The explosive growth of applications and industrial sectors that rely on broadband connectivity, is set to stretch the demand for wireless networks beyond the reach of the power grid infrastructure. Access points are being deployed on board of drones, while more than 84,000 hybrid-energy base stations are expected to be deployed annually in remote areas by 2020. Portable network nodes that are energy-autonomous and operate detached from the power grid will become indispensable in the coming applications of wireless networks. Energy-autonomy presents immense challenges for the wireless network design and imposes a complete re-think of technological solutions. PAINLESS has the visionary aim to establish a training and research platform to pioneer green, energy-autonomous portable network nodes which are self-subsistent and limitlessly-scalable, to satisfy future demands with minimal infrastructure. It promises a paradigm shift by integrating and jointly optimising wireless networks with renewable energy sources, radiated energy harvesting and airborne access points, as well as establishing disruptive performance benchmarks for the combined wireless power-and-information distribution. Our results will kick-start an innovation ecosystem for infrastructure and service providers of ICT to develop and commercialise a new generation of autonomous, sustainable and power-independent communication networks with self-organising functionality, to enable 100% coverage in urban environments in a power-efficient manner; provide network access to all types of emergency, disaster and special events areas; and connect remote / developing areas with problematic infrastructure. PAINLESS relates to H2020-MSCA with a vision to produce the first generation of experts in a radically new wave of energy autonomous networks that will revolutionise the wireless networking technology landscape and the plethora of associated vertical business sectors.

<< Background >>In the last decades, the European economy has transformed into a “network economy”. Firms have reduced their depth of production, relying on increasingly differentiated supply chain. Managing the buyer-supplier interface in an efficient and mutually beneficial way thus becomes a key challenge for a modern economy, requiring perfectly skilled workforce at this interface. Recently, the first empirically validated Pan-European skill set for purchasing managers has been identified and a training curriculum prepared, through an Erasmus + project (project PERFECT, Stek and Schiele, 2021). Surprisingly, the counter-part on the sales side is still missing. That is what project CustMaS is doing: identify an empirically validated Pan-European skill set for customer managers and develop a respective training curriculum (CUSTomer MAnagement Skills – CustMaS). In this way, skilled personnel on both sides of the buyer-supplier interface will be available, providing the European economy with a competitive advantage through a highly skilled workforce. Some partners of the CustMaS consortium have been involved in the previous research (Twente in project PERFECT and Graz additionally in a spin-off E+ project on sustainability skills called PERISCOPE). The consortium is completed with dedicated and complementary know-how focussing on the B2B sales side and a balanced geographical scope, covering all cultural areas of Europe (Münster, Athens, Warsaw). In this way, project CustMaS can mirror the successful E+ project PERFECT (www.project-perfect.eu), ensuring administrative excellence and content-wise leadership.Specifically, the buying and selling of components (business-to-business B2B) has become an activity of increasing relevance in a well-functioning economy. For instance, when the first VW “Beetle” was produced right after WW II, it had a depth of production of 85%; no more than 15% of its value was purchased. In contrast, the new Porsche Cayenne has the opposite relation between in-house production and parts sourced, so 85% of its value is being directly transferred to suppliers (Schiele, 2019). This trend is reflected across all sectors, with purchasing costs of a B2B firm in Europe being approximately 60% of the overall costs (Schmid & Grosche, 2008). The average of the top 30 Dutch companies are even buying 70% of their turnover (Andriesen, 2019).What is more, within the context of a network economy, European industry has been confronted with an additional set of complex challenges including the intensified global competition and the resulting fundamental change in customer behaviour, the high volatility and susceptibility to crises of global supply networks, raising sustainability issues and continuous demographic change (European Commission 2019a, 2019b, 2020). Fortunately, new digital technologies developing in the fourth industrial revolution (I4.0) offer a chance to cope with these challenges. Digitalisation also disrupts the traditional buyer-seller interaction (Krafft, Sajtos & Haenlein, 2020). CustMaS is, therefore, going to pay special attention not only to identify current success skills, but identify the necessary digitalization skills as core part of the 21st century skills.However, this is not reflected in curricula at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) nor in corporate skills development programs offered by professional providers of vocational education and training (Omazic & Zunk, 2021). A scientifically based skills development programme in customer management is missing, even more reflecting the increasing digitalisation requirements. The present project aims to fill this educational gap and contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the European economy by ensuring optimal optimal training of professional B2B (business-to-business) sales personnel in order to reduce inefficiencies and frictions in the digitalising supply network.