Digitisation is a fundamental reorganisation of customer-corporate relationships.

Businesses (and us with them) are under double the pressure. On the one hand, they are required to be more and more efficient in order to remain price competitive. On the other, innovation is expected in ever shorter cycles to create a better experience for the customer, and thus to be better in service.

More flexible manufacturing processes, customer and application-specific (physical) product development, and holistic value creation along the entire customer-corporate lifecycle demand new approaches. Digitisation promises to be the solution.

Such digital solutions go well beyond pure marketing and reach deep into service and product design (physical and digital). Too often, these topics are still dealt with in companies in traditional structures with competing centres of expertise or outsourced to external consultants or start-ups. However, the core engine for growth through digitisation is not brought to life in a focused way.

?

Continuous and long-term change only works with one's own concentrated competence, in which each individual expert can contribute. Methodologically, however, this must be driven by digital core competence, customer-centric approaches, courage to try things out and willingness to constantly optimise. Everyone is challenged to argue for the "real benefit" close to the consumer and to be able to think in concrete, truly visual solutions themselves – interdisciplinary, transparent, without pulling out of responsibility when solutions go live. This change is a process that takes much longer than one is told. However, not everything has to be directly rushed either. A determined will in this direction and staying power are the best prerequisites.

?

These 8 positive effects of digitisation still help me today when it comes to questioning the direction of change in every project:

?

1. Digitisation is a freedom from established barriers.

Digitisation means saying goodbye to all barriers, intended and unintended. There are no more information gaps and no more hidden sales structures. Instead, added values in everyday life and needs-based services are gaining significance. You can strive to be the biggest with new solutions, the first or even the best in very special areas - you can establish your own platforms or shine in collaboration. But one thing is clear: the internet is transparent, promotes D2C approaches and offers no room for veiled concepts.

?

2. Digitisation is true collaboration among companies and customers.

New business models must be comprehensible, sustainable and, above all, oriented towards people's needs. Consumers are looking for new ideas that can be as practical as they are surprisingly entertaining. Finding true insights in our private and professional (work) everyday life and bringing targeted new solutions to it is the real "gold" in any ideation process. (And I personally hope that this goes far beyond personalised chocolate).

?

3. Digitisation is the art of creating simplicity out of growing complexity.

No matter what methods we use – large posters on the wall, in Miro and with many post-its – the crucial point is to bring in the most diverse input from analysis to ideation to product definition in a structured process, and to finally celebrate a solution′s simplicity. Facts and figures from the company, the market and the users must be brought into a meaningful context to draw decisive insights from them. Solutions need to be based on value, user experience and revenue model together and understood clearly. Steering through this process needs to be valued much more explicitly.

?

4. Digitisation creates all-new solutions through cross-competitive alliances.

It is a logical consequence to develop more extensive services from true customer needs. For example, in car sharing, to cooperate across brands, to link smart home monitoring systems with insurance services or to make electricity rates cheaper by networking consumers. Success comes from thinking in holistic solutions and not closing oneself off to competition.

?

5. Digitisation is to strive for global applicability.

Each market has its own history and dynamics. However, in many aspects, e.g., when it comes to convenience, general lifestyle or subject-specific challenges, the users are also the same. This is exactly what needs to be discovered: where are global solutions better, more effective, more efficient, and where exactly do we still need local, unique features (e.g., no launch of e-commerce applications in Japan without a gift-wrapping feature)? The solution itself of course must always be architecturally and organisationally scalable.

?

6. Digitisation is thinking big but framing expectations.

It is simply impossible to get everything right and perfect at the beginning. Often, it is only with the use of an application that you can realise where the entire solution will develop. Accordingly, the path to the first go-live must be kept as short as possible and the MVP must be underpinned with initial objectives that are comprehensible. Too extensive a board template slows down the process and stirs up too much expectation. Instead, KPIs and tracking concepts should be implemented from the beginning and work should continue based on the findings.

?

7. Digitisation is constant, positive change, not unconditional disruption.

At least that is how I would like to see it. Digital transformation is a fluid process of change to create concrete added value. In the process, existing business models are often first upgraded with complementary services. Such services can be sufficiently good that they are also monetised towards the users. They can even be so good that they replace established business models. However, the energy should flow into the ideas, not just into displacement tactics.

?

8. Digitisation is valuing expertise, not promoting a new panacea.

Source of innovation can be found in the expertise of real specialists. Incorporating this knowledge into the development of digital solutions and showing the perspective of potential users is the job of good consulting. Agile certificates, design thinking methods, business design sprints are helpful here - but a little humility towards decades of research or engineering work is also welcome. In my experience, SMEs are always an area where mature products, expertise, corporate culture and experience with one's own customers and their use of products meet – the best springboard for digital innovation.