Creativity, Perseverance, and Teamwork
Software at Dematic is a bit different than at most technology companies. We work in the digital world, but our solutions live in the physical world. Our customers depend on us to keep their operations moving — our software powers their commerce. So when the coronavirus pandemic hit, we couldn’t just wait it out, we had to figure out how to keep our customers moving, even at a distance.
This pandemic has tested us like never before. And we responded as we always do — with creativity, perseverance, and teamwork. I couldn’t be prouder of how our teams have responded. Teamwork has always been a strength at Dematic — working across functions and across regions. But this has never been truer than in the past six months. Here’s how we have adapted and thrived:
- As project sites experienced temporary closures, we found ways to continue making progress while working from home and minimizing travel. We honed our skills at collaborating virtually by putting a focus on teamwork and ruthlessly prioritizing what matters. And as a result, we’ve become more connected as a team even though we’re physically apart
- We’ve continued to collaborate with our customers from requirements and design workshops through to testing. We’ve built virtual environments to help us through every step. We’ve even run a full virtual acceptance test using emulation software.
- In spite of quarantine policies affecting staffing plans, we’ve stayed flexible, allowing employees to work from home and finding safe ways for others to work on site (as they felt comfortable). Our employees in turn adjusted their plans and stepped up to help their colleagues. For example, in March when Dematic acquired UK-based software company DAI, we reassigned local software engineers to support commissioning and testing for each other’s installations.
- As some project sites have re-opened, we found ways to complete commissioning activities with support from remote experts. We now make more rigorous use of emulation tools, prepare more thoroughly before going to site, and use wearable camera technologies for remote experts to assist their colleagues on site.
Focused and Refocused on OneDematic
Paul Romer once said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” We certainly haven’t wasted this one. We’ve continued to support our employees, support our customers, and deliver on our customer commitments. And along the way we’re learning new ways of working and becoming stronger: spending more time on upfront planning, making better use of automation and emulation tools, reducing unnecessary travel, and redirecting that time to productive engineering.
Two years ago when Hasan Dandashly joined Dematic as President and CEO, he refocused the company’s attention on working as OneDematic. This has certainly paid off as we continue to support our customers through the accelerating transformation in the world of commerce.
Related Posts:
