Page 23 - Port of Hamburg Magazine 1.2020

DIGITAL DECADE ■
A WORKING DAY AT THE HUB, WITH VARIOUS WORKSHOPS PLUS VISITOR GROUPS, HERE FROM CHINA
logistics community why ‘disruption’ is only a by- word until it actually occurs. In November 2019 ‘hackers’ from all over the world assembled at Digi- tal Hub Logistics to spend a weekend working on in- novative solutions for optimizing processes in and around the Port of Hamburg. Apart from public event formats, Digital Hub offers its corporate partners tai- lormade and topic-specific workshop formats. These centre on a company’s challenges, ideas and needs. In interplay with start-ups and additional companies, the aim is to develop these into cooperative success stories.
A NETWORK FOR TOMORROW’S LOGISTICS
Subsidized by the German Ministry of Economics and Digital Infrastructure (BMWI), the Digital Hub belongs to a federal network of a total of 12 physical and 16 topic-based hubs, the De:Hub Network. Through this, partner companies and start-ups profit not just from contacts in logistics, but can also network on such topics as mobility (in Munich), smart cities (in Leipzig) or artificial intelligence (in Karlsruhe). Over 60 start- ups in an international environment make for a power- ful network of founders and innovations.
HAMBURG SCORES AS LOGISTICS CENTRE NO. 1
Hamburg is Germany’s premier logistics location and one of Europe’s top logistics hubs. While many B2C – Business-to-Consumer – start-ups still tend to
play start-up in Berlin or Munich, in recent years Hamburg has increasingly come to the fore as the centre for B2B – Business-to-Business – start-ups, especially in logistics. This is not necessarily a mat- ter of launching the next unicorn, or start-up valued at over one billion euros, but of bringing a pioneering spirit of innovation to making competitive and com- mercially profitable business ideas a reality.
FINANCING AS A CHALLENGE
The topic of money and financing plays an important part in the world of start-ups and innovations. The greater the available risk capital, the more crowded - usually – the start-up throng. Yet since risk capital and the Hanseatic merchant scene tend to be adver- saries, at first glance Hamburg is at a disadvantage compared to cities elsewhere in Germany, Europe and the world. It remains simpler to obtain a cash in- jection for a good idea in Berlin, London or Silicon Valley than on the Alster or the Elbe. Yet even here, things are moving in Hamburg. Major companies have recognized that in the era of digitalization, go- ing it alone often fails. Instead, dependence on start- ups’ agility and wealth of ideas is being accompa- nied by a host of public support and private accelerator programs, the latter being intensive ones offering help with both knowledge and resources. This shows that Hamburg has embarked on remain- ing at the very heart of logistics. ■
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