Careers at Bosch Group

Mission

Bosch Group is a multi-national engineering and electronics company that has been leading in the electronics and engineering industries for over a decade.

This company’s main mission is to provide cutting-edge technological solutions and to be at the forefront of new technological advancements.

For over a century, Bosch has been manufacturing different kinds of components particularly in the motor vehicle industry such as the first practical magneto.

Over the years, the company has also grown and evolved to encompass other sectors or industries in its operations. Currently, Bosch’s operations are categorized into four main areas: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Energy and building technology and consumer goods.

History

Bosch was founded on 15th November 1886 in Stuttgart, Germany by Robert Bosch. The company started out as “The workshop for precision mechanics and electrical engineering.”

At around this time, the internal combustion engine had just been invented and Robert Bosch first worked to produce low voltage magnetos for the gas engines.

In 1901, the company’s first factory was opened and by 1906, the factory produced its 100,000-th magneto.

The growth of the factory was exponential and thus there was a need for expansion and in 1910, the “Feuerbach” factory was opened, which was very close to Stuttgart.

The company diversified operations and started producing headlights in 1913. In 1917, the company finally transformed into a corporation and the journey to conquer the world in terms of technological inventions continued.

In the period between 1917 and 1936 Bosch manufactured a number of automotive parts such as the windshield wipers, diesel injection pumps and even invented and manufactured the first car radio. In 1937, the company became a Limited Liability Company (GmbH).

On 12th March 1942, the company suffered one of its biggest losses when Robert Bosch died. However, the Bosch family picked up from where Robert Bosch had left and continued with operations.

By 1942 the company had factories not only in Germany but in other countries across Europe and Asia such as England and Japan. In order to carry out its operations effectively, Bosch partnered with other engineering and electronics companies. One of the most notable partnership was that with Denso after the Second World War.

Bosch grew to become a world leader in inventions in the engineering industry. Some of the most notable inventions to date include:

  • 1976- The oxygen sensor
  • 1979-The electric motor control
  • 1986-The traction control system
  • 1991-Xenon lights for cars
  • 1995-Electronic stability for cars
  • 1997-Common rail direct fuel injection system
  • 2000-Direct fuel injection
  • 2001-Electric hydraulic brake, digital car radio with a disc drive, common fuel injection with piezo injectors
  • 2003-Cordless screwdriver with Lithium battery

Partnership and acquisitions of some of the world’s leading brands have also contributed to the company’s success. These acquisitions include:

  • Detective systems and Radionics company-2001
  • Phillips Communication and security company-2002
  • Telex communication-2006
  • Electro-voice-2006
  • Seeo Inc. -2015

The inventions at Bosch has been a continuous process and the company continues to build on its already extensive portfolio to invent more advanced gadgets and systems. It is also important to note that the company publishes about 3900 patents per year.

Bosch’s contribution to the engineering and technology field has been recognized with the company winning several prestigious prizes.

The Company was awarded “The German Future Prize” in 2005 and 2008, in recognition to its effort towards bettering the future of the country through innovation.

In 2014, the company was awarded “The U.S Smart Partner Award for physical security.”

This was in recognition of the efforts and contributions made by the company in the security and technology industry.

Business model of Bosch Group

Customer Segment

Bosch group has diversified its services and hence it serves a wide variety of customers but based on its four areas of operations. These customers are:

  • Car manufacturing companies - such as Mercedes, Toyota, and BMW. Most of these manufacturers are in partnership with Bosch to manufacture components electric window motors, electric fuel pumps and oxygen sensors.
  • Individual, walk-in customers - Bosch produces consumer goods such as ovens, washing machines and dish washers. On this segment, the company’s customers are the persons who shop at various different stores where Bosch goods are sold.
  • Industries - Industrial tech is the third sector that Bosch has interests. The company designs and produces different industrial gadgets and machinery such as electric motors. In this case, industries that need these gadgets and machinery are the main customers.
  • Real Estate and building owners - Bosch group has also been actively involved in the energy and building industry making significant contributions in sectors such as solar power production. Security systems and building automation has also been incorporated into this category and thus, the customers here are building owners who want customized security solutions and automation for their buildings.

