25 years of cluetec – from pioneer of mobile market research to audit specialist for digital quality assurance

Our founding in October 2000 coincided with a time of change. The new millennium ushered in the era of digital and mobile communications in Germany – not least thanks to UMTS and the growing popularity of mobile devices like the Palm Pilot.

We recognized early on that the new mobile network infrastructure offered enormous potential not only for consumers but also for data-driven business processes. With a focus on mobile offline data collection, we developed the first software solutions for market research on mobile devices. Our co-founder, Matthias Helferich, provided technological impetus from the very beginning:

“We wanted to develop applications that would take real work off the user’s hands – through intuitive operation, robust offline capability, and clean data structures,” recalls Helferich.

In the 2010s, we achieved our breakthrough with the mQuest platform. Originally conceived as a tool for interviewers and field research teams, mQuest quickly became relevant in other industries – for example, traffic surveys, car clinics, claims settlement, store checks, and even quality assurance in industry.

The modular structure and platform independence made mQuest our successful product. At the same time, we consistently expanded our expertise in user experience (UX), IT security, and enterprise integration.

We are writing our latest success story with the product cluetec Audit. Since 2019, the software has offered a specialized solution for planning, conducting, evaluating and tracking audits in the production, logistics and service sectors.

“cluetec Audit is the logical further development of our platform idea,” says Matthias Helferich. “We spoke to companies that had to manage audits using Excel, Word and paper lists. From this, we developed a system that not only digitizes, but also really improves processes – making them more flexible, legally compliant and significantly more efficient.”

Today takes place cluetec Audit is particularly popular in production, with technical service providers and in certified industrial companies – wherever conformity to standards, traceability and scalability are required.

A significant growth step for us in 2022 was the entry of Possehl Digital GmbH , a subsidiary of the Lübeck-based management holding company L. Possehl & Co. mbH . Even under the umbrella of the Possehl Group, we remain strategically independent and at the same time benefit from the synergies of a globally active group with over 13,000 employees.

“cluetec is driving digitization within quality assurance with great passion and innovation. With its expertise, cluetec ideally complements our portfolio and supports us in further advancing the digital strategy in the Possehl Group. In this way, we are securing the future viability of medium-sized industrial companies,” explains Christoph Haß, Managing Director of Possehl Digital GmbH.

Twenty-five years after our founding, we now employ 30 people at our Karlsruhe location. Our products have proven themselves millions of times over and are used worldwide in market research, the automotive sector, and industry.

In doing so, we are consistently looking to the future. With Audit Intelligence, we provide our customers with artificial intelligence that takes quality assurance to a new level.

“Our goal is to make audit processes more intelligent and predictive – with technologies like AI, but always with a focus on true usability,” says Helferich. “Technology is only valuable if it works for people.”

We are celebrating our anniversary with an internal summer party for employees and families as well as a user day entitled Audit smart, not hard. Presentations, customer talks and a joint review of our development are planned.

“25 years is a milestone – but it’s by no means the end of the road for us,” emphasizes Helferich. “We are only at the beginning of what is possible with mobile, intelligent solutions for the digitization of audits.”

cluetec GmbH, based in Karlsruhe, specializes in the digitization of quality assurance processes. Dazu zählen Audits, Kontrollen und Checklisten aller Art. Mit cluetec Audit bietet das Unternehmen eine leistungsstarke Software-Lösung für die Planung, Durchführung, Nachverfolgung und Analyse von Audits. cluetec Audit supports its customers in reducing business risk and operating more sustainably, while at the same time creating full transparency across the processes mapped.

The solution is used across a range of industries, particularly in mechanical and plant engineering, manufacturing, and technical services. cluetec has been part of the Possehl Digital Group since 2022.

Pressekontakt: cluetec GmbH, Lennart Preuß, l.preuss@cluetec.de