UEBE GmbH: 125 years of state-of-the-art medical technology
UEBE Medical GmbH, a family business rooted in Germany, boasts a legacy of innovation spanning 125 years. Founded in 1890 by Wilhelm Uebe, the inventor of the first fully encapsulated and hygienic clinical thermometer, the company continues to lead the market in state-of-the-art medical technology for self-monitoring.
Today, the company exclusively distributes clinical thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and pregnancy tests to specialist retailers. Its workforce of 50 individuals oversees four product segments and brands:
visomat: High-end blood pressure monitors
visocor: Cost effective blood pressure monitors
cyclotest: Natural family planning without hormones
Domotherm: Clinical thermometers and home care
I’ve been collaborating closely with five other colleagues in the Marketing and Project Management department for 14 years. We’ve been utilizing Meister software for the past seven years, ever since I introduced MeisterTask. Today, almost the entire UEBE team relies on Meister software.
Stefan Rappert
Marketing and Project Manager, UEBE Medical GmbH
The challenge: an ERP system too confusing for effective project management
To organize his projects, Stefan and his colleagues at UEBE worked with an ERP, or enterprise resource planning system. Initially implemented to map the company’s flow of goods, the ERP system was not optimized for project management. However, the team worked with what they had, using the system’s task module for task management and project documentation. Unfortunately, the results left a lot to be desired. Stefan says:
“It wasn’t as transparent and fast as we would have liked.”
The two biggest challenges they faced:
Creating and filing tasks: This process was cumbersome and complicated. The structure of the ERP system made deciding where to host or store projects difficult.
Maintaining an overview: There was no straightforward way to view, track, or share the status of a project.
In response, Stefan embarked on a search for a Kanban project tool to streamline the process. He and his colleagues tested 10 different tools, including Trello and Jira. After a time-consuming and intensive search, MeisterTask emerged as the preferred choice.
“Trello was out of the question for us as a German-speaking company, given that the tool is only available in English. Additionally, key functionalities such as automations, which are included in MeisterTask’s Pro Plan, were only possible with Trello via paid plug-ins. We also favored the look and feel of MeisterTask.”
Ultimately, Jira was also deemed unsuitable for UEBE:
“Jira is a powerful tool, but it’s far too overloaded with features for our needs and use case.”
The deciding factor in Stefan’s choice to go with MeisterTask was its simplicity:
“In addition to its clean UI, I chose MeisterTask because of its usability. With Jira, for example, there were so many settings that weren’t important to us.”
The solution: easier project management and communication with Meister software
Stefan presented his findings from his extensive tool research to his colleagues from IT and management, and MeisterTask was given the green light.
“Our expectations of MeisterTask were absolutely fulfilled – that’s why we still use it! We do look at new tools on the market from time to time, but for us, MeisterTask remains the best solution.”
Onboarding with MeisterTask couldn’t have been easier. Stefan initiated basic training sessions and created test boards for the marketing department to familiarize themselves with the platform. Subsequently, MeisterTask was seamlessly rolled out across the company.
“The great thing about the onboarding is that it’s extremely straightforward. MeisterTask and MindMeister are so quick and easy to explain.”
Despite the smooth onboarding process, Stefan recalls that initially, the team continued to use the ERP tool alongside Meister software during the transition phase. This meant some projects were in the ERP, and some were in MeisterTask. It wasn’t ideal, but thankfully it was only a temporary solution.
“Ultimately, the whole team was enthusiastic about MeisterTask right from the start.”
While Meister software is not yet utilized by every team, most have adopted it, from the management board to the janitorial staff.
“The marketing department uses it the most frequently and intensely. We have a separate board and process for each marketing channel, where we oversee communications and campaigns.”
Collaborating with external contributors in MeisterTask is seamless, according to Stefan:
“It’s really easy to invite people from other teams or companies into the tool to collaborate. For example, we work with external distributors on a couple of MeisterTask projects.”
Thanks to the smooth onboarding process and ample support resources, integrating new colleagues into MeisterTask is straightforward. Stefan elaborates:
“When a new employee joins today, I briefly introduce them to the tool and provide them with the link to the Meister Academy – that explains everything.”
Stefan is also a big fan of the quick response time of Meister’s support teams:
“I like the fact that if I have a question or a feature request, I can get in touch with someone at any time – via the Meister Community, for example. Everything just runs so smoothly. Incidentally, many of my requests have already been implemented. I couldn’t be happier.”
Although MeisterTask is the most popular Meister tool at UEBE, Stefan and his marketing colleagues also collaborate using MindMeister. They utilize mind maps for brainstorming, market analyses, sitemap adaptations, as well as for presentations and training courses. They are then able to easily share these maps with the whole company.