Channels

Bosch group has always placed itself at a strategic position to be at the forefront of emerging technology and developments.

Thus, one of the most critical business marketing strategies for the company has been to form strategic partnerships with companies that they share common interests such as Denso.

This has helped the company reach out to markets far beyond its native Germany such as Japan and China.

This way the company has been able to set up big factories in other continents penetrating the market easily. A good example is China where the company has about 34,000 employees in its factories and outlets.

Bosch also uses print media, as well as offering promotional deals to its customers especially on the consumer products sector.

The company has a large footprint on social media, having a vibrant team that advertises and engages customers via social media channels such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

Customer Relationship

This being a multi-national company with different interests in different sectors, good customer care services are very crucial.

The founding father, Robert Bosch always emphasized on the importance of treating the customers like kings and that is the culture that is carried in the company to date.

Value Proposition

To automakers - Bosch has been a pioneer in design and manufacture of many automotive parts, most notably the first ever functional magneto that became a critical automotive part for many years.

The company has the reputation of producing high quality parts that are able to meet the ever changing dynamics of the automotive market.

Customers want solutions to their problems and Bosch is at the forefront when it comes to quick delivery. The company has invested in smart factories so as to enhance and accelerate the manufacturing process.

To Industries - Industrial technology is another core function of Bosch group. The company has been able to come up with various different technologies such as the revolutionary Bosch packaging technology that enables manufacturers to package goods easily and faster.

The company also fuses modern technology with existing ones to come up with state of the art tools and solutions. Thus, industry players can always be sure to get the most sophisticated and advanced solutions from Bosch.

To consumer goods customers - Some of Bosch’s most notable consumer goods are home appliances such as ovens, microwaves, dishwashers, tumble dryers, fridges and freezers.

The Bosch brand appliances are reliable and long-lasting unlike most of the competition which are simply an imitation to what has been developed and produced by Bosch.

To energy and construction industry customers - Bosch group offers security and networking solutions for buildings.

With the acquisition of “Climatec” in 2015, which was a leading U.S energy, building and security solutions company, Bosch became one of the biggest global provider of building technology services such as building automation.

Since then the company has always invested heavily in research and development to ensure that they offer customers unique solutions with great after sales services or support.

Key Activities

Bosch’s key activities are the development and manufacture of technologically advanced components mainly in the four industries that they operate in. These are:

  • Development and manufacture of automotive parts- about 60% of the company’s activities
  • Production of household goods
  • Industrial technology and security systems development
  • Energy and building technology advancements.

Key Resources

The main resources at Bosch are the patented innovations that have been developed and are yet to be developed.

The company publishes about 3,900 patents per year meaning that research is crucial to the company.

The other key resources are the company’s global partners such as Dell, CCC, Modus, and Belladati whom together they have done joint projects and have been able to penetrate new markets.

Human resource is another key resource at Bosch. All the smart inventions and productions are done by a dedicated workforce comprising of workers from different fields such as engineers, IT experts, security experts, financial experts, and managers.

Key Partners

The company’s key partners are:

  • Dell
  • BellaDati
  • Modus
  • CCC

Cost Structure

In order for the company to always stay ahead of the competition and stay relevant, big investments are made for research and development of innovative concepts.

Thus, Bosch spends heavily on research and development of new concepts, making research and innovation the costliest in the cost structure.

For example, in 2017, the company spent a whopping $8.7 billion on research and development.

Daily operations and running several factories in different parts of the world such as China and India is another costly venture.

The heavy equipment found in these industries are expensive to run making this another major cost for the company. In 2017, plant operations cost the company $4.96 billion.

With about 402,200 employees across the globe who earn a median salary of about $85,000 per annum, the company’s wage bill is humongous. Thus, salaries and benefits for its employees are another major cost.

Revenue Streams

In 2017, the company made sales revenue of 78.1 billion Euros which is approximately $89.1 billion.

The revenue streams are mainly from selling components in the four main sectors that it operates in.

However, the automotive parts sector is the highest contributor, bringing in about 60% of the company’s revenue.