Research project “Sunrise” of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has been launched – “Buy-and-Build” strategy of UMT AG shows promising development
The next payment initiative of UMT United Mobility Technology AG (“UMT AG”, GSIN: A2YN70, ISIN: DE000A2YN702) within the research project “Sunrise” of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has now been launched with the use case “Pay-per-Part” in the field of mechanical engineering after the project kick-off on February 28, 2023.
UMT AG has already been contributing its expertise in the field of payment to this forward-looking project, which now enjoys research funding from the BMBF, since 2019. The consortium of ten partners sees the project as a great opportunity to establish new innovative business models in mechanical and plant engineering in Germany. The results of “Sunrise” should enable small and medium-sized companies in particular to set up subscription models for the first time.
The advantages for the user are clear: usage-oriented, variable costs take the place of fixed costs and allow the entrepreneur more financial flexibility and security. Doing without their own production resources frees up capacity to concentrate on the actual core business. “Sunrise” thus goes beyond the technology aspect and picks up on the current trend of replacing capital-binding investments in relevant assets with subscription models. In the future, a machine manufacturer will therefore no longer have to sell his machine to the purchaser as a capital good, but the machine can be paid for by the purchaser on a pro rata basis per unit produced.
A similar principle in the B2C sector is currently being applied by Volkswagen as part of a subscription model in which the customer pays for the booked VW vehicle depending on the monthly use, including insurance and a protection package in the event of damage. In the future, the same should apply to producers in the mechanical engineering sector if they produce components with a newly acquired machine and can pay a share of the purchase price to the machine manufacturer depending on the parts produced.
As a fulfillment provider, UMT will be responsible for the entire payment process as part of this research project. The next milestone among the project participants is the presentation of a proof of concept (PoC) in the form of a prototype at the end of Q2 2023.
By participating in this BMBF-funded research project, the UMT Group is making a significant contribution to the fourth industrial revolution, “Industry 4.0”, and thus continues to see its future strategy for the digitalization of conventional business models confirmed.
At Group level, the company is very actively pursuing its buy-and-build strategy, from which positive prospects can be derived. The company has identified further acquisition targets and is currently engaged in constructive strategic discussions.