Consumer goods Archive - imc Learning

Established as a vinegar factory and wine trader in the Lower Saxony town of Wolfenbüttel in 1878, the company launched its first herb liqueur under the name of Jägermeister in 1935. The secret recipe comprising 56 herbs remains unchanged from those early days.

Mast-Jägermeister SE grew from a small family business to an international organisation, and is now in the fifth generation of family ownership. In 2020, the company recorded global sales of 89.6 million 0.7 litre bottles, now selling the main product Jägermeister in more than 150 countries.

Jägermeister has around 1000 direct employees. Resellers and external distribution partners around the world add to the large number of people requiring training.

Before corona, Jägermeister took a rather traditional approach to learning and knowledge-sharing. In most cases, new employees, distribution partners and resellers were invited directly to the headquarters in Wolfenbüttel to help them learn about the brand and understand it better. There, they would receive all the necessary training on the products and get a feel for the brand.

Yet, even before the pandemic, it was clear that this system needed to be optimised, and Jägermeister started to look into procuring a learning management system (LMS). Professional training courses in e-learning format were also on the wish list back then.

The range of training to be covered by the LMS, individual learning nuggets and web-based training (WBT) went beyond the offering for external distribution and trading partners. For instance, different target groups from apprentices and trainees to the CEO needed to gain an in-depth understanding of e-commerce.

At the same time, a coherent and strong brand image that all employees identify with is a top priority for Jägermeister. Therefore, the learner experience was considered crucial.

Jägermeister decided to use the imc Learning Suite as its learning platform. The well thought out extended enterprise scenario in combination with the clear module structure was a major deciding factor in favour of imc. The Learning Suite also scored with its customisable configurability and great system reliability.

Simply sharing knowledge is not enough – it also has to be packaged right to reach all target groups and meet their needs. To this end, imc created a sophisticated blended learning scenario for Jägermeister.

Kathrin Heidler, Instructional Designer at imc, analyses the collaboration with Jägermeister: “What set the project apart is how complex it was. A blended learning journey embedded in classroom training, web-based training, performance cards and our BizQuiz is far from routine – even for us!

We were really able to go all out with this project. It was great fun helping to design such a complex project using a large variety of techniques.”

The feedback for the initial platform tests was all positive. Users were especially taken with how the e-learning content triggered an emotional response. The consensus among the employees: Once you log in to MeisterAcademy, the training courses don’t feel like learning. The direct integration of LinkedIn learning courses was also received very favourably, as it gives employees an even greater choice of courses.

Philipp Terstesse, Manager Global Trade Marketing at Jägermeister, summarises: “Our goal was to create a learning experience that takes a new approach and motivates learners. The learner and employee experience were extremely important to us.
We firmly believe that our digital ambitions go a long way towards shaping the future of our brand. We are thrilled to have a strong partner in imc who will stay by our side as we embark on this journey into the future together.”

Two different web-based training courses (WBT) were created for the predominantly technical products. For all other new developments a chatbot was developed.

The chatbot was filled with short learning units aka learning nuggets, each taking 3 minutes to complete. Each participant moved through different topic areas and product training units.

Each employee arriving for the trade fair was required to complete these training courses in advance and demonstrate in a test that they had understood the learned content.

Global growth of the product portfolio, employee numbers and geographical coverage made it necessary to rethink the professional development concepts used by BSH.

The goal was to adapt the training content to local learning habits in the different countries to fill any gaps in the knowledge of the service technicians in each location. BSH’s intent was to achieve uniform training standards so that customers around the world would enjoy the same high-quality service.

It is of great importance to BSH that service technicians anywhere in the world are able to service appliances, repair them if necessary, and offer competent and professional advice to customers within a short period after the launch of a new product. Moreover, practical training on appliances was to be introduced locally.

What was missing was a modern, multinational professional development concept with a homogeneous database that allowed easy administration of face-to-face training and flexible implementation of tailored online training in real time.

Following an in-depth market analysis, the professional development administrators at BSH decided to implement a learning management system by (LMS) by imc, the “Learning Suite”. They called it the “BSH Learning Universe”.

With this global professional development platform, more than 10,000 BSH service technicians in 50 countries can quickly and easily access the training material tailored to the specific country and use it to support their daily tasks. Easy administration of face-to-face training, reliable assessment functions and reporting round off the solution.

What’s more, the blended learning approach facilitates lasting efficiency gains for the face-to-face training. This saves the technicians up to 20% in training time, while significantly reducing administration costs.

The results speak for themselves: Since the LMS was introduced, service technicians have been saving around 20% in training time, which is equivalent to EUR 10 million in total.

Moreover, learners loved how flexible the platform is. The LMS by imc is capable of implementing tailored requirements for each country. This involves more than just using the right language: Basic knowledge relating to fundamental topics like maintenance and repair and customised training on new regional products also differ by country. The “BSH Learning Universe” precisely addresses the requirements and needs of the service technicians at the different locations.

“The imc Learning Suite is highly flexible and adapts to our requirements. The LMS not only covers our need for product training: We also use the system for our health training. Above all, the intelligent training booking processes make our work a lot easier. Since we implemented the LMS, Excel list administration is a thing of the past!”, Peter Tolaini, BSH Learning Universe Administrator, UK sums up.

Not just good – a Meisterpiece: How Jägermeister combines LMS and Blended Learning

Top-quality training in line with the brand

A blended learning journey masterpiece

Learning that doesn’t feel like learning

With chatbot and WBT to the
trade fair

Fit for the leading trade fair

Virtual product training

Delighted customers

Advanced training for service technicians
around the world

Adapting training content to
local standards

Global professional development platform
for 10,000 technicians

EUR 10 million in savings