boost value “outside-the-box”.
3. Focus on Impact
The Venture Client approach has the beauty that – if done right – it is one of the most effective and attractive corporate venturing vehicles: With low and limited financial expenditure the model opens up a strong growth and value potential. From its very beginning BSH Startup Kitchen put a lot effort on TRANSPARENCY of its operational progress and impact. Following the principle you can only manage what you measure it is in every unit’s own interest to keep track of its progress and performance and share openly with its key stakeholders.
2 Examples of BSH Startup Kitchen's Projects
To give a flavor of some of the topics BSH Startup Kitchen has been cooking over the past years, let’s discuss two examples.
Example 1 - Inspekto: Improving quality with Innovation
Quality assurance and quality control are pivotal processes in manufacturing, saving time, reducing costs, and ensuring product quality. These processes prevent costly errors, even in the early stages of production, where mistakes can lead to rework and excess inventory. Managing numerous deliverables in large-scale manufacturing presents challenges, requiring frequent inspections to align batch sizes and reduce waste. However, human errors in these inspections can result in significant scrap-related costs.
Together with BSH manufacturing experts the BSH Startup Kitchen team sought innovative solutions to expedite the detection of aesthetic defects in components. Their search led them to Inspekto, a machine vision system known for automating quality control via a self-learning, camera technology. BSH's Startup Kitchen aided in testing and integrating Inspekto into one of BSH factories.
The innovation process involved identifying success indicators, assessing business relevance, and evaluating technical feasibility and cost reduction. Inspekto's advantages included autonomy, "AI at edge" cameras for security and privacy, and minimal sample requirements.
Implementing Inspekto led to substantial material waste reduction, exceeding expectations in multiple use cases. Its adaptability across BSH plants and use cases sparked business interest, with the system deployed in over seven locations, improving quality and reducing waste
Example 2 - Miro: next level collaboration
In 2020, the world transitioned to digital collaboration as physical meetings became impossible. Co-workers turned to online tools and virtual spaces, but achieving the same engagement and creativity in digital collaboration remained a challenge.
In collaboration with key users from the Consumer Experience department, BSH Startup Kitchen launched the search for a real-time collaboration tool. The team initiated a pilot project with Miro,
known for its user-friendly interface. Over a 2 months pilot period, agile planning sessions and brainstorming meetings were conducted on Miro to gauge its effectiveness.
Results were impressive. Over 80% of users reported increased productivity, reduced project completion times, and high recommendations for Miro adoption. The tool saved an average of 4 hours per week for regular meeting participants and eliminated the need for frequent travel. By 2023, Miro had become a core tool for digital collaboration at BSH, with every second person using it daily.
About the Author:
Lars Rössler, Head of Corporate Venturing @ BSH Startup Kitchen
Expert in the realms of Corporate Venturing and Corporate Strategy with over 14 years of expertise. Proven track record in creating value and optimizing returns through adept management of corporate venturing and strategic endeavors, underpinned by delivering tangible business imapct.
