How a layover sparked a winning innovation

At Allianz Trade, innovation isn’t just encouraged. It’s a central part of our 2028 corporate strategy, Shape & Scale, and valued as essential for creativity and collaboration.

In the fall of 2024, this commitment drove the launch of Shape It Up, a global innovation contest for Allianz Trade employees. It targets three themes – growth, simplification and customer experience – and is aimed at engaging our people in Shape & Scale.

For Cristina Olteanu, Credit Director for Central and Eastern European Countries, the company-wide call for ideas led inspiration to strike unexpectedly. “At the airport in Vienna, Austria, I had an idea for automating a manual process we do at Allianz Trade,” she says. After sending a message to colleagues inviting anyone interested to help, word of mouth led people across the company to jump in.

Before long, a team spanning four European countries – from Romania to France – was created. “When I saw that colleagues of mine were in, my first thought was, “let’s do it!” says Nora Szanyi, Senior Credit Underwriter. “I think that once we understood the project had real potential, we all had an ‘a-ha’ moment.”

Cristina’s idea focused on streamlining an internal process. “Every customer interaction needs to be logged, which can be overwhelming,” says Rodrigo Acosta, Group Credit Claims and Collection Modeler Manager. The winning concept thus leverages innovative technology to enhance the efficiency of customer interaction management. “I felt this would help teams allocate their skills and time to providing a higher level of customer service,” says Cristina. So did Razvan Rosca, Head of Claims & Collections, Group Competence Center, who contributed his technical abilities to the project. “I knew it would bring deep value for employees and clients – it made me think, ‘this is the reason I have my skills’,” he says.

To keep the project on track, the team divided tasks based on everyone’s strengths, combining weekly calls with individual responsibilities. “Using this agile methodology in our approach enabled us to be flexible while encouraging ownership,” says Martin Bak, Credit Director Slovakia.

After submitting their idea in November, they then went through multiple rounds of pitches judged by regional and global management teams leading up to the final stage: a two-day hackathon in March where six finalist teams presented their ideas to the Allianz Trade Board of Management. “The competition came down to our team and one other with a very strong project – we were sure they would walk away with the award,” says Cristina. “When the CEO announced us as the winning team, we couldn’t believe it. But once the shock wore off, we felt an overwhelming sense of joy!”

Throughout the competition, all the teams received a lot of support, encouragement and resources from regional and local management. Critical roles were also played by the ambassadors of the winning project: Matt Williams, NEUR Regional Credit Director and Ana Boata, Head of Economic Research, as well as the topic sponsor, Ed Goos, CEO of Allianz Trade in Benelux. “Without their help and guidance, the journey here would not have been as enriching,” says Cristina.

For Cristina and her team, this innovation mindset transforms ways of working for the benefit of both colleagues and customers. “Overall, Shape It Up is a huge testament to Allianz Trade’s value for improving processes through collaboration with colleagues,” says Rodrigo. “When they launched the contest, everyone from board members to CEOs were saying this was an important initiative.” By actively making space for internal talent to contribute ideas, Allianz Trade ultimately creates pathways to more impactful solutions for customers.

“Looking back at the last six months, the contest has shaped a different way of thinking,” says Cristina. “Winning Shape It Up has taught me that innovation is not a process but a mindset – it’s all about opening your mind and stepping out of your comfort zone.”

While the victory was a milestone for the whole team, the excitement hasn’t stopped there: only 40 days after their win, the team succeeded in launching the pilot for their tool in the Central European region. “It’s now a live solution improving the process by more than 40% compared to the last two years!” says Selma Obretin, Data Science Project Manager. “It’s as though we planted a seed and now have a little plant!” says Raluca. “We’ll see how big our tree grows.”