On May 18, 2023, the “Tongji Case Day: Inside KNAUF” was successfully held at KNAUF, Wujiang base, Suzhou. Over 50 people participated this program. They are Prof. HUANG Qingfeng, Executive General Manager of the Yangtze River Delta Headquarters of China Communications construction company Ltd., Dr. LU Feng, Researcher of the Warton Economic Institute and former General Manager of Europe region of Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co.,Ltd. and other entrepreneurs；Prof. HE Qinghua, Associate Prof. GUAN Xianjun, Associate Prof. LI Yibin, Associate Prof. HU Jing, Associate Prof. CHEN Xun, Ms. ZHANG Zongyi, Head of the Case Centre LI Qinghai and other faculty members of SEM; students of MBA, EMBA, academic master and PhD, alumni and, Prof. XIE PeihongVice, Dean of the School of Business Administration of Shanghai University of International Business.

The event was divided into two parts: an enterprise visit and a roundtable discussion. During the visit, the participants carefully inspected the manufacturing workshops of mineral wool panels and metal panels of KNAUF Ceiling Solutions, and learned about the whole process of raw materials, processing and forming, cutting and packaging of panels in KNAUF Ceiling Solutions. They also experienced the advanced level of mechanisation and intelligence of today’s industrial production system, as well as the strict quality control and sustainable concept of KNAUF Ceiling Solutions in the manufacturing process. Afterwards, the participants experienced first-hand the acoustic functional effects, and felt the outstanding effects of different types of products in different scenarios such as conference rooms, classrooms and lounges in terms of sound absorption, sound insulation and reverberation.

Workshop tour

Acoustic Function Experience

LI Qinghai

During the roundtable discussion, Mr. LI Qinghai, head of the Case Centre, thanked KNAUF for supporting the Tongji Case Day, as well as General Manager CHEN Xianfa and his team for their elaborate preparations for the event, and all the entrepreneurs and teachers who have always supported the Tongji Case Day. and teachers.

He then gave a brief introduction to the Tongji Case Day. “Tongji Case Day” has been held for four consecutive times, and its social influence is growing. The fourth “Tongji Case Day” on April 15, 2023 was reported by national media such as CCTV and Xinhua News Agency. “Tongji Case Day: Into the Enterprise” is a sub-brand of “Tongji Case Day”, which is an expansion and deepening of the program.

Unlike the Case Day where several companies are presented together and each company focuses on a few highlights, our program focuses on one outstanding company, including a visit to the company, a report by the CEO of the company, a presentation by students, comments by entrepreneurs and professors, and academic insights around the same theme. In this new era, Tongji University is strengthening and highlighting its special features and traditions of cooperation with Germany and Europe, so the “Tongji Case Day: Into the Enterprise” aims at the leading German companies. In order to make the event sustainable, SEM hopes that this program will create value for companies, for example by providing insights and solutions to problems and challenges faced by companies or common problems in the industry through joint discussions between teachers, students and outstanding entrepreneurs. The “Tongji Case Day: Inside KNAUF” focused on the transformation of marketing models in traditional industries, digital marketing and customer education.

CHEN Xianfa

General Manager CHEN Xianfa gave a presentation entitled “The application of digital tools in the promotion of acoustic ceiling”. He introduced the functional characteristics of KNAUF ceiling products from the perspective of application scenarios and product classification. The comfort elements of indoor space include four aspects: sound, light, colour and temperature. Among them, KNAUF ceiling solutions mainly focus on acoustic functions, account light, colour and temperature, and through sound-absorbing materials and space design, sound is processed into shorter reverberation time and lower background noise level, providing schools, hospitals, offices and other places with noise reduction and sound insulation, quiet and comfortable indoor space. KNAUF ceiling products are mainly divided into mineral wool, metal, glass fibre and customised ones, with safe and convenient suspension systems to meet the individual functional needs of various industries.

KNAUF’s digital marketing initiatives include brand promotion, case sharing and online live streaming through social media such as WeChat public website. However, despite the fact that there are over 1.3 billion square metres of non-residential buildings in China every year, most homeowners are not sufficiently aware of sound absorption and noise reduction, and KNAUF is faced with the challenge of changing customers’ perceptions. During the discussion, CHEN raised the issue of how to use digital tools to increase the market penetration of Knauf ceiling solutions, and looked forward to an in-depth discussion among entrepreneurs, professors and students to bring inspiration for business development.

