Date: 22.10.2025 (2025-10-22)
Siegfried Wanker (22.10.2025) Context • https://chatgpt.com/c/68f48520-8ed4-832b-a6f7-e80f7322dc62 • Günther: • Strabag hat alle Challenges eines Baukonzerns … aber sie sind diversifiziert (geographisch, Hoch-, Tiefbau, Konzessionen etc.) u deswegen auch in einer Baukrise solide unterwegs… Einkauf ist generell die systemimmanente Schwachstelle… Probiere einfach ein paar Themen. Ziel sollte sein, dass er einen Nachfolgetermin mit den Innovationsteams der Strabag macht … have fun. • Be open about early stage / development partnership, but also pitch the technology and do good intro at the start. Keep the pitch somewhat generic -> to get into a sparring setting rather than selling. • Siegfried Wanker has been a member of the Management Board of STRABAG SE, responsible for the International + Special Divisions segment, since 1 January 2011.
Opening / Context • Kann ich Du sagen? • Woher kennen Sie den Günther? -> ich helfe ihm bei seinem Startup • Asked Günther who I should talk to • Agenda of the call: • Personal intro • Feedback zu unserem Produkt • Development Partnership • Key words: • SID, Digital Cockpit, and decentralised ERP landscape.
Problem Framing • Large companies have many sites and IT systems and processes • Especially with acquisitions • Result: duplicate supplier contracts, negotiation gaps, a lot of manual work — especially in finance and procurement
Your Solution / Vision • We’re building an AI automation layer that sits on top of systems like SAP and existing processes — not replacing them. • Concrete Examples: • Invoice automation — auto-check PO vs supplier contract vs delivery note. • Supplier optimisation — benchmark prices across subsidiaries, detect negotiation slippage, suggest consolidation or re-bid. • Skonto, Zahlungsziele • -> AI can automate with its current performance and ROI can be achieved quickly. • Supplier savings → direkt G&V Einfluss • Status: we are in early founding phase - thus looking for development partners
Discussion / Discovery • Ask open questions: • Generelles Feedback: • Baufirmen arbeiten schon viel mit IT -> they invest 60 Mio EUR worldwide • SID lab • Schwachstellen - they know them and have solved them to a large degree -> they know which problems they have • IT does not understand construction industry -> that is a problem • Prozessoptimierung -> vielversprechend aber man kommt nicht voran -> little digitalisation • Understand processes everyone is bad -> improve one process - what I said can be arrogant -> a lot of inhomogenous processes -> no standards how things are done -> focus on one process -> that would big value -> nobody will believe it -> pitch that one problem can be solved • Don’t be too smart -> people will not continue talking • Procurement is a bad topic • A lot of different prices -> there are no European wide contract -> there is no value in that • Tip: differentiate between regional and international construction companies -> regional companies could be very interested • Which animals of Baufirmen we should talk -> go to midsized companies • SAP had problems to knacken Bauindustrie • Art von Bauleistung • They work with big tech • Google: they look at the process - and solve it -> a lot of local stuff • A lot of exceptions • There will be a company that comes up behind Google -> a new company word Bauindustrie knacken • Start with the 5000 regional • Accounting: • He can do intro SID boss -> send mail • Marco Bornschlägel -> CISO • Lieferantenbeziehungen • They work on implementing a procurement software die leidet unter Internationalität • They have internal AI solutions -> they do not have access to their data -> they are super privacy focussed -> all local deployments -> they work with Google • Respekt vor Bauindustrie -> Zielgruppen-präzise Lösungen -> wachsen aus dem heraus • International solutions is tricky • Finance: will not really work • Holy grail: • booking.com analogy • How can a Anbieter der Supplier interact with Strabag digitally -> die vertrauen Supplier ned -> falsche Platten, falsche Rechung, falsche Qualität -> Geldwäsche etc. -> complete Perspektivenwechsel ist nötig • Er glaubt ich will die Bauindustrie von innen heraus heilen -> SID leidet auch • Strabag makes a lot of money by acquiring companies and making their systems better -> they have functioning platform • There are PE companies in GER -> they buy companies • They also integrate SW • Processes are super complex • He would go to supplier that they are better working with larger companies -> low complexity -> how can I make a supplier compatible with Konzern or small Bauunternehmen • What are their challenges? • Challenge with data from different systems / legacy software? • Optimisation of suppliers? What do they do atm.? What is potential? • Does he relate to the problems I listed? • Biggest challenges they have atm. in procurement? • What are the most successful AI initiatives so far? • Which areas would he improve with AI? e.g. early warning system for budget deviations? • What are the biggest challenges when implementing AI? • What is his biggest challenge running and understanding the business? • Who is developing their AI solutions? Inhouse vs. outsourced? • Where do you still see manual workload despite your digitalisation efforts? • How centralised or local is procurement today? • Who owns AI or automation initiatives inside SID or finance? • What kind of governance or pilot process would be needed for a collaboration? • Does he do investments? • (Zeiterfassung & Führungskräfte do repetitive work -> how can this be reduced)
Development Partnership Pitch • Looking for a development partner. • Joint goal: co-build and validate these automations inside one subsidiary or process. • We bring AI, engineering, and speed - you bring access, expertise, and feedback. • Cost model: at-cost, just covering implementation and data processing. • Outcome: STRABAG shapes the roadmap and gains first-mover advantage in AI automation for construction • Ask directly: “Would STRABAG be open to this kind of partnership — and what would need to be true for that to happen here?”