<< Objectives >>The objective of the project is to design an empirically validated skills model for B2B customer management skills and a (post-graduate level) curriculum and program guide for developing these skills. The curriculum will be offered as a Master’s program and will foster the cooperation between the participating universities concerning sales professionals’ customer management skills in the context of increasingly digitalized B2B markets (e.g., setting up and selling in virtual showrooms, diagnosing customer needs online, text analytics useful in modelling the topics that B2B buyers prioritize on their web site, in e-mails, twitter posts etc). In particular, the project has the following objectives:a)Develop an up-to-date, comprehensive, and empirically validated model of skills in B2B customer management in a digitalising world.b)Develop a post-graduate level course curriculum and program guide including program intended learning outcomes, appropriate pedagogy and evaluation strategies.c)Disseminate the results of the project for a broader community. The project is going to develop a self-assessment tool for customer management skill evaluation and prepare an introductory Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on upskilling and reskilling. The course can be used by students in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, logistics, industrial engineering, life sciences (e.g., biology, biotechnology, pharmacology, zoology) and business administration as well as by other learners. It will also help in promoting awareness and interest towards professional sales and selling career paths that appear to offer a bright outlook in the job market of the future.Sales occupations (i.e., sales engineers, sales representatives of services, wholesale, and manufacturing) have been classified as occupations with a bright outlook “projected to grow faster than average” and “to have 100,000 or more job openings over the period 2019-2029 [only] for the US” (o*net online, 2021). Importantly, market reports note insufficient talent as a key barrier for B2B sellers in Europe (Integer Group & Coppeberg, 2021). It follows, that for European B2B firms to compete for the markets of purchasing expenses they need sales professionals that will be skillful in accommodating changing B2B buying behaviour.<< Implementation >>To realise the ambition of creating an empirically validated European curriculum on customer management skills in digitalizing B2B markets, the following steps are undertaken, leading to five intellectual outputs (IOs):IO1.Customer Management Skills: The project activity “Development of Customer Management Skills in a digitalising B2B Context” contains the literature review identifying the state of the art of B2B sales, selling and sustainable, digital marketing education (competence models; learning programs and job description, skill proposals). It will also identify the characteristics and needs of the learners and broadly what the learners will need to do to successfully upskill or reskill. At the end of this phase, the current knowledge in literature will be fully mapped and summarised [lead by Münster]IO2.Best Practice Benchmark: In the project activity “Development of Benchmarking Cases”, a case study interview guide will be designed based on the literature review and theoretical basis of Output 1. Succesful practice case companies are then selected based on various sampling criteria (e.g. size, industry, purchasing maturity), including multinational corporations, small and medium-sized companies, as well as associations and consultancies. Visiting these companies, next to the literature know-how aquired in IO1, possibly missing skills already established in practice training programmes will be added. In this way it can be made sure that a comprehensive set of B2B customer managment skills will be available. [lead by Graz]IO3.Skills and Training Survey: The “best practices” are only assumed best practices, when a large quantitative survey confirms them. Therefore, the project is going to verify the practices and skills identified during the literature review and the benchmark phase by conducting a “Pan-European B2B Skills Survey”. Importantly, this survey will not only describe the application of practices, but will also measure the success of the respective organisations. It is not sufficient, to just describe what firms are doing in their training and which skills acting professionals have, but to identify those skills which actually explain the success. This way it will – for the first time – become possible to identify those practices which can be successfully distinguished from those of less successful sales personnel. [lead by Twente]IO4.Designed curriculum for higher education: Based on the empirically verified skill and practices set and the needs of the learners, a Digital Sustainable Customer Management Skills in B2B curriculum for education on a Master’s level will be designed. Strategic commitments of the program will be developed (e.g., knowledgeable sales and selling action) from which Program Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs) will be further specified. Evaluation strategies of the intended outcomes will also be specified and a program guide will also be offered addressing the needs of trainers involved in the program and administrators who will support its operations. The developed curriculum will be initially tested and refined in an international summer school inviting representative students from all participating organizations [lead by Athens]IO5.Introductory Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): This project activity will build on the designed curriculum and the preliminary feedback results from the international summer school and will, a) specify the pedagogy, b) develop the content, and c) technically implement a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on digital customer management skills in B2B. [lead by Warsaw]<< Results >>In the end, the following pieces of outcome will be available:•An overview of the state-of-the-art research (literature) in the field of B2B sales, selling and digital marketing skills in industrial markets•A collection of implemented best practices from firms (i.e., corporate training methods and content that evidently works; e.g., mentoring; lunch and learns, etc).•Pedagogical methods most suited for skilling, upskilling and reskilling talent in the domain of digital and sustainable B2B sales and selling.•An empirically validated (digital and sustainable) 21st Century B2B customer management skills model.•A sample curriculum for higher education (post-graduate level) and program intended learning outcomes and a program guide.•A prototypical MOOC, accessible to European learners