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Koelnmesse is a source of momentum for a host of
international industries. The company promotes
markets by creating a qualified and efficient conver-
gence of supply and demand, using trade fair, congress
and online platforms. At the same time, Koelnmesse
benefits the city and region to a considerable degree.
Each year, trade fair attendees
’
expenditures generate
more than EUR 1.1 billion in sales in Cologne alone.
The trade fair business secures over 11,000 full-time
jobs in the city – in retail, trades, transport, logistics,
and in the hotel and restaurant industries
1
. A survey of
1,500 international companies conducted as part of
the Cologne branding process revealed that, after its
business strength and quality of life, trade fairs and
congresses in Cologne play the strongest role in the
location
’
s attractiveness among business circles world-
wide.
“
Course 101” is the title of the company
’
s strategy for
the future, with which Koelnmesse intends to rank
among the leading international trade fair organisers
in the world, while at the same time maintaining and
building upon its outstanding importance for the
business location of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
and Germany. As a sustainable approach, the strategy
extends until the year 2025 and derives its name
based on the 101st birthday of Koelnmesse.
As its name suggests – written in English, it reads
“
Course IOI” – the strategy also points to the three
dimensions of action on which the Koelnmesse will
remain focussed over the next ten years: Innovation,
Organisation and Infrastructure. Each of these
dimensions, in turn, has three fields of activity. At the
heart of the measures involved is the success of all
Koelnmesse customers and the achievement of
economic objectives within the scope of medium-
and long-term financial planning:
02. Aims and strategies
Innovation:
Inbound
(all own and guest events in Cologne)
Outbound
(all events and participations outside
of Cologne)
Service
(sum total of all services for the support
of customers)
Organisation:
People
(all Koelnmesse employees and sales
partners)
Structure
(the layout of the organisational structure,
participations included)
Process
(specified, targeted processes designed to
achieve goals)
Infrastructure:
Destination
(local economic development in tandem
with relevant stakeholders)
Venue
(the Koelnmesse complex and the infrastruc-
ture that surrounds it)
Digital
(sum total of all measures designed to
promote the use of digital technologies)
Particularly with an eye to achieving the objectives in
the dimensions of Innovation and Infrastructure,
under the rubric of
“
Koelnmesse 3.0”, the company
has launched the largest investment programme in its
history, with a volume of over EUR 600 million. The
aim of these comprehensive modernisation measures
is to be able to offer the most attractive city-centre
trade fair complex in the world by the year 2030.
Koelnmesse started major renovation and planning
measures in 2015. The first refurbishment subprojects
were completed in the same year.
Under the interdisciplinary project dubbed
“
#dIOI”, in
2015 the first steps were taken, within the framework
of a comprehensive digital strategy, to tap the
opportunities and potential of digitisation for the
business of Koelnmesse – across all dimensions of
activities – and to continue to move forward along
the digital path. The focus of these steps was upon
digital equipment and marketing, digital distribution,
and new digital services and communication tools.
1
These figures are based on a study from the year 2014.
Management Report 20/21