Close (2-3 min) • Next step: workshop with SID + procurement lead to define pilot scope. • Leave a one-pager or short deck summarising the idea.
They have internal supply chain assets (plants/quarries) but still external suppliers → there is leverage to be optimized. They use SAP ERP
Processes are very individual - e.g. by department or Tochtergesellschaft
Peers show similar use cases: VINCI Construction reports using AI to automatically parse tender documents and past bids to identify the best opportunities and estimate costs (saving bid teams significant time)vinci-construction.com. VINCI’s teams leverage AI for contract review (flagging high-risk clauses), predictive maintenance of equipment, and computer vision for site safety (smart cameras that detect falls or hazards in real time)vinci-construction.com.
STRABAG’s SID (STRABAG Innovation & Digitalisation) department acts as an internal innovation hub and “digital factory.” It runs programs like Intrapreneurship (adASTRA) to incubate employee-driven startupsnewsroom.strabag.com and hosts annual Innovation Day events showcasing new tech pilots (250+ projects were highlighted in 2024, from VR training to AI lighting for safety)newsroom.strabag.comnewsroom.strabag.com. STRABAG also partners externally, for instance in the EU-backed Construct-X initiative to develop open digital standards and “shared data rooms” for construction data integrationnewsroom.strabag.comnewsroom.strabag.com.
Common initiatives include ERP harmonization (consolidating disparate ERPs or upgrading to a unified platform), implementing project portfolio management systems, and deploying company-wide Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards for better transparency.
A positive example was STRABAG’s “Digital Cockpit” integration: by creating a unified data layer on top of multiple ERPs, STRABAG achieved near-real-time visibility into production operations, cutting report compilation times from days to minuteswearenotch.com. The project’s goals were to automate processes and synchronize data across 500+ production sites, and it delivered measurable productivity gains by providing a one-stop shop for informationwearenotch.comwearenotch.com.
AI in Practice: Construction lagged in AI adoption, but examples are emerging. STRABAG built a Data Science Hub with Microsoft to centralize data and deployed an AI-based risk management algorithm that flags at-risk projects early – preventing financial losses and saving time
automated project performance dashboards that show budget vs. actual vs. forecast in real-time – something currently done via laborious Excel work. Another ripe area is invoice and payment processing – leveraging AI to perform invoice validation by cross-checking invoices against purchase orders, contracts, and even site delivery logs. Similarly, procurement automation can benefit: an AI system could analyze past purchasing data to suggest optimal procurement schedules (e.g. order materials just-in-time to reduce storage costs without risking delays) and even auto-trigger reorders within set thresholds.
Implications for a Supplier-Optimisation Pitch Since you want to talk to STRABAG about supplier optimisation, you can tailor your pitch to their spend-profile and procurement pain-points: • Data & transparency: They already have a supplier portal (SPS) and talk about digital procurement/ catalogues. supplier.strabag.com+1 You might pitch improved analytics, supplier performance dashboards, spend-visibility across materials, services, equipment. • Consolidation & standardisation: With many material, equipment, service suppliers, there’s likely duplication and fragmented supplier base. Optimisation could show benefits in reducing supplier count, negotiating framework contracts, standardising materials. • Sustainability / circularity leverage: Since STRABAG emphasises sustainability (resource conservation, recycling), your optimisation pitch can include supplier screening for sustainable credentials, substitution of high-impact suppliers, tracking supplier compliance in sustainability. • Cost control & risk management: For raw materials (which are volatile), for equipment and services, for subcontractors. Supplier optimisation (e.g., category management, risk-based supplier segmentation) will speak to them. • Lifecycle / maintenance spend: For the PFS side, optimising MRO/spare-parts/service providers as part of lifecycle operations could be a differentiated angle.