SHI Lihua

In response to that issue, student SHI Lihua from Suzhou Tongcai Construction & Decoration Co., Ltd, reported on the proposal on behalf of General Manager ZHANG Siping (a student of EMBA class 34). She stated that a good profit model stems from 5 core competencies, namely setting industry standards, controlling the value chain, strong brand, leading technology and cost advantages. Mr. Zhang’s suggestions for KNAUF’s digital marketing include three aspects: (1) through concrete and vivid cases, enabling professionals and non-professionals experience the good effect of acoustic function improvement on places such as hotels, schools and hospitals; (2) strengthening liaison with local governments, industry associations, etc., to guide acceptance norms and standards; (3) branding through new media such as WeChat public numbers and Little Red Book.

YANG Zexing

According to YANG Zexing, founder of Shanghai Hong Ting Lang Decoration Design Co., Ltd.，student of EMBA Class 50, based on his experience in the decoration industry, the industry recognises the popularity and quality of KNAUF plasterboard, but lacks a deeper understanding of the brand. He believes that the use value of KNAUF products is greater than the price, and that KNAUF can learn from the brand promotion experience of some consumer products to increase publicity and broaden its market share.

SUN Honghao

SUN Honghao, a participant of the In-service International Class of 2022, gave answers in three aspects: marketing approach, problems and challenges, and solutions and suggestions. SUN conducted a preliminary research on KNAUF Ceiling’s market share, and combined the 4P theory of marketing with SWOT model to comprehensively analyse the marketing situation of KNAUF Ceiling in China. He believed that KNAUF’s digital marketing should include establishing social media strategy, search citation optimization, data-driven decision making, personalized marketing, and user-generated content. At the same time, KNAUF also needs to focus on social media interaction and engagement, improve marketing automation systems, flexible strategy adjustment and clear ROI evaluation.

XIN Chenglin

Starting from the differences in the perception of smart ceilings in different industries, XIN Chenglin, a PhD student of our School, pointed out that the most central needs of customers should be deeply explored, the social media commonly used by potential customers should be focused, the pain points of competing products should be analysed, and the minds of target customers should be occupied through targeted advertising. In addition, it is also possible to deepen the understanding of customers and the public about acoustic ceilings by setting up cultural cultivation scholarships for ceiling design, creating pop-up articles and issuing third-party certification reports.

DAI Hui

DAI Hui, General Manager of SShanghai Haocheng Architectural Decoration Co., Ltd. and a student of EMBA Class 33, shared his feelings about KNAUF’s two product lines of metal panels and mineral wool panels, taking into account his experience in the industry. DAI believes that customers are now highly price sensitive and KNAUF’s products, as representatives of high quality and high cost building materials, need to have a more competitive price in the market. KNAUF could consider adopting the sales method of direct supply from the manufacturer to form a sales system across distributors.

YANG Guanhui

YANG Guanhui, a student in the in-service international class of 2022, analysed product demand from the consumer’s perspective. Consumers expect green, healthy and environmentally friendly products, and KNAUF can launch products that emit natural scents, naming them after functional effects and data standards, and linking them to smart home apps to open up the consumer market. In addition, it can start from the perspective of event marketing, targeting problematic projects with high social impact and taking the initiative to accept the challenge, for example by replacing renovations that are harmful to users, to achieve the effect of promoting the characteristics of KNAUF products.

HUANG Qingfeng

Following the students’ speeches, entrepreneurs and teachers expressed their insights. HUANG Qingfeng, Executive General Manager of CCCC’s Yangtze River Delta headquarters and former President of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.,Ltd., pointed out that KNAUF could continue to increase its market expansion by providing integrated solutions and making more people aware of the important role of ceiling suspensions. HUANG pointed out that Chinese enterprises should continue to strengthen their communication with German invisible champions like KNAUF, benchmark themselves against advanced foreign enterprises, advanced technologies and standards, and build internationally leading enterprises, taking into account their own work and study experiences.

