German Cosmetics Company Dr. Wolff Develops In-House AI Tool to Boost Productivity

Dr. Wolff, a mid-sized German cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturer with 930 employees worldwide, has developed WolffGPT, a custom AI tool built on existing large language models but connected only to selected company systems to protect proprietary data. The company established an AI Academy that has trained approximately 110 "AI pioneers" across its workforce—ordinary employees without necessarily technical backgrounds—who spend about 10 hours learning to use the technology effectively and identifying new applications. According to a study by ifaa, a German institute of applied work science, over 40% of German companies already use AI, with manufacturers most commonly employing it to generate texts, images, and code. The adoption reflects competitive pressures on small and medium-sized enterprises to boost productivity and offset skilled worker shortages, though workforce reservations have historically slowed widespread adoption. Across Europe, only about 6% of SMEs currently use AI according to OECD figures, suggesting Germany is ahead of the continental average.