TBD Media Germany as a guest at allcop

Moderator of tbd in the production of allcop

Video report within the series "Innovation Germany"

Behind the scenes in a photo lab

As part of the Innovation Deutschland series, TBD Media Deutschland reports on the reorientation of the medium-sized company allcop from Lindenberg in Allgäu.

As one of Europe's leading photofinishers, allcop offers a wide range of personalized products. The owner-managed company employs 220 people and has been known for top quality and innovation for more than 60 years. For more than 1,000 retailers from the areas of retailers, drugstores, discounters as well as online portals, allcop is the reliable partner for their photo service.

allcop was founded in 1959 by Otto and Elke Wiest under the name "Allgäuer Copieranstalt". In the beginning, the company concentrated on film and photo development for the photo retailers. Quality and service were important success factors in the company from the very beginning, and they continue to this day. In this way, allcop made a name for itself in the industry with repeated awards as the No. 1 specialist trade laboratory. Towards the end of the 1990s, son Peter Wiest successfully led allcop through the phase of upcoming digital photography and established new forms of area sales.

Innovative since three generations

For years, the family-owned company has been an innovation driver in the market. For example, allcop was the first producer to present photo books made of exposed photo paper and later surprised customers with a particularly handy form of the real photo book, the "RUCK-ZUCK" photo book.

Today, the grandchildren of the company's founders - the 3rd generation - manage the company's business. With the advancing digitalization in all areas of life, it is their task to reinvent the company in parts. Both describe this change from the older generation as a challenge that they mastered by developing their own style and understanding of leadership.

Thomas Wiest, who previously focused on software development, identifies innovation as one of the most important strategic goals in order to be successful in the future. Examples from the recent past include the development of a smart photo book app, a photo ordering solution via instant messaging, and specialization in print-on-demand services.

More than just a workplace

Monika Sommerfeld, managing partner in the 3rd generation, describes the cooperation in the company as very familiar and is proud of the long-term loyalty of many employees. With their agile working environment, she and her brother allow plenty of room for personal creativity and flexibility. Both also expressed these aspects in the company's mission statement, which they developed as managing partners when they joined the company. In order to guide and guide the agile change in all areas, they installed an agile change team with members from all parts of the company.

Their impact is also reflected in the change of working methods: For projects with a high innovation factor, they formed x-functional teams made up of various specialist disciplines, whose working methods are characterized in particular by experimental methods. In addition, there are new positions for example Scrum Masters, who provide methodological support to the teams.

Powerful in changing times

As a reliable and powerful fulfillment partner for personalized photo products, product customization and print-on-demand solutions, allcop has reinvented itself again and again over six decades. Therefore, this change is also natural. Today, the company offers extensive services to enable it to cover the entire value chain of product personalization.

Sales Manager Matthias Zahn confirms this and explains that allcop's success is based on the factors of speed, price, service and quality. In order to be able to continue this high level of quality awareness in the future, processes and methods at allcop are constantly being further developed. Last but not least, the German production site in combination with state-of-the-art logistics systems is also an important quality factor.

People as a success factor

Owner Monika Sommerfeld emphasizes that the employees are a decisive factor. With a lot of initiative, enthusiasm and passion, they contribute to the essential success of the company.

Particularly in peak seasons such as Christmas, this enables allcop to deliver high volumes at a consistently high level of quality. Most recently, allcop managed a delivery reliability of more than 99% even during peak periods.

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