German Mittelstand Adopts AI With Agility

German mid-sized companies, known as the Mittelstand, are surprisingly agile and pragmatic in their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), according to Dr. Marius Biederbach, Head of Digital Transformation and AI Lead at the Stern-Wywiol Group.

Biederbach emphasizes that these companies are often efficient and have short decision-making paths, which facilitates rapid pilots and experiments with AI. "The biggest hurdle is not the mindset – it's the data," Biederbach states. He identifies three key challenges: data quality and availability, clear structures and responsibilities for AI implementation, and IT security and data protection, especially when handling sensitive production and recipe data.

The Stern-Wywiol Group, a global producer of food and feed ingredients, is utilizing AI in several applications. Examples include individual internal chatbots developed by employees to support processes like preparing data for SAP Signavio. Another significant application is the scalable "Product Finder" tool, which consolidates product data, recipes, and research findings.

According to Biederbach, the most important measurable factor for AI's ROI is time savings, which can be translated into costs and strategic benefits. Quality improvements, such as knowledge preservation or standardized product decisions, are also crucial indicators of AI's value.

Biederbach advises companies to start, learn, and develop structures concurrently, rather than waiting for perfect data or strategy. He warns against waiting too long, as technology evolves faster than any strategy can map. Collaboration between IT and business units is key to ensuring AI delivers tangible impact.