Digitization as action plan “enabler”

Categories: digitalizationPublished On: 31.01.2020

Digitization is a megatrend that has made its mark on every company. While it is relatively easy to set a digitization strategy, many companies find it more difficult to implement concrete digitization measures. In our view, digitization is an often-indispensable lever in turning major action plans into sustainable change and improved performance.

Figure 1 – In addition to classical levers, digitalization is an enabler for a sustainable future in all fields of action.

In each of the four fields of action addressed by acondas Next®, digitization acts as an optimization lever:

Processes and structures: The first step in optimizing operations is often a careful assessment of sub-processes along the value chain. To perform quantitative analysis, “process mining”, the big-data analysis of processes and their variants, can be used to measure throughput times, detect inefficiencies and rule violations, and derive optimization approaches. However, based on this data-driven analysis, improvement measures must be derived and implemented in order to achieve real change. Digitization can support implementation through process automation and the use of robots for standard processes.

Market and customer: Digitalization also affects products, services and marketing/sales models beyond digital business models. These days, many customers expect a fluid on- and offline shopping, purchase and user experience. In retail, multi- and omnichannel marketing and sales approaches help avoid customer waste and create added value, for example through convenient, immediately available, personalized products. Digitally driven concepts such as “crowdsourcing” can be combined with classic business models, for example in product development with platforms such as “99Designs”.

Assets: In the age of digitization, intangible capital, data and information are increasingly important. Big data can now be more easily and efficiently collected, stored, analyzed and managed in the cloud. Recording and analyzing client behavior along all touch points of the customer journey can provide new insights into future client needs. Artificial intelligence quickly makes such data useful in the development of valuable components for new products and services. In addition, digitalization can also help optimize physical assets. For example, a promising approach is modularizing large plants using the Industry 4.0 framework to increase production flexibility using digital plant management systems.

Employees: Today, every action plan to better recruit, develop and retain employees is directly influenced by digitization: whether it be the use of social media in employer branding and recruiting, e-learning offers for employee development or innovative forms of performance management. In addition, the content of work and personal development is also changing. Agile working methods, networking, digital skills and digital behavior are just a few of the trends changing the workplace.

The acondas NEXT® approach has been applied successfully in many areas. A few examples include:  integrating logistics along the supply chain or real-time flow in process mining, and optimizing and automating internal processes to speed up throughput times. Our innovative and comprehensive approach to realizing improvement plans will help you identify the opportunities digitization can offer your company – and take advantage of them. Our extensive experience in a wide range of digitization programs and our deep expertise in implementing complex action plans will help ensure lasting results.

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