Website: https://www.zeiss.com/semiconductor-manufacturing-technology/home.html
Where Technology Meets Decisions: Committee Work at SMT
ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology GmbH (SMT) is part of the semiconductor division of Carl Zeiss AG and operates in a technology-driven environment characterized by complex issues, high coordination requirements, and clear regulatory frameworks. Against this backdrop, committee work forms a central component of effective governance and organizational reliability.
In his role as Executive Assistant, Jakob Raddatz supports the work of Executive Management and is responsible for preparing, conducting, and following up on central management and board meetings. The system has now become an integral part of daily operations.
"We introduced Boardwise in summer 2025. We have been live for about three to four months," Raddatz describes the current status.
When Routine Processes Become a Time Factor
In the daily work surrounding management and board meetings, one thing became particularly evident at ZEISS SMT: The effort resulted from numerous recurring work steps distributed across preparation, execution, and follow-up.
"In daily operations, there were three central challenges: meeting rescheduling, the high manual effort in minute creation, and assignment tracking," explains Jakob Raddatz.
This became particularly visible in agenda work. Changes to individual agenda items rarely remained isolated but had impacts on other items, time slots, and coordination.
Minute creation was also characterized by numerous detailed tasks. Information such as times, participants, or attendance was generally available but had to be compiled from various sources and transferred manually.
The situation was similar with task tracking:
"Tasks were manually transferred from the minutes to Excel and tracked separately," Raddatz describes the former practice.
The Decision for an Integrated Solution
As part of the search for a suitable solution, ZEISS SMT also examined alternative approaches. This included, among others, a heavily SharePoint-based application that was evaluated internally. In practical application, however, it became clear that this approach could only address the specific requirements of committee work to a limited extent.
The decisive factor in choosing Boardwise was the ability to represent committee work as an integrated process.
"The decision was clear: the range of functions – and the integration with Microsoft 365," Raddatz summarizes the decision basis.
Additionally, the corporate structure had an accelerating effect on the decision process. Since central IT and security reviews had already been completed at the corporate level, ZEISS SMT was spared a considerable portion of the usual coordination effort.
Seamless Transition to Operational Use
The start with Boardwise at ZEISS SMT was deliberately designed to be practice-oriented. On-site, the team was able to get a concrete picture of the workflows in practice.
"The onboarding was very well organized. Functions were explained and questions were answered," reports Jakob Raddatz.
Particularly relevant for ZEISS SMT was the immediate transition from onboarding to ongoing operations. The implementation did not end with system release but transitioned directly into reliable support.
"The transition from onboarding to ongoing support was very smooth. I have dedicated contact persons, regular coordination meetings, and know the developer responsible for us," says Raddatz.
That this structure also works in daily operations became evident early on from his perspective.
"An issue we addressed was resolved within about 20 hours," Raddatz adds.
Noticeable Effects in Preparation and Follow-up
The impact of Boardwise at ZEISS SMT is particularly evident where previously high manual coordination effort was required. Especially in meeting follow-up, processes were significantly simplified and accelerated.
"In preparation, we save about 25 percent time, mainly through automated meeting rescheduling. In follow-up, the time savings are about 50 percent," explains Jakob Raddatz.
In particular, minute creation, coordination of individual content, and task tracking now work together much more effectively. Activities that were previously organized across multiple steps and systems can now be represented in an integrated process.
"Minute creation, coordination, and assignment tracking now cause significantly less manual effort," Raddatz summarizes the changes.
Relief Across Multiple Roles
Boardwise unfolds its impact at ZEISS SMT throughout the entire committee work. Documents are available where they are created, schedule changes take effect automatically, and tasks remain transparently traceable at all times.
Different roles benefit from this in daily operations: Presenters can update content independently, assistant teams are relieved of manual maintenance and distribution efforts, and Executive Management receives a clear overview of agendas and tasks.
The low barrier to entry is also crucial for widespread adoption.
"The user interface is intuitively designed. This is an important aspect especially for Executive Management," emphasizes Jakob Raddatz.
Circular Resolutions: The Next Logical Step
In addition to meetings, circular resolutions are becoming increasingly important at ZEISS SMT. Previously, they were characterized by numerous manual individual steps.
"The process included templates, PDFs, signatures, returns, and additional documentation lists – a very elaborate administrative chain," Jakob Raddatz describes the initial situation.
With Boardwise, this process is being restructured and represented as an integrated component of committee work. The decision process remains fully transparent throughout.
"The process is documented in a completely traceable manner. It is always evident who performed which step," explains Raddatz.
The efficiency gain is considerable:
"Just by eliminating the administrative chain, we expect to save at least one-third of the previous effort, more likely towards 50 percent," says Raddatz.
Conclusion: A Sustainable Foundation with Clear Perspective
With Boardwise, ZEISS SMT has realigned committee work where numerous manual intermediate steps previously slowed down processes. Preparation, execution, and follow-up now follow clear logic, work together consistently, and create reliable transparency across decisions.
In the long term, ZEISS SMT also plans to integrate AI functions more strongly into minute creation.
"Boardwise in three words: Efficient, user-friendly, feature-rich," Jakob Raddatz summarizes it succinctly.
Ready for the Next Step in Your Committee Work?
Would you like to represent agendas, minutes, tasks, and circular resolutions in an integrated system – instead of working with individual files, lists, and copy-paste?
Boardwise combines structure, transparency, and accountability in a modern governance solution – fully embedded in Microsoft 365.
👉 Request a demo now and experience how committee work functions today.
