Telecommunications include fiber-fast lines, TV boxes, apps and the latest in hi-tech. But should it sound the same? Department of Noise is convinced that customer service that is regionally based and has a local presence and expertise is worth at least as much. And this is where Quickline's new sound identity comes in: authentic, personal and Swiss. And thus differentiate itself from the competition in a refreshing way.

In September 2022, Quickline, Switzerland's fourth-largest telco provider, took the step from a regional to a national provider: Now all households in Switzerland can be reached. In order to win over these potential customers, the move is being accompanied by a broad-based communications campaign designed to make the brand known and noticeable beyond its current coverage area (Werbewoche.ch reported on the associated launch campaign). In the context of these measures and the need for a launch sound for the Quickline TV box, Department of Noise was commissioned to create a sound identity in the "sweet spot" between brand, ambition and market differentiation.

Within the strategic considerations, it became clear that proximity, warmth and empathy are the central aspects in Quickline's sound world. This is also intended to underscore the regional, family-like connection that characterizes the company. Accordingly, technical competence and experience are not emphasized by digital sounds, but by a multi-layered, dynamically executed sound image of acoustic and "classical" instruments.

During the creation phase, the brand sound was repeatedly placed in the context of the already produced Awareness campaign by Quickline and echoed. It was thus further sharpened and was also used there for the first time - together with the new audio logo.

The first stage of the project was completed with the development of a flexible scoring toolkit for social media communication and the touchpoint-specific launch sound of the Quickline TV box. "Developing sound and music that fit our positioning, cover different needs and uses, and override personal preferences was tricky and exciting work," says Iva Krüttli, Head of Communications at Quickline. "DoN kept picking us up with close listening and their expertise, keeping us involved in the process and guiding us to the goal." Urs von Ins, CMO at Quickline, adds, "DoN managed to steer us past every taste trap and, with their strategic approach, gave us the certainty that we were on the right track. Now we have a sound identity that is congruent with the brand strategy - and clearly differentiates us in a noisy environment."

Responsible at Quickline: Iva Krüttli (Head of Communications), Urs von Ins (Chief Marketing Officer), Roland Kopf (Product Manager TV); Responsible at Department of Noise: Florian Goetze and Ph!L!pp Schweidler (Strategy & Creative Direction), Yves Gerber (Creative Producer).

From April 18 to 21, 2023, the Aachen-based software house delivered ConSense GmbH a wide range of technical presentations, workshops and live conferences. More than 450 participants registered for the virtual QM exhibition ConSense Expo 2023 and almost 2000 people visited the conferences. At virtual exhibition booths the conference participants:in also expected a lot of news and information around living and accepted quality management and integrated management systems.

Future topic AI for QM software

Special attention was given to the future topic AI assistance for quality management systems and integrated management systems. In a much-noticed keynote, Dr. Alexander Künzer from the ConSense management presented the latest software version. According to his own presentation, the new release comes up with innovative AI technology for intelligent assistance and support functions in process and document management. In his presentation, he also showed how companies can achieve significantly more efficiency and performance with their management system in the future through the use of AI.

Tobias Beck, internationally successful speaker, Spiegel bestselling author and mental coach, was also very popular. In his humorous presentation "The language of success - the human type model", he explained how good knowledge of human nature can be used for targeted communication and successful QM projects.

Best practices and "enrichment and motivation for the daily QM routine".

QM managers from renowned companies, including Samuel Aubin from m-tg (international language service provider for medicine and pharmaceuticals) and Caroline Meyer from TÜV Austria, reported on applications in practice. ConSense user Vera Bremberger from the Austrian district hospital Kufstein spoke about the high demands on quality management in the hospital environment and the implementation in the management system. The visitors found the "open words and practical examples" as well as the "very clear" and "practical presentations" of their QM colleagues "particularly helpful", "very interesting" and "enriching and motivating for their daily QM work".

