The Zurich-based fintech start-up AMNIS Treasury Services AG has set itself the task of optimizing international payment transactions. Having just completed a major financing round, the company believes it is well equipped for further growth.
Like other federal, cantonal and municipal administrative bodies, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy regularly awards contracts to external service providers. For a tender in the area of innovation promotion, the Federal Office has now used a dialog-based award procedure for the first time.
Microlearning is increasingly being practiced in corporate training in particular. Why is this format also preferred to one-day seminars? Is a co-existence between one-day seminars and microlearning possible or should one decide for or against it? Below is an outline of the topic of "microlearning" and why this format is in vogue.
The Swiss economy is facing rougher winds than ever before. More and more companies are struggling with high costs and a lack of sales. New markets and new or more solvent customers are needed. What does this mean for sales and the entire company management?
More and more companies are looking for ways to become more agile and promote talent. One promising approach is the skills-based organization (SBO). This places skills at the center of the talent strategy in order to achieve better results.
In a globalized world, theoretical knowledge is not enough - managers need to actively experience intercultural competence. The International Weeks offer precisely this opportunity: participants gain practical insights into global business strategies, sustainable innovations and cooperative business models on site.
With a collection rate of 86%, Switzerland is one of the leading countries in paper recycling. However, the paper market is changing: while the consumption of graphic paper is falling, the demand for packaging material is increasing. What does this mean for the circular economy?
SMEs agree that further training is important. But how it is implemented varies from company to company. Two SMEs from different sectors provide information about their training strategy and why they also involve "competitors".
The Deutschsprachige SAP-Anwendergruppe e.V. (DSAG) independently represents the interests of more than 4000 SAP user companies. DSAG works together with SAP on an equal footing and influences product development. In Switzerland, this network has around 300 member companies. The new board member Markus Bierl wants to strengthen the focus on SMEs.
Corporate culture is a key success factor. Those who ignore it risk the long-term competitiveness of their company. This article presents a simple, practical model.
Logistics is on the threshold of a new era. Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way we work in almost all areas of logistics. Price pressure is forcing the potential to be exploited quickly.
Hannes is a fictional character in an industrial company, and "Hannes manages" is the title of the corresponding series of stories. Including subtle satire from and about the management floors ...
After years of various optimization processes, you are once again faced with new challenges. Everything that has been cut, halved, outsourced and "optimized" is done. Hannes reflects that these were challenging years. But the credo has been put up: "We have to get through this - there will be good times later". In other words: grit your teeth now, unwind everything there is to unwind and then get back to the day-to-day business. Hannes was looking forward to this moment, when the management meetings would once again focus on the core business and no longer just ask the question: "Where else can we cut costs?
Hannes happily takes his seat in the committee. However, it seems suspicious that the CFO is already there before the meeting starts and is trying to connect his laptop to the big screen via ClickShare. The fact that instructions on how to connect ClickShare are constantly being displayed instead of a picture is beginning to grate on the CFO's nerves. But Hannes, being the man of action, pulls an even dustier HDMI cable out of a dusty drawer, connects it and "source found" appears, followed by the welcome screen.
However, its content does not bode well. "Optimization and globalization of the disbursement process". Optimization" sets alarm bells ringing for Hannes and he suspects that his ideas for new products will once again have to take a back seat in the discussion.
And so it went. The meeting starts with a brief introduction by the CEO, in which the unshakeable belief in optimization is placed firmly as a spoiler to the topic. With "We have investigated and evaluated", the guardian of the treasury gets straight to the point. The disbursement processes are too expensive. Especially as we are talking about money that others are entitled to, but where we are only paying bills at the moment. In other words: wage payments, purchase of machines, services, reimbursements in the context of warranty claims, etc.
There is still potential for optimization here. Because it's best not to spend money that you have to spend - or at least to spend it later. Then you'll have it for longer. Simple business contexts from school.
It was therefore decided to outsource the entire disbursement process to India. Not only do they work more cheaply there. But if the transfer doesn't arrive, you can't just stomp into the office and slam a "where's the money?" on the table in a communicative manner. The pilot operation has shown that e-mails are also not answered or hardly answered at all, or at least with a three-week delay. All of this creates space to do something else with the money instead of spending it. In addition, the process stipulates that no work is done on public holidays in India and that the money is not transferred on a public holiday in Europe. It makes sense ... Nobody needs the money from a paid machine on Ascension Day either.
For example, in April there are no transfers on days such as Mahavir Jayanti, the beginning of Passover, Vaisakhi, Mesadi, Ambeddkar due to Indian public holidays and on the Monday after Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Monday and the eve of May 1st due to European public holidays. Of course, the service is generally closed from Friday noon to Monday noon. This is because no money is spent anywhere on Monday, after all, everyone is in meetings there - for example, to decide on outsourcing processes to be optimized ...
Stefan Häseli is a communications trainer, keynote speaker, moderator and author of several books. He runs a training company in eastern Switzerland. www.stefan-haeseli.com
