More courage to digitalize
Pressebox 23.02.2018
Chinese managers obtained information about innovative solutions via digitalization at the consultancy and software company develogment in Kempen.
The word digitalization unsettles many people or even scares some. What is happening there? Does technology replace my job? How does digitalization change my life? Sven Vogel, managing director of develogment GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered at the Industriering Ost in Kempen, knows this Fear 4.0. Yet he is convinced that companies will be more successful with more courage to digitalize.
A visit from guests from China showed that the question about work in the future is a matter for the whole world. As part of an alumni program run by the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ), nine executives from Jiangsu, the North Rhine-Westphalian partner province, came to the Lower Rhine region to obtain information about innovative solutions through digitalization.
According to Sven Vogel’s advice we need “more courage to digitalize”. The world is changing – and companies need to adapt. This change process offers entrepreneurs and employees many opportunities. It advances work processes and saves costs. When invoices or shipping documents arrive, they can immediately be digitally recorded and automatically processed. Pending transports to China, for example, can be systematically checked for all necessary shipping and customs documents as soon as the order is received by the logistics company. By analyzing social media platforms like Facebook, it is possible to check, while planning the transport, whether a strike might occur at a port of call in three days. Consequently, the transport routes are proactively optimized in real-time, Vogel told the audience. Digitalization gives you a head start.
Companies only become more successful when they open up and actively promote cooperation along the entire value chain. Yes, robots and artificial intelligence mean that many jobs will become redundant or drastically change, according to Sven Vogel. “However, robots and artificial intelligence will not replace us completely. Instead, we will learn to work with them. New professional fields will emerge which we cannot even fathom today.” We encourage and expect lifelong learning from every employee. Rigid corporate hierarchies are counterproductive and paralyze digitalization. Profound discussions were held with the Chinese professionals about these necessary changes in corporate culture.
Sven Vogel is convinced that the era of large, monolithic software solutions is coming to an end. Instead, many systems will be working together in a service-oriented manner as companies become increasingly connected in the future. At the end, all parties benefit from it. The company develogment is playing its part. In spring 2017, the company was founded in the Technologie- und Gründerzentrum Niederrhein in Kempen and has been growing ever since. Both the managing directors, Sven Vogel and Jens Kokon, as well as their employees have many years of experience in IT and logistics. They support medium-sized companies on their way to digitalization, but are also an excellent partner for large companies. Logistics is the core of the service portfolio. In addition to Germany, the company also focuses on the Benelux countries.
The logistics consultancy and software company develogment GmbH & Co. KG offers its customers assessments, consulting services and project management with a focus on digitalization and logistics optimization. Additionally, develogment supports its customers in the technical realization of digitalization projects. Innovative software solutions such as crossdoxx or crosslinxx help to automate and to integratively handle business processes without media disruption. develogment also has a strong position in the Managed Analytics sector. Its goal is to make large amounts of data transparent and actively accessible to the customer.
With the objective of contributing to the development of sustainable cooperation and economic relations between North Rhine-Westphalia and Jiangsu, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) implements a practice-oriented networking program which contributes to exchange-based knowledge transfer and mutually beneficial perspectives. The areas of digitalization, Industry 4.0, innovations and startups are key thematic tenets. The program is sponsored and funded by the Ministry of Economics, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and by the Ministry of Commerce of Jiangsu Province, China.