In addition to the application reports, live sessions and workshops invited visitors to gain insights and ideas on all aspects of introducing, setting up and structuring living management systems. The QM specialist conferences on the topics of QM marketing to increase the acceptance of QM systems and "Processes are internal communication" were in great demand. The panel discussion on the topic of "QM of the future" also aroused great interest among visitors to the virtual trade show.

Further information and an overview of other ConSense GmbH events are available at www.consense-gmbh.de available.

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/erneut-erfolgreiche-consense-expo-im-april-2023/

Since 1974, Nahrin has been producing natural food supplements in addition to spices, bouillons and sauces. The NEM range has now been set up for the national and international market as an independent product range in a new appearance.

St.Gallen-based agency Ammarkt prevailed in the fall 2021 pitch for the rebranding of the food supplement line. The team then set about visually reinventing the food supplement world of Nahrin: The power of plants that nature gives us, concentrated and refined into powerful nutritional supplements - all these active ingredients are reflected in the elegant cans with golden caps and elegantly designed labels. It was crucial that in addition to naturalness and originality, the haptic impression, sustainability also play central roles.

A series of pictograms was designed for the nine product categories, each of which symbolically unites the application area and effects of the NEM. In addition, Zurich illustrator Jeremy Küng created 20 delicate illustrations for the plant-based nutrients of the approximately 50 products. The new capsule and drop cans are made of recycled PET, and there is no outer packaging.

Communication and rollout in 20 countries worldwide

Ammarkt also created a communicative foundation that clearly and consistently positions the products for marketing, particularly in the international environment. In addition to the catchy claim "My extra power from nature," powerful images focus on the harvesting and processing of natural raw materials.

Following the Swiss rollout at the beginning of April, the new dietary supplements are gradually becoming available in all 20 sales countries, either online or through direct sales via consultants at home, at trade fairs and markets.

Customer: Nahrin. Conception and realization: Amarket. Illustrations: Jeremy Küng.

For the study, Globeone asked 1,200 Swiss consumers what they thought of the purpose statements of the leading Swiss companies. "The respondents assessed how memorable, credible and clearly formulated they thought the formulations were. They also indicated whether a statement has personal relevance for them and whether, in their view, it provides an understandable answer to the question of why a company exists," explains Carina Hauswald, Managing Partner of Globeone.

Statement from Lindt & Sprüngli most convincing

The top performer is Lindt & Sprüngli with its purpose statement "We enchant the world with chocolate": 81.1 percent of the Swiss think the wording is successful. "There is certainly a lot of pride in the internationally renowned company. In addition, the purpose naturally hits a nerve, especially in times of crisis," says Hauswald.

Second place went to "Coop, for me and you." with 72.6 percent approval. The cooperatively organized retail and wholesale company puts its customers at the center of its activities and does not aim to maximize profits. "More than 2.5 million cooperative members think that the Coop Group lives its purpose credibly every day," Hauswald explains. "Public approval of the company's statement is therefore correspondingly high."

Third place goes to the Geberit sanitaryware group. After all, 66 percent like the statement communicated as a mission: "With innovative sanitary products, we sustainably improve people's quality of life.

Few memorable statements in the last places

The last five places in the survey results are occupied by the formulations of SGS (29 percent), Sika (28.5 percent), Six (27.3 percent), Vontobel (24.5 percent) and Credit Suisse (21.7 percent), which has run into difficulties after years of mismanagement. As the low approval rating indicates, a significant credibility crisis was already apparent at Credit Suisse before the recent turmoil. "It is also striking that many of the last-placed companies communicate relatively long, less memorable purpose statements and thus give away a lot of potential," explains Hauswald. The specialty chemicals group Sika, for example, expresses itself in comparative detail with the message "To anticipate and meet future challenges by providing reliable, innovative, sustainable, and long-lasting solutions in the construction, building, and manufacturing".