LI Yibin

According to Associate Professor LI Yibin, the long-term competitiveness of an enterprise is reflected in its ability to weather economic cycles. A family-owned German company like KNAUF focuses on long-term interests and uses values as a bond, internalising its corporate culture and values in the behaviour and conduct of every employee, which is reflected in every aspect of business operation and supports the long-term development of the enterprise. In terms of marketing, she believes that the current era has entered the consumer sovereignty, and all industries are characterised by “surplus”, so how to capture the minds of consumers and make them buy by name is the key to marketing. KNAUF can strengthen its digital marketing, learn from the competitive strategies of outstanding domestic e-commerce companies in different categories, fight forgetfulness with repetition, build brand awareness and strive to become the “global partner of choice for smart smallpox”.

CHEN Xun

CHEN Xun, deputy general manager of Shanghai K&Z Construction Project Management Co., Ltd., pointed out that KNAUF’s popularity and quality have been unanimously recognised by the industry, but with the upgrading of China’s industrial manufacturing level, the gap between the quality of products of domestic building materials enterprises and foreign enterprises is narrowing. In the face of pressure from the rise of domestic brands, KNAUF can start from four aspects. Firstly, give full play to the brand value and establish a slogan that can highlight the characteristics of the products; secondly, emphasise the delivery value of engineering projects, focus on promoting pre-sales and after-sales services, and provide integrated ceilings with both acoustic effects and aesthetics; thirdly, focus on the dissemination of corporate culture, strengthen the training of regional marketing and network marketing personnel, and accurately convey corporate values to consumers; fourthly, move towards the zero-carbon target, and reduce carbon emissions from the production, help achieve the goal of “double carbon”, and undertake the ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) responsibility of enterprises.

XIE Peihong

Prof. XIE Peihong, Vice Dean of School of Business Administration, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, pointed out that Germany’s invisible champions generally have three characteristics: focus, innovation and internationalisation, and the “Specialized and Sophisticated” that China is currently promoting is likely to grow into the “invisible champions” of the future. In terms of digital marketing, internet marketing is changing very rapidly on the one hand, and there is a clear circle of customers on the other hand, so it is necessary to use lean startup thinking to develop new business, constantly trial and error and optimise iteration; make good use of online and offline resources to maximise results. Foreign brands should continue to innovate their business models in the Chinese market, grasp the relationship between quality and price, and can learn from the experience of good Chinese companies to create products that are more adapted to the needs of Chinese consumers.

SHAO Bohua

SHAO Bohua, a postdoctoral student at the Tongji School of Economics and Management, has proposed many innovative ideas, such as using sound-absorbing products in noisy projects such as road construction in the city; trying to modify the acoustic standards for domestic buildings; providing a customised service for renewal in conjunction with the lifespan of recyclable building materials; and adding special effects such as disinfection and sterilisation to the coating to increase the added value of the product.

LU Feng

Dr. LU Feng, Researcher of the Warton Economic Institute and former General Manager of Europe region of Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co.,Ltd. introduced the three data lines of digital marketing. The first is the customer information data line, the second is the product information data line, and the third is the data line that integrates customer and product information, which contains the traces and information left by customers in the product. He stressed that B to B should learn from B to C, connect the whole chain of products, customers and services, learn to use the 5A model, i.e. Aware – Appeal – Ask – Act – Advocate, track the marketing effect through the whole chain and by scenario, and optimise the marketing behaviour in a targeted manner.

HE Qinghua

Professor HE Qinghua summarised the event. The “Tongji Case Day” upholds the Tongji tradition of “writing papers on the motherland” and provides a platform for exchange between academia and industry, helping to improve the disconnection between universities and enterprises today. The “Tongji Case Day: Inside KNAUF”, where entrepreneurs, teachers and students contributed many insights, reflections and suggestions, was both an effective case study and a benefit to the enterprises, achieving a win-win effect. KNAUF, as a world-renowned brand, should continue to look for top projects to endorse, create high-end positioning and set industry benchmarks. We hope that Knauf and Tongji University will have more exchanges, make good use of the platform and resources of the university and become a model of university-enterprise cooperation.

Finally, General Manager CHEN Xianfa expressed his gratitude to all the entrepreneurs, teachers and students who participated in the program. Tongji University is a world-renowned university, especially famous in Germany. The engineering management program at Tongji University of Economics and Management has a national reputation and is home to some of the best teachers and students, as well as outstanding MBA/EMBA students in the construction and engineering fields. As the invisible champion of Germany in the construction materials industry, KNAUF hopes to strengthen its cooperation with Tongji SEM to jointly promote the improvement of engineering and construction standards in China and make people’s work and life better.