”Like the Phoenix rising from its ashes“: Uwe Bauch is the "maker of the week" of Chemnitz
The city of Chemnitz invited for their campaign "Die Stadt bin ich" and voted Uwe Bauch, the chairman of the board of community4you AG, as "maker of the week".
Since 2001, you have been active in the IT industry and are playing in a league with IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Software AG and SAP. The customer file for your comm.fleet product line for fleet management and leasing management comprises, apart from 21 DAX companies, 188 clients in 31 countries. And yet most people know your company in Chemnitz only from its sponsoring of the new stadium of the Chemnitzer FC. "We have risen like a phoenix from its ashes," says Uwe Bauch, chairman of the board of community4you AG. He is the face of the company and our maker of the week.
With software companies it is always difficult to explain what they are doing. Who uses your software and how?
Uwe Bauch: community4you has started its own technological platform in 2001. The special feature: Six companies worldwide are developing on their own technological platform. Everyone knows it: IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Software AG, SAP and we. That is, a customer buys 100 percent software from the respective service provider
On the basis of this technology platform, our trade fair management system was developed in 2001. Today, we can say that all major trade fairs are using one of our core products worldwide. Just a few examples: CEBIT, IAA, Frankfurt Book Fair, Shanghaiworld, Paperworld in the USA, Asiaworld in Beijing and Russianworld in Russia.
Our second product is dedicated to fleet management and leasing. We started the development in 2005/2006. The target group is any major company, any administration or public entity that has a certain number of vehicles. You need an overview of your fleet for cost, consumption, lease rates, etc. We worked on this for almost 18 man-years, and in 2010 we launched the beta version. Due to the revolutionary impact within a very short time, we established ourselves two years later as market leader. We now manage more than half a million vehicles worldwide with our software.
On the basis of this technology platform, our trade fair management system was developed in 2001. Today, we can say that all major trade fairs are using one of our core products worldwide. Just a few examples: CEBIT, IAA, Frankfurt Book Fair, Shanghaiworld, Paperworld in the USA, Asiaworld in Beijing and Russianworld in Russia.
Our second product is dedicated to fleet management and leasing. We started the development in 2005/2006. The target group is any major company, any administration or public entity that has a certain number of vehicles. You need an overview of your fleet for cost, consumption, lease rates, etc. We worked on this for almost 18 man-years, and in 2010 we launched the beta version. Due to the revolutionary impact within a very short time, we established ourselves two years later as market leader. We now manage more than half a million vehicles worldwide with our software.
”Like the Phoenix rising from its ashes“: Uwe Bauch is the "maker of the week" of Chemnitz | Photo: Stadt Chemnitz – Hanus
You once said that you have a technological advantage of two years against the competitors. Is this so because you have been in business since 2001?
The reason is our technical know-how. There is no fleet management software that is so modern and that can be structured as easily as ours.
The customer is able to operate the system module by module. It does not require any support for simple processes (simplified customising), and he is able to carry out configurations, add and rename fields and columns, without any knowledge of software or IT.
community4you AG is the only software producer in Europe who serves different segments due to the breadth of its software products. These include, for example, garage management, vehicle fleet management, warehouse and component management, procurement processes, tyre management, administration of electric vehicles, as well as the entire mobile applications around a vehicle. Together we are already developing various components on the subject of self-propelled vehicles.
The customer is able to operate the system module by module. It does not require any support for simple processes (simplified customising), and he is able to carry out configurations, add and rename fields and columns, without any knowledge of software or IT.
community4you AG is the only software producer in Europe who serves different segments due to the breadth of its software products. These include, for example, garage management, vehicle fleet management, warehouse and component management, procurement processes, tyre management, administration of electric vehicles, as well as the entire mobile applications around a vehicle. Together we are already developing various components on the subject of self-propelled vehicles.
How do you come up with such a business idea?
I learned car mechanic. The affinity with cars has always been there. After having expanded in the market for trade fair management software, we wanted to develop further. We then considered what niche we could occupy, in which we also have a certain competence, which brings added value for us. The decision was then made to invest in the fleet management and leasing business.
A little further back: from car locksmith to an IT company it is a big step. Does one wake up one morning and have such a sudden inspiration?
No. We, my friend Janko Nebel and I, founded the company in 2001. Originally he had this idea on which he has been working since 1997. Then I supported him financially.
An impressive number: 21 of 30 DAX companies (such as Siemens, Hermes, RWE) are among the customer base. How do you to perform such acquisitions?
I usually go to 90% of the customers myself. I love sales and want to know what happens at the customer’s site. At the beginning, it is, of course, difficult to win customers. The customers asked why they should test a beta software, when we released the first version in 2010. Through trust, which we have acquired from previous contracts and during long-time co-operation, they tried it out and did not regret it. In 2011, we implemented the first projects quickly and successfully and made a name for ourselves.
In 2016, community4you AG was selected as one of four Chemnitz Prize winners in the nationwide innovation competition Top 100. A total of 366 applications were received. Despite the awards, the company was better known in the industry than in front of its own doorstep. „That´s not bad“, explains Uwe Bauch, who was born in 1964 in Karl-Marx Stadt. „We do not have large customers here. 98 per cent are located outside of eastern Germany - in the west or abroad. As a result, it is not our intention to increase the degree of recognition here, but rather to focus on working. " Since 1st August last year, the company label has been decorating the new stadium of Chemnitzer FC. Since then the name has been on everyone's lips. „We have solved all of our personnel problems at once. By being successful and financing a larger amount for the stadium for several years, the reputation of the company increases. We have hired 15 new employees within half a year and have thus solved our resource problem very quickly", says Mr. Bauch.