According to the study, it is generally apparent that some large Swiss companies are not yet succeeding in striking the right tone with their purpose statement. "This also applies to companies that actually have a good reputation basis for being able to successfully communicate topics such as sustainability and future viability to employees, customers and the critical public," says Hauswald. However, formulating a purpose statement that is understood and positively evaluated by the general public is not trivial, as the study shows. "Valuable conclusions can be drawn from the Swiss public's evaluations as to what constitutes a successful and positively received statement and in which areas companies can score particularly well."

Not only the wording is important

Often, however, it is not the statement itself that is less well received by the public. "In most cases, the entire purpose concept has not yet been sufficiently filled with life, actively communicated and made tangible for the target groups. Fortunately, however, this can be worked on." The public quickly recognizes discrepancies between the actual business conduct and the announced purpose.

Sometimes a critical image of the entire industry also rubs off on individual companies. "Of course, this makes the starting position more difficult, but it does not fundamentally prevent credible positioning with a socially relevant corporate sense," says Hauswald.

Besides the Purpose Statement Study Globeone also has a Purpose-Readiness Study including Indext. Go to the results of this study this way.

The results of the largest survey of the Purpose credibility of leading Swiss companies will be presented on gfm Webinar "Corporate Purpose - the most credible Swiss brands 2023". discussed with Simon Aschermann and Carina Hauswald, Managing Partners at Globeone. Interested parties will learn more about the how and what of purpose-driven brand positioning and get insights and answers from Nadja Lemke, Senior Vice President Global Branding & Marketing at Schaeffler.

For the spontaneous here to the registration.

As part of a study, the management consultancy Globeone investigated how credibly Swiss companies position themselves How credibly can Swiss companies position themselves? For this purpose, the "Purpose Readiness Index" (PRI) was developed, which consists of 15 purpose-relevant image attributes in five image dimensions.

Accordingly, the PRI created on the basis of the survey results indicates, on a scale of one to one hundred and in four levels, how credibly companies and institutions can represent a socially relevant corporate purpose in the public perception. Companies with a PRI score of less than 50 often lack the appropriate basis for credibly communicating their purpose, while companies with a score above 70 have a high purpose credibility that is hardly overshadowed by negative associations. The current PRI ranks 60 leading Swiss companies.

Almost two-thirds are "Purpose Ready

The study shows that 64 percent of Swiss brands can be described as "purpose ready. They show no major deficits in purpose-relevant image dimensions. Five brands (eight percent) are considered fully credible and thus have a very good basis for successful purpose activation.

With a score of 72.3, Victorinox is in first place in the Purpose Readiness Index (PRI). Migros, Geberit, Lindt & Sprüngli and Coop are also among the leaders with PRI scores of more than 70. Around 36 percent of the brands surveyed are struggling with credibility problems, which also make them more susceptible to greenwashing accusations.

"Retailers, technology brands, cooperatively organized retail companies and traditional consumer brands in particular are proving to be particularly credible in terms of purpose-centric positioning in the public perception," says Carina Hauswald, Managing Partner at Globeone. "Many PRI winners certainly also benefit greatly from their everyday proximity to customers."

Consumers take a critical view of companies

In comparison on the first Purpose Readiness Study for Switzerland from 2020 However, it is noticeable that the top performers in the Purpose Readiness Index (PRI) no longer achieve quite such high scores: Second-placed Migros, for example, lost 6.5 index points, PRI winner Victorinox 5.1 index points. Mobiliar lost 6.2 index points and slipped from fifth to 15th place.

"The decline in ratings is probably also a sign that Swiss consumers are generally measuring companies more and more critically in terms of their purpose promises - a trend that is also increasingly evident in other industrialized countries," says Hauswald. "There is also an increased demand on particularly credible brands to constantly improve their socially relevant contribution, to provide concrete evidence of it and to communicate it transparently." Even brands that score fully on future viability, sustainability, authenticity and social relevance would have to live their purpose around the clock and make it clear in order to maintain or enhance their reputation.

Second study focuses on statements

The Purpose Readiness Index uses various image dimensions to show how ready a company is to position itself credibly with a purpose. In addition, Globeone wanted to find out how the statements of Swiss companies that already communicate a purpose are received by the public. Even the best foundation for purpose communication is of no use if the formulated statement misses its mark and is not received by the intended target groups.

