BMW Group has been presented with Germany's prestigious Best Innovator Award 2004, conferred by the publication Wirtschaftswoche and management consultants A. T. Kearney.
The Group, which owns the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands of premium cars, was selected by a high-calibre panel of judges in recognition of its innovative products such as Active Steering. The judges also cited BMW Group's commitment to "making professional innovative processes a key strategic and cultural constituent in every area of the company."
Reacting to the award, Wolfgang Clement, Germany's Economy and Labour Minister and patron of the award said: "The BMW Group, as one of the world's most innovative companies, shows that Germany still leads the global field as a centre of innovation."
The cornerstone of BMW Group's success is its strategic focus on developing customer-friendly innovations, coupled with an approach to innovations management that is unique within the motor industry.
"Leading innovations are the best form of copy protection for our products and a guarantor of the global success of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce. Innovations 'made in Germany' are still setting standards," said Professor Burkhard G?schel, BMW Board Member responsible for Development and Purchasing.
Winning the Best Innovator Award is no flash in the pan. In 2002, the BMW Group was the first European company to receive the Outstanding Corporate Innovator (OCI) Award in the USA. This innovations management "Oscar" honours companies that have distinguished themselves by "outstanding innovative strength and growth through successful products". For its Active Steering system, the BMW Group was also awarded the Innovationspreis der deutschen Wirtschaft (Innovation Award of German Industry) in early 2004.
The BMW Group is the only automotive company in the world whose innovations management covers all the areas of development. The advantage is that new ideas can be fed into the development process quickly and directly.
Innovative processes define the working method not only of the development division but of every other department as well: all employees and managerial staff promote innovative thinking on a company-wide basis as a basic mindset. The living fascination of innovation makes the BMW Group one of the most popular employers in the world.
-Ends-Zahabia Motiwala
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© Press Release 2004
