A highly dynamic team in a highly dynamic environment: The AI Center of Excellence drives innovation across the company, transforming business needs into AI-powered solutions.
Fresenius Digital Technology’s AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE) is dedicated to partnering with business stakeholders to co-create, implement and deliver AI-powered solutions that improve people’s lives and enhance business performance across all segments. The Center of Excellence was only set up at the beginning of 2024, but word has quickly spread across the organization, leading to a steady flow of requests from the business segments for consulting and support with AI solutions. The team uses cutting-edge AI solutions to transform ideas into prototypes, demonstrate their value and then scale them into robust, enterprise-grade solutions. In doing so, the AI CoE contributes to Fresenius top priority: advancing patient care and improving people’s lives.
The AI CoE serves as a central hub for AI initiatives throughout Fresenius. We belong to the FDT Application Operations department and work closely with stakeholders in the business segments – such as Fresenius Kabi and Helios. We strive to understand their specific challenges in order to consult and work together to create tailored AI solutions, which, in turn, provide substantial benefits. Our department was established to create an environment to accelerate innovation, to take ideas from concept to production, while always keeping a handle on this fast-evolving technology. The team stays up to date with the latest AI trends through continuous learning, attending regular exchanges with strategic partners, and participating in industry forums.
Our main goal is to convert the demands and ideas of the business segments into value-driven AI solutions. For this, we use a structured approach that involves understanding the problem, designing a feasible solution, and developing a proof of concept before implementation. Collaboration with the data protection and compliance teams is integral to this process, to ensure we can consider and navigate regulatory landscapes, including the upcoming EU AI Act.
Our work began with our corporate innovation board seed-funding several value-driven AI use cases. We also receive proactive enquiries from the business segments – they bring their ideas and problems to our Center of Excellence, and we specialize in consulting and delivering AI solutions. We have also established a monthly AI Practitioners Forum, which serves as a platform for knowledge sharing and idea generation across Fresenius. This open forum welcomes participants from all business segments, including Kabi and Helios, thus enabling collaboration and innovation across departments. In the forum, we present showcase examples to inspire business segments about the various options and possibilities. We welcome engagement from the business segments and encourage colleagues to approach us and share their ideas, challenges and new opportunities.
“A desire to make things happen” – this pretty much sums up the character that we expect from new colleagues. We need people with a hands-on attitude, who love to take responsibility and step up to the plate, and who enjoy working with the team to make it happen. They should never say “that’s impossible” but at the same time need to keep their feet on the ground and be able to judge what is feasible and what is not.
We all have the mindset that we can never know everything and must keep learning. As such, sharing knowledge is key. Potential candidates should want to create something new and innovative, as knowledge in this area is constantly evolving and therefore limitless. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about AI and its potential to revolutionize healthcare. Ideally, they should possess a strong technical background in AI, machine learning, or related fields, combined with excellent problem-solving skills. We value team players who can collaborate effectively across departments and who show commitment to ethical AI practices in healthcare. Experience in healthcare or life sciences is a plus, but not mandatory for those with strong AI expertise and a willingness to learn.
We developed the innovative Kabi SOP Assistant, which has enabled Kabi colleagues to find the information they need in seconds. Prior to this they had to navigate through Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Working Instructions (WIs), and Guiding Documents (GDs). The Kabi SOP Assistant leverages advanced AI technology with semantic search, so user queries are understood within their context, resulting in accurate, highly relevant results, which are delivered instantly. Additionally, its intuitive interface ensures seamless user interaction, while a robust security environment guarantees that only authorized personnel can access sensitive documents, upholding the highest standards of compliance and confidentiality.
Another project concerns the technical services team – a global team of about 500 colleagues who are responsible for servicing and maintaining Fresenius Kabi’s medical devices. So, for example, if a pump is not working properly and the problem cannot be solved remotely, a field service engineer travels to site and fixes the issue. We took all the codified knowledge from past service reports and combined this content from knowledge articles and technical documentation. We used this information to develop an AI-powered solution that automatically creates a briefing package condensing all the knowledge required for that specific service request. This not only makes the service faster, but also helps younger colleagues benefit from the knowledge of the experienced service staff.