On the results of the Purpose Statement Study it goes this way.

The results of the largest survey of the Purpose credibility of leading Swiss companies will be presented on gfm Webinar "Corporate Purpose - the most credible Swiss brands 2023". discussed with Simon Aschermann and Carina Hauswald, Managing Partners at Globeone. Interested parties will learn more about the how and what of purpose-driven brand positioning and get insights and answers from Nadja Lemke, Senior Vice President Global Branding & Marketing at Schaeffler.

For the spontaneous here to the registration.

At 1700 meters above sea level, the Brand Forum will bring together brand experts, brand managers and scientists in an exclusive circle of around 30 people on June 23 and 24, 2023. "At the end of the two days, there will be new relationships with brand makers, new ideas on how to strengthen your brand internally and externally, and new energy to powerfully shape the next generation of your own brand," says Bastian Schneider, brand expert and honorary board member at Brand Club, the organizer of the Brand Forum.

In addition to the venue itself, the formats are also special. They ask the speakers to engage in dialogue, promise substantial depth, plenty of variety, and the opportunity for all participants to get intensively involved in the program.

The forum will be opened by strategy professor and author Kurt Matzler. As the leading head of a strategy consulting company, he is convinced that diversity and the wisdom of crowds lead to better and more successful strategies. As an extreme athlete, Matzler sees exciting parallels between sports, strategy and leadership.

With her company "Clarissakork", Clarissa Steurer has developed an unconventional idea into a million-dollar business. The often invoked buzzwords authenticity, sustainability and regionality are not just half-hearted lip service in her Bregenzerwald manufacture, but lived philosophy. With Kloster Kitchen, Mario Fürst has founded his 40th company and cites "gaining trust and thus retaining customers" as the most important success factor for long-term customer loyalty.

In addition, there are two contributions from the world of finance. Holger Meyer was the first German employee of Google in 2001. Since moving to the banking industry, he has been exploring how to bring digitization to a regional bank. Felipe Gomez de Luis from VP Bank provides insights into unconventional brand experiences that clearly set him apart from other players in the financial industry.

The Brand Forum 2023 will take place on June 23 and 24, 2023 in Brand/Vorarlberg. Organizer is the Brand Cluban international community with partners in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. All members are united by the passion to look at the brand from an overall entrepreneurial perspective.

"We engineers are relevant to the system". With these words, Andrea Galli, the new President of the Swiss Association of Consulting Engineering Companies suisse.ing, opened this year's General Assembly in Bellinzona. With an annual gross fee income of around 2.5 billion Swiss francs, the members of suisse.ing make a significant contribution to the Swiss economy. Swiss francs, the members of suisse.ing provide a major share in the construction sector. "Engineering services secure and develop our infrastructures, communications, mobility and access to technology. Accordingly, we engineers should not only be valued as facilitators, but should be even better recognized as guarantors of the success of Switzerland and the Swiss economy," explained Andrea Galli.

FEDRO director speaks to engineers

Jürg Röthlisberger, Director of the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), underlined the role of the federal government as a partner of engineering companies on an equal footing in his guest appearance before the who's who of the engineering industry. Röthlisberger pointed out the high costs of public transport and called for greater cost efficiency in this area. Individual transport, Röthlisberger said, will continue to play a central role in the future and accordingly requires ongoing investment. "It would be a mistake for politicians to play individual transport off even more against other modes of transport," Röthlisberger was combative.

Ticino in a special role for the engineering industry

The engineering sector also plays an important role in the canton of Ticino as a guarantor of economic development, infrastructure expansion and as an employer. Representing Ticino were, among others, Ticino's Director of Construction, Planning and Environment, State Councilor Claudio Zali, Head of the Dipartimento del territorio, and Mario Brandi, Mayor of Bellinzona. Pietro Brenni, president of the suisse.ing regional group Ticino, described it as one of the greatest challenges of the construction industry to reuse materials and existing structures in such a way that they will be available for future generations.

