Market Research

We are looking for startups to help us better understand our customers’ needs and identify new market opportunities.
Ended
Win a 50.000€ pilot project and the chance for a long-term partnership with BASF, the world’s leading chemical company. Apply in just five minutes for a chance to win!

Startup Requirements

checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
Your startup has a digital technology or product, not just consulting services
checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
Your product has already been adapted for at least one existing customer
checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
Your product is ready for a corporate environment and can easily be configured to fit BASF needs
checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
You have professional experience generating market maps, or the tools and the data that they depend on.
checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
There are no restrictions regarding location, company age, or team size to apply for this partnership.

Briefing

The Challenge


As  the world’s leading chemical company,  BASF Group is made up of subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries and has 115.000 employees worldwide. With annual revenues of 64,5 billion € (2017) BASF is active in a broad variety of industries, such as agriculture, automobiles, construction, electronics, energy, nutrition and pharmaceuticals.  

We are looking for a startup that can understand our customers' needs and map relevant new market opportunities by automating data collection and analysis. The solution will synthesise various types of information from internal and external sources into clear and actionable market insights.

 Operating with various chemical products in many industries and early in many value chains, we face the challenge of generating market intelligence in a wide variety of markets.It is essential for us to understand our existing and potential customers in order to successfully monetize our broad product portfolio. To facilitate acquisition and analysis of market and customer data, we need a complete and data-driven understanding of both successful areas of market penetration and untapped areas for market expansion. “Market maps” are a critical part of this process, allowing us to understand product demand, and to define supply shares per producer. Although they are insightful, the manual creation of reliable market maps can involve a large number of people and can be extremely time consuming. There are no tight restrictions on what your market mapping solution should look like. What is important is that it can handle various types of input data, produce clear and actionable insights and remain relevant with regular automatic updates.

Our Expectations


Already think of us as your customer. For this project, we are looking for a startup or company to adapt a ready-for-market solution to BASF requirements. By the end of the project, we expect to have a tool that streamlines the process of generating market insights.

Your product or technology should make it possible to collect information from public sources (websites, reports, databases etc.)  as well as from our account managers, while simultaneously ensuring that all information is cross-checked and validated. To maintain its value, it is important that all information is regularly updated. Finally, it is essential that your solution produces actionable insights based on the input data.Your solution should address the following questions: 

  • How can large amounts of data, often in text form and not quantitative, be analyzed and structured?
  • Besides known sources of information, how can we identify and use new potential sources?
  • How can we streamline the process of data collection, validation and cross checking in a usable and efficient way?
  • How can the generated information be visualized to reveal clear and actionable insights?

The Process


Please take five minutes to quickly describe your solution. 

After the application deadline, our selection committee will invite up to five finalists to deliver their pitch at a representative BASF location. You will speak with key decision-makers during your visit, and also be compensated for your travel and lodging expenses.

We will then  choose up to three winners for a 50.000€ pilot project. Upon successful completion of the project, startups can officially list BASF as their customer or client. A decision will also be made on whether or not to enter a long-term partnership and whether to roll out  your startup’s solution regionally or even worldwide. 

Benefits

Your budget is up to 50.000€ for a 3-6 month project.

Get a substantial starting budget

Your budget is up to 50.000€ for a 3-6 month project.
We know that implementing solutions in a corporate setting requires time and resources, and we want you to have both.
A pilot project is just the beginning...

Win BASF as a long-term partner

A pilot project is just the beginning...
After the pilot project, list BASF as a reference on your website and negotiate a local or global rollout of your solution. We want to become your long-term business partner.
Don’t pay to pitch your solution.

Travel and lodging are covered

Don’t pay to pitch your solution.
If we invite you for a pitch, we will cover your travel and lodging expenses.

Project terms

Access the project terms(PDF) here.

Timeline

  • checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
    Application deadline (extended) 2019-02-17 23:59 CET
  • checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
    Application feedback 2019-02-28 23:59 CET
  • checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
    Pitch @BASF 2019-03-14 14:30 CET
  • checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
    Start of pilot project 2019-04-15 14:30 CEST
  • checkmark copy 3 Created with Sketch.
    Start of rollout discussions 2019-10-01 14:30 CEST

Selection Committee

Thomas Paschkowski Digital Technology Scout, BASF
Thomas is responsible for scouting out and introducing innovative technologies based on industry 4.0 specifics - such as smart manufacturing, smart supply chain, and digital business models.
Dr. Johannes Sprafke Marketing Expert Amines for Life Science, BASF
.
Dr. Thomas Gottschalk Cluster Head Smart Innovation & Technology, BASF 4.0
Thomas drives significant parts of the senior project “BASF 4.0”, which was formed to lead the digital transformation in chemicals. He reports to the Chief Digital Officer. His cluster executes over 30 explorative lighthouse projects and scale-up programs of proven solutions in Europe, North America, and Asia. 

About Digital Challenges

With the digital challenges BASF invites startups to solve real problems and to become a longterm business partner. BASF offers first project budgets between 50.000 and 100.000€. Let's explore digital opportunities together. The deadlines are approaching soon! 
Learn More

Contact Octorank

Mailé Biraben
Octorank Project Manager