In 2016, community4you AG was selected as one of four Chemnitz Prize winners in the nationwide innovation competition Top 100. A total of 366 applications were received. Despite the awards, the company was better known in the industry than in front of its own doorstep. „That´s not bad“, explains Uwe Bauch, who was born in 1964 in Karl-Marx Stadt. „We do not have large customers here. 98 per cent are located outside of eastern Germany - in the west or abroad. As a result, it is not our intention to increase the degree of recognition here, but rather to focus on working. " Since 1st August last year, the company label has been decorating the new stadium of Chemnitzer FC. Since then the name has been on everyone's lips. „We have solved all of our personnel problems at once. By being successful and financing a larger amount for the stadium for several years, the reputation of the company increases. We have hired 15 new employees within half a year and have thus solved our resource problem very quickly", says Mr. Bauch.
Only for a short time?
The problem that we and some others have is to inspire young people for Chemnitz. They prefer to go to big cities like Hamburg or Berlin. This is why we are again faced with the same situation today. We have full order books until 2018 and cannot complete new orders to the extent that we would like. We need new good Java developers. I could hire five to ten new staff members right away to work on the projects we already have.
How do you try to inspire young people for your company and Chemnitz?
For example, it is planned to give employees five percent of the shares in our company on the way to the stock market. It is also planned to set up a company in which employees can benefit additionally from dividends. Another point outside the financial incentive: We have flexible time management. An employee can come and go when he wants. He just has to do his job properly. Sometimes I don´t see a developer a complete month. Everyone has the chance to customize their day or week. We have also our own physiotherapy. We do everything to meet the spirit of the times, to make it as comfortable as possible for the employees. The success of the company is not me. The success is the employee.
In the company we now have employees from 14 different nations. We are represented by partners in Argentina, Russia, Austria, Bahrain, Thailand, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. Of course it makes sense, to hire employees who speak the language and who can bring the needed skills and feel at home here. I hear it from everyone, they feel well here.
In the company we now have employees from 14 different nations. We are represented by partners in Argentina, Russia, Austria, Bahrain, Thailand, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. Of course it makes sense, to hire employees who speak the language and who can bring the needed skills and feel at home here. I hear it from everyone, they feel well here.
The times have changed. No longer the salary is the deciding factor, but the comfort oasis
That's right. The employees want to control their time and have a certain feel-good atmosphere. This has become more important.
Do you, as a pioneer in this field, have to smile a little when you see young software companies in Chemnitz and consider the long way they have still ahead?
No not at all. It could have been a complete flop with us as well and I would have sunken the money. It is always a bit of luck to make the right decision at the right time, in the right place. The start-up companies have great ideas and can also implement them. But at some point they also face problems: economics, finance, business plan. And the most important is the subject of personnel.
What do you mean?
Start-ups have the advantage of coming fresh from the university and still having contacts in the lecture halls. This is why they have fewer personnel problems. But in a few years, the situation becomes more complicated because they no longer have direct contact with the students and need more workers. When we started in 2001, we did not have these problems either. We had the staff. But the longer you are away from the university, the harder it becomes. Former fellow students are themselves earning their own living or are no longer living in the same city, so it is extremely important to maintain the contact with universities and training centres. I see responsibility at universities and cities.
Your company headquarters is the Villa Hahn, the stadium bears the name of the company and you are a member of the Supervisory Board at Chemnitzer FC. All this is a confession to Chemnitz. Where does this connection come from?
I was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, I feel very comfortable here, and at least I will be spending my old age here. When we were able to purchase our Villa Hahn the city put its trust in me. We have now bought a new villa in Rabenstein and also received the support of the city. Then it is easy to give something back.
Where do you see your company and the city in 2025?
When we get the human resources that we want, I see ourselves in eight years being three times as big as we are now. If we have the opportunity to buy companies, we generate growth.
In the coming years revolutionary things will change the world of automobile. I barely need to mention autonomous driving. That will be gigantic.
I hope that not only us, but other innovative companies which generate interest outside of Chemnitz will be able to bring more young people here in this innovative location. When I see how the commercial areas are busy and how many new ones are built, it makes me very confident. I think politics is on the right track.
In the coming years revolutionary things will change the world of automobile. I barely need to mention autonomous driving. That will be gigantic.
I hope that not only us, but other innovative companies which generate interest outside of Chemnitz will be able to bring more young people here in this innovative location. When I see how the commercial areas are busy and how many new ones are built, it makes me very confident. I think politics is on the right track.
Finally, a football question to you as chairman of the CFC. Are you looking forward to the season and is there a hint?
Yes, I am looking forward to it. We have eleven new players, a new coach, a new sports director, and we all need to find each other. At the end of this season I hope we will be in the upper midfield.
Source in German: Die Stadt bin ich!
Photo: Stadt Chemnitz - Hanus
Source in German: Die Stadt bin ich!
Photo: Stadt Chemnitz - Hanus
08/08/2017