Threatening development of study and vocational baccalaureate numbers in the construction sector

Urs von Arx, President and initiator of the bilding foundation, showed that system relevance will become even more important in the future. The number of first-year students in the professional categories of civil engineering, building technology and energy is continuing to fall, he explained. The same applies to the number of vocational baccalaureates completed in these areas. Due to the shortage of skilled workers, engineering companies in Switzerland are under severe pressure.

It was gratifying that the expert jury of the bilding Foundation sent out a clear signal with this year's Silver Circle award. They honored the young engineer Sora Padrutt, Division Manager at Holinger Zurich, with the Silver Circle as a personality who is committed to the engineering industry and its young talent in a variety of roles.

New composition of the Executive Board

The delegates approved all the proposals of the board. New members of the suisse.ing Board are André Flückiger, eicher+pauli AG, Bern, and Dario Bersiga, AFRY Schweiz AG, Fribourg. Agostino Clericetti, CSD Ingenieure AG, Lugano, Pierre Epars, BG Ingénieurs SA, Lausanne, and Stephan Tschudi, bbp geomatik ag, Gümligen, were confirmed for a further board period.

Sources and further information: suisse-ing.ch, building.ch 

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ingenieurinnen-und-ingenieure-sind-systemrelevant/

Investments in dynamic e-mail marketing and target-group-specific communication and content are worthwhile. This is shown by the current DACH study "E-Mail Cross Generations" commissioned by United Internet Media. The reasons for this lie in the different use of e-mail, both at country and generation level. For the study, the market research institute MindTake surveyed over 1,000 people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

One core result for the DACH region across all generations: electronic mail is indispensable. If respondents can only choose one application, 24 percent opt for e-mail. Other Internet services register lower values: they are followed by instant messenger (22 percent), online banking (19 percent), search engine (12 percent) and social networks (7 percent).

In the detailed analysis at country level, e-mail is also always named most frequently when asked about the indispensability of individual Internet applications. 24 percent of respondents from Germany declared e-mail to be indispensable, which is exactly in line with the average; in Austria, the figure is 22 percent, and in Switzerland, 27 percent. The indispensability can be attributed to the high use of the digital mailbox in the DACH region: Around 90 percent of online users in Germany and Austria said they frequently or occasionally send and receive private e-mails. Among online users in Switzerland, as many as 98 percent said the same.

E-mail is the basis of Internet use

In the DACH region, e-mail serves as the basis of everyday digital life for all generations. The trend is that the younger the generation, the more varied the use of e-mail. Baby boomers use the electronic mailbox most frequently for logging into online stores (81 percent), online banking (71 percent) and online payment services (69 percent). For Gen X, the top uses are online stores (84 percent), online payment services (76 percent), and online banking and social networking (70 percent each). Gen Y uses email most for online stores (86 percent), social networks (83 percent) and online payment services (79 percent). In Gen Z, email scores highest for online shopping (88 percent), video streaming (84 percent) and social networking (83 percent).

"The cross-generation use of e-mail is impressively demonstrated by the study. At the same time, it shows the versatility and relevance of the electronic mailbox for virtually all industries. The country- and generation-specific features show that investing in dynamic e-mail marketing with content tailored to target groups is worthwhile," says Rasmus Giese, CEO of United Internet Media.

In Austria, the use of e-mail in connection with public institutions (baby boomers: 71 percent, Gen X: 70 percent, Gen Y: 73 percent Gen Z: 66 percent) is far higher than in neighboring countries. In Switzerland, on the other hand, electronic mail provides above-average support for app store activities (baby boomers: 57 percent, Gen X: 70 percent, Gen Y: 78 percent Gen Z: 86 percent). On the other hand, Germans use the P.O. box far more intensively for online auctions (baby boomers: 60 percent, Gen X: 68 percent, Gen Y: 71 percent Gen Z: 69 percent) than respondents in Austria and Switzerland.

