School presents the ‘best factory’ in Europe and selects European winner of the Industrial Excellence Award at international conference in Germany
INSEAD, the top global business school, has introduced the Industrial Excellence Award at the recent two-day WirtschaftsWoche Conference in Leipzig, Germany. The annual summit, which marked its 10th year and took place Sept. 23-24, recognises superior European production management. The event is marquee collaboration among INSEAD, WirtschaftsWoche, L’Usine Nouvelle and WHU – the Otto Beisheim School of Management. This award has been bestowed each year since 1995. This year, it showcased the 2013 national champions, who were formally announced at the September conference. Winners included Orkli, a Spanish manufacturer of heating components; Stiplastics, a French manufacturer of plastic products and devises in the health sector; Itron, a French global supplier of utility meters and intelligent water management solutions; and BMW, the German automaker whose ultramodern Leipzig plant is producing cars using the latest techniques, tools and materials.
BMW Leipzig was named the overall European Winner of the 2013 Industrial Excellence Award. The German factory, designed by famous London architect Zaha Hadid, was selected for being one of the world’s most modern car producing plants. The new electric car ‘i3’ is produced at the facility. “This year’s winners illustrate the importance of entrepreneurial thinking to strengthen innovation in European manufacturing,” said Professor Chick, who is one of INSEAD’s “European Competitiveness Champions” and a researcher in the school’s European Competitiveness Initiative, which provides unique insights about the opportunities and challenges facing companies operating in Europe. “The fresh ideas and excellence in execution displayed by the companies earning distinction at the WirtschaftsWoche Conference for the Industrial Excellence Award are the foundation for increasing Europe’s competitiveness in the face of increased global pressure. The importance of such strategic innovation can be seen in the competitive positions of winners in a variety of sectors.”
The event offered first-hand insight into the best practices and strategies of Europe’s top factories. Conference participants—who included executives, board members, plant managers and academics, focused on innovation management, production and logistics in manufacturing—were treated to a tour of the BMW factory and benefited from several presentations from top scholars and practitioners, including INSEAD experts. In addition to being a sponsor of the conference, INSEAD faculty members shared their insights about technology innovation. Professor Stephen Chick, the Novartis Chaired Professor of Healthcare Management and Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD, presented a keynote discussing the challenges and opportunities for revitalising entrepreneurship in Europe. Other presentations focused on developing new products, services and techniques; improving competitiveness through clearly defined strategies; and devising enterprise-wide engagement throughout the supply chain.