Typically, Stefan uses the standard mind map template for brainstorming in MindMeister, but he also recommends the Eisenhower Matrix template or the BCG template for product evaluations or analyses.
The outcome: transparent, fast and centralized projects
Stefan says that MeisterTask has completely changed communication in the marketing team:
“In the past, tasks were created in the merchandise management system, but internal communication still relied heavily on email. With MeisterTask, everything is centralized in one place – it’s wonderful!”
When asked which tool they use for internal communication, Stefan’s shares that they now rely solely on MeisterTask.
“The advantage is that we were able to completely centralize our communication with MeisterTask. We don’t need Slack or the like for extended internal communication. Apart from a few occasional emails, MeisterTask is enough – about 90% of our communication happens in the tool.”
One example of collaborative work in MeisterTask is the Process Optimization board. Here, the team utilizes automatic task assignees and checklists for efficient workflow management.
“If we need a new process, such as for creating Instagram posts, I create a task in the “Open General” column. Then, I move it on to the QMB check, where a checklist is automatically added to the task. This way, my colleague can work on it, implement it, and move it along the board until it’s done. By tagging the task as “training,” the HR department is also automatically notified to include it in employee onboarding.”
Another helpful automation for Stefan and his team is the email-to-task function, which automatically generates tasks from email requests. If there is an email request to the janitor, for example, a task is automatically created on his MeisterTask board.
Stefan’s favorite feature, however, is Agenda. This private, customizable dashboard in MeisterTask allows Stefan to access tasks from many different projects in one central location:
“My favorite feature in MeisterTask is the Agenda. Even though I always have a large number of boards open – probably too many – it doesn’t stress me out. This is because I no longer have to open and check each of them. I just go to my Agenda and everything that needs my attention is right there.”
Efficiency and productivity are paramount at UEBE, with the marketing department eliminating nearly all internal emails thanks to MeisterTask.
“In our department, 95% of internal emails have been eradicated thanks to MeisterTask. This gives us more time to focus on project work. And with MeisterTask serving both task management and team communication needs, we don’t require additional communication tools.”
Stefan is already planning how else they can use MeisterTask to their advantage. The next step is to set up an API interface to merchandise management so that the purchasing team can also work and communicate efficiently in MeisterTask.
“Our goal is for merchandise management tasks to come into MeisterTask via an API and be fed back again efficiently.”
For the teams at UEBE, good task management includes thorough documentation. Stefan was an early adopter of Notes in MeisterTask:
“We’ve been using Notes in MeisterTask every day for three quarters of a year – it’s perfect for our team’s working style and documentation needs.”
In the past, teams at UEBE created their own meeting minutes – and nobody could find the relevant information after. Since the team started documenting meeting minutes in Notes, this is no longer an issue:
“The meeting minutes in Notes are a real added value for us. The direct assignment of tasks, i.e. the integration with MeisterTask, saves us a lot of time we’d otherwise spend searching for information.”
For even greater clarity, they divide their meetings into “new meetings” for planned meetings, “open meetings” for meetings that have already taken place and where there are still open points, “completed meetings,” and “annual meetings”.
“Every meeting is now organized in advance. The agenda and minutes are always linked to the upcoming meeting so everyone can contribute beforehand.”
Notes are also used to document details about UEBE products, like the cyclotest app. The team records information and requirements for new iterations of the app, documenting details like how the proposed app screen should look and which functions should be included.
For Stefan, the advantage of using Meister software at UEBE is clear:
“Since we started using MeisterTask and MindMeister, we operate much more transparently. It’s easier to see the status of a project and which tasks are still open. Communication is also easier because it’s all task-based. We work more efficiently and effectively as a result.”
Stefan emphasizes the effectiveness of Notes for meeting documentation and project details.
“Our meetings are more effective now that we have a space to prepare and collaborate on meeting notes in advance. Because tasks are always linked in the notes, we know exactly what needs to be done and can start working on the action points straight away. What’s more, thanks to the asynchronous and centralized real-time work in MeisterTask, we now need far fewer meetings.”
Overall, Stefan believes that MeisterTask and MindMeister are the perfect solutions for UEBE:
“MeisterTask and MindMeister are absolutely the right solution for us. We’ve been using the tools for over six years and they have always evolved with us. I’m always surprised by the significant value every new feature delivers. For example, when Agenda was introduced, my day-to-day work became instantly easier.”
“Personally, I would recommend the tools to anyone. I can’t think of any use case they wouldn’t apply to. MeisterTask and MindMeister are a great option for efficient management of tasks, ideas and information. Just see for yourself!”