Customer journey almost unthinkable without email

E-mail practically always plays a role in the digital purchasing process: nine out of ten respondents in the DACH region use their e-mail address during the customer journey. The individual touchpoints also register very high usage values: 90 percent are made aware of new products via e-mails such as newsletters. 91 percent use e-mail to register, and 88 percent contact retailers by e-mail with questions about the product. Another 91 percent email customer service, and 94 percent use email to track packages. Of particular importance to retailers, 73 percent of respondents buy products advertised in an email.

"Compared to other advertising channels, e-mail has an excellent price-performance ratio. And e-mail works - almost three quarters of respondents buy products advertised in newsletters. This willingness to buy can also be supported at the various touchpoints - adapted to the respective age on request, for example, based on first-party data," says UIM CEO Giese.

At the generational level, Gen Y and X have the highest values at the beginning of the customer journey. For example, 95 percent of Gen Y use their e-mail address to register with stores or price comparison sites. The highest value for parcel tracking by e-mail is recorded by Gen Z with 97 percent. Two trends can be identified at country level: In Switzerland and Germany, e-mail is used most intensively by Generation Y along the customer journey. In Austria, in addition to the younger generations Z and Y, Gen X also achieves the highest usage values in points such as communication with retailers and customer service.

Email is evaluated as secure and trustworthy

The study also surveys how online users in the DACH region rate the individual communication channels. In terms of "security & trustworthiness" and "reliability & usability," e-mail is ahead of instant messengers and social networks in all three countries.

The following two trends can be observed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: The older the generation, the stronger the expectation of security and trustworthiness in private communication on the Internet. 81 percent of baby boomers consider e-mail to be secure and trustworthy - instant messengers (68 percent) and social networks (62 percent) score significantly lower. Gen Z rates the communication channels most critically across three DACH countries. But here, too, email scores far better than instant messenger (53 percent) and social networks (49 percent), at 59 percent.

In the meantime, marketing automation and marketing technology have outgrown their infancy, writes Marchitects in a press release. And that's where the real problems begin - as in adolescence. The tools are powerful, but the tech stacks are still silos. Marketeers, sales and IT clash with different interests and mutual misunderstandings. According to Marchitects, a great concept can quickly turn into an expensive nightmare.

New solutions for existing problems

According to Marchitects, marketing often works only on the visual level or uses the wrong technologies. IT, on the other hand, views problems too isolated and builds technical silos that work well in theory, but no longer allow for customer orientation.
With experience in the field of digital marketing services and also with technical understanding, Marchitects wants to tackle these problems as a consultant. The joint venture is backed by Martin Widmer as a consultant for MarTech stacks, tools and setups, Gregor Hirner from Mühlemann & Popp Online Media for the complex data and software challenges, and Luc Holzach representing the agency Partner & Partner, which contributes years of experience in marketing automation projects, especially in terms of concept, customer journeys and content or creation. Together, the partners bring together around 100 experts who are available for projects ranging from small to very large.

"We ensure that MarTech projects in companies are not only conceived but also actually implemented - even if they are very complex," explains Martin Widmer. Luc Holzach adds: "Whereby we can also implement simple projects or just sub-projects, it doesn't matter. In addition, we can not only advise on content and technology, but also provide the entire implementation up to the content".

It usually starts with an analysis of the existing and the desired "maturity level". In short, the question of where the company is and where it wants to go in terms of MarTech serves as the basis for the best or most realistic approach.

"This offer is unique in Switzerland and will finally bring MarTech of age in Switzerland," Widmer is convinced. "We have been on the market as a company since the beginning of 2023 and currently have the privilege of advising and implementing a major project in the area of new customer acquisition and activation for a company known throughout Switzerland - and really flexing our three muscles: technology, marketing and data," emphasizes Luc Holzach.

