Tibor Dőry

Innovation and excellence

Management methods for innovation transformation

2. A perfectly developed idea management system at AUDI HUNGARIA1

The Idea Exchange, introduced at Audi Hungaria Zrt. in 2004, has a history spanning nearly two decades. The thousands of ideas submitted each year, most of which (80–90%) are implemented, represent a huge source of innovation for the company, as they result in savings of several million euros for Audi annually. According to data released to the press in 2021, more than 128,000 development proposals have been submitted to the Idea Exchange over the past 17 years, resulting in total savings of around EUR 270 million for Audi Hungaria. When evaluating the ideas received, the main criteria are their feasibility and the amount of savings that can be achieved, part of which can be received as a bonus by the employee who implements them. The highest reward ever awarded to an idea generator in the company's history was EUR 22,500.

The aim of the idea management system is to involve employees and harness their creativity and innovative skills to formulate and implement innovative proposals that can help the company achieve significant efficiency gains and cost savings, for example by optimising manufacturing processes, reducing production errors and or by making working conditions more ergonomic and reducing energy consumption.

The idea management system developed by the company has also undergone significant changes over the past ten years. Whereas previously the proposed improvements were only implemented at the Győr site, in recent years an agreement has been reached whereby the results achieved in Győr have also been adapted at the group's factories in other countries. The same is true in the other direction, as ideas and solutions are now transferred between all sites, some of which have already resulted in savings of tens of millions of euros (!!) for the company at group level.

The case study is based on interviews with Katalin Németh, head of education and scientific cooperation at Audi Hungaria Zrt., and Viktória Süle-Farkas, head of innovation management, conducted on 28 April 2022 and 5 May 2022, respectively, as well as information available at https://www.audi.hu; https://www.audi.com/en.html, and http://www.audi-denkwerkstatt.de/denkwerkstatt/web/de/concept.html (Date of access: May-June 2022).

Tartalomjegyzék

Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2026

ISBN: 978 963 664 182 5

Menedzsment

The aim of the book "Innovation and Excellence" is to inspire and encourage company leaders, managers, and experts to initiate and implement innovation transformations with the help of professional literature and corporate case studies. Another important goal is to help develop the innovation capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises in particular by sharing simple, proven management methods that can be tested in practice.

The first part of the volume reviews the factors of corporate excellence and success, then highlights the possible sources of innovation, with a focus on the role of users and employees. The empirical section presents a detailed description of the supportive role of the workplace environment and creative working conditions based on corporate case studies (AUDI, BOSCH, MELECS). The volume concludes with a description of selected tested practical methods and management techniques that readers can try out in their own businesses.

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/dory-innovation-and-excellence//

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