Innovation mit Kundenfokus in der Tradition Emil von ... - Ebn24

can rightly speak of competitive advantages of a
business location in the Marburg region.
While the various Dade Behring locations do not
compete directly with each other (they actually tend
more to support each other), we still have to hold
our own against competitors all over the world and
within our own group structure. So it is hardly surprising
that we may have to cope with a whole
series of clichés about the Germans in general and
Germany as a business location in particular. Even
in this context it is important that facts and “soft
factors” together produce an overall picture.
Throughout the world Dade Behring’s customers
have typically developed a high level of trust based
on excellent service, high quality and innovations
tailored to customer requirements. Dade
Behring Marburg has made a considerable contribution
to this perception. The hundred-year-old
company history alone is itself an important base
for the excellent reputation of the whole group. As
far as the facts are concerned, it goes without saying
that we use financial figures and other indica-
Laboratory Diagnostics
tors, such as criteria for customer satisfaction or innovative
strength to bolster this reputation.
Dade Behring Marburg continues the innovative
tradition of Emil von Behring. That does not mean
that we are concerned with the fundamentals of
immunology or vaccines like our founder. Emil
von Behring deliberately dedicated himself to the
major diseases of his era for which – in the case of
diphtheria, for example – no drugs had been invented,
and then worked on solutions such as passive
immune therapy. For us, innovation as defined
by Emil von Behring means first of all understanding
our customers’ problems and then
finding solutions – not the other way round. These
customer-oriented innovations are not only limited
to the development of new products but extend
increasingly beyond the classical area of research
and development. Here are just a few examples of
product innovations from the recent past, certainly
one of the traditional strengths of the location:
• Cystatin C – a liver function test which in 2002
was the only diagnostic product to receive the
5
award “medical breakthrough” from the American
health regulatory authority FDA;
• BN ProSpec – the Dade Behring project team
won the European Poject Management Prize in
2003 with this automatic analyser, used to determine
plasma proteins;
• hsCRP – now recognised by the FDA as an independent
risk-marker for heart attacks.
We ourselves have to act responsibly to organise
our business, but we are able to do so under
favourable conditions at this location that suit our
business. Holding our own with the international
competition – and all the more expanding our international
activities – requires a rethinking in all
areas, sometimes a radical rethinking. The advantage
of a location with a 100-year tradition is a basic
understanding on the part of the employees
that only flexibility and the efficient fulfilment of
demands from throughout the world – whether by
the Japanese health authorities for documentation
or by American colleagues for contact times in
Marburg – can ensure the future of this location.
This fundamental willingness to change, to acquaint
oneself with new things from other cultures
and to integrate them into innovative solutions
is a location advantage that is certainly reinforced
by Marburg’s climate as a university town.
On the other hand the employees’ loyalty is remarkable,
and is due in no small part to the location
itself. Employee loyalty and the preparedness
to continually retrain are fundamental requirements
for success and this is especially true for our
company. We need the know-how and the well-developed
experience of our employees because our
products are developed on a very interdisciplinary
basis, which is the only way we can present ourselves
in the market as competent and reliable
partners for our customers.
Paired with the many beautiful aspects of the Marburg
region, which make a visit to Dade Behring
Marburg an additional experience, and the many
years of fundamentally positive attitude to biotechnology-based
business activities in the minds
of the Marburg population, we at Dade Behring
can testify to the fact that the advantages of the
Marburg business region more than compensate
for its alleged disadvantages. ■
Typisch für Marburg ist der Umgang mit
anspruchsvollen Technologien (wie Biochemie,
Immunologie, Biotechnologie,Informationstechnologie
etc.) zur Produktentwicklung und
Produktion sowie im Kundenservice.
Typical of Marburg is how sophisticated
technologies (such as biochemistry,
immunology, biotechnology, Information
technology etc.) are handled, for product
development and production and
in customer service.