Martin Schulze, chief executive officer of Bonn-based software company BusinessCode, has been appointed to the Federal Economic Senate (Bundeswirtschaftssenat) of the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW).
The appointment recognises Schulze’s entrepreneurial work and his involvement in digitalisation, innovation and Germany’s small and medium-sized business sector. BusinessCode has developed customised software solutions since 1999 and has grown into an internationally active technology company.
Schulze has led BusinessCode as CEO since 2018, shaping the company’s strategic development. The company has also spun off BlueBox Systems as an IT subsidiary, whose digital solutions are used in air freight logistics internationally.
Schulze said the appointment would give him an opportunity to bring the perspective of innovative SMEs into Germany’s economic policy dialogue.
“Especially in times of profound change, Germany needs strong small and medium-sized companies that take responsibility and help shape the future,” he said, adding that he viewed the appointment as recognition of the wider BusinessCode team’s work.
The BVMW said Schulze’s career reflects the combination of technological expertise and entrepreneurial responsibility that it seeks to promote through the Federal Economic Senate. The organisation also highlighted his view that digitalisation should be used as a means of generating economic value rather than pursued as an objective in itself.
The Federal Economic Senate is one of the BVMW’s principal leadership bodies. It brings together around 400 representatives from business, academia, politics and wider society to develop ideas and initiatives related to economic policy.
According to the BVMW information supplied with the appointment, members represent companies with combined annual revenues of approximately €120 billion and more than 1.2 million employees. The group includes global market leaders and so-called hidden champions from Germany’s SME sector.
Membership of the Federal Economic Senate is by nomination rather than application, with appointments intended to recognise significant entrepreneurial achievements and commitment to Germany as a business location.
Schulze’s appointment also adds an air cargo technology perspective to the BVMW’s wider digitalisation dialogue. BusinessCode has developed software for logistics companies, while its BlueBox Systems subsidiary specialises in digital solutions for air freight visibility and tracking. BusinessCode has previously described logistics digitalisation and real-time supply chain transparency as key areas of its international activities.
The appointment comes as German SMEs face continued pressure to improve digital processes, strengthen competitiveness and adapt to changing supply-chain and technology requirements.
