For many small and medium-sized businesses in Munich and Upper Bavaria, the Munich Chamber of Industry and Commerce's Information and Service Center (ISZ) is the first point of contact for all questions related to entrepreneurship. This service is also of interest to startups. The ISZ provides free initial information on many topics and connects entrepreneurs with the right Chamber of Industry and Commerce expert to serve as a contact.
The ISZ receives between 10,000 and 12,000 inquiries per month. These inquiries cover countless topics that concern companies, ranging from training to customs documents. Joachim Burk, Head of the ISZ, gives an overview of what the information and service center does for companies and how you can use its services.
How does the Information and Service Center help startup founders and companies?
The 17 colleagues in the Information and Service Center are information professionals. We take great care to ensure that our customers quickly reach a personal contact at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Our goal is to serve the customer in a needs-based and tailored manner from the Chamber of Commerce's broad range of information. In over 50 percent of cases, we can already provide a definitive answer and send informational materials. Otherwise, we know which specialists at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry are available to answer further questions or where the entrepreneur could turn.
We receive the most questions about training and continuing education. Information on legal issues is also a priority. Smaller companies, in particular, appreciate the Chamber of Industry and Commerce's information, as they usually don't have their own legal department. In an increasingly integrated world, import and export issues are also quickly becoming of interest.
In addition to answering individual inquiries, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Information and Service Center offers additional services. What are they?
We are the specialists when it comes to business contacts at home and abroad, or when entrepreneurs are interested in who manufactures certain goods or offers services. The Information and Service Center also serves as a registration office for the digital signature card, certifies continuing education certificates, and issues EU certificates when proof of a specific activity in another EU country is required.
How and when can I contact the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Information and Service Center?
We are available at 089/5116-0 from Monday to Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Customers who wish to visit us in person are welcome to contact us Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. E-mail inquiries can be reached at info@muenchen.ihk.de.
What was the strangest request you can remember?
There are a whole range of inquiries that repeatedly present us with tricky challenges. Just recently, a concerned wife called us with the following request:
"My husband has been working in the security industry for some time. He never used to take drugs, but for the past few weeks he's been smoking joints at work. I've already informed his boss three times, but he doesn't seem to care. Surely I have a place to complain about my husband? It can't be that he's taking drugs as a security guard. What can the Chamber of Industry and Commerce do against him?"