Let's imagine the following: a refrigerated truck drives up to the ramp and is unloaded. While the truck drives off again, the goods are conveyed to the temperature lock, where the goods temperature is checked. It is determined that this is too low. The cold chain is interrupted. Has this already happened in the truck or only in the plant? "The problem in is that the inspection PC is not always available where it needs to be checked," explains Tobias Brehm, Business Development Manager at Quality Miners GmbH, based in the German town of Pfinztal near Karlsruhe. "The remedy is our completely newly developed Mobile Inspection, which can be used regardless of location. This solution will revolutionize the entire inspection process." This is because Mobile Inspection comes into play where stationary quality inspections are not feasible due to spatial or infrastructural restrictions. 

Create individual workflows in Mobile Inspection

The cloud-based solution can be used both in the cloud and on-premise. Those responsible for quality can define how the goods are to be inspected directly in the web interface without any programming knowledge. Inspection characteristics, sample size, nominal dimensions, tolerances, and the inspection equipment to be used are specified in the process. Every type of inspection, whether plausibility check, identity check, visual inspection or quality control, can be mapped in this way. Thanks to the in-house MIC technology (Measuring Equipment Interface Connector), manual measuring equipment of any kind can also be integrated.

Intuitive operation for the user

The user can now log in to Mobile Inspection via any commercially available end device, such as a tablet or smartphone, which is connected to the Internet via W-LAN or mobile network. When the truck rolls up to the loading bay, the system guides the user through the inspection process. It tells him to check the goods directly in the refrigerated truck with the infrared measuring device and that the temperature must be between 4 °C and 8 °C. Only when he has confirmed this, does he start the inspection. Only when he has confirmed this can the truck be unloaded. If the user detects deviations, he can document this with a photo, for example, and upload it to the cloud system. At the end of the inspection process, the inspection decision is triggered with a click.

Easy connection to SAP and QM.CAQ

Mobile Inspection is a lean and intuitive system in which no inspection plan or inspection order is created itself. These functions remain in QM.CAQ from the same manufacturer. The new release of this quality management software, which will appear in spring 2023, will include this connection to the new mobile inspection system as standard. Via an interface, the inspection order will then simply be fetched from QM.CAQ into Mobile Inspection. This means that all parts information and inspection characteristics are available locally and tedious duplicate creation is avoided.

The solution can be integrated into SAP without the need for a separate CAQ system. The interface for this is supplied by Quality Miners free of charge. "This enables companies that monitor their quality via SAP to also carry out their inspection planning and inspection lots in SAP and at the same time to use all the advantages of Mobile Inspection," adds Brehm. In addition, Mobile Inspection was designed with an open REST API interface. This enables customers to use the solution not only in QM.CAQ or SAP, but also to connect to all systems that support this standard in the future.

AI expands mobile inspection capabilities

What for many is still a dream of the future can already be optionally integrated into Mobile Inspection: an AI technology such as ChatGPT. With artificial intelligence, patterns in inspection data could be recognized and decisions made on this basis. In addition, such technology can also provide expert answers to users' questions.

In addition, the company is currently working intensively on extending Mobile Inspection to inspections during series production (SPC) and outgoing goods inspections. "Mobile Inspection will revolutionize the inspection process," Brehm is certain. In the future, this solution should be able to completely replace stationary inspections to the greatest possible extent. You can already learn more about this today in Quality Miners webinars. The first webinar will start on April 18, 2023 on the topic of "How AI is revolutionizing quality control".

Source: Quality Miners

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/mobile-inspection-cloudbasierte-wareneingangspruefung-direkt-am-lkw/

Threat intelligence company Cisco Talos has published its quarterly threat intelligence analysis for the first quarter of 2023. According to the report, publicly available web applications were a major target of threat actors during this period. Nearly half of all attacks (45 %) use such applications as an initial vector to gain access to systems. Compared to the previous quarter, this represents an increase of 15 %. Many of these attacks used web shells that compromised servers accessible via the Internet. Generally speaking, a web shell is a malicious script that masquerades as a legitimate file, opening a backdoor to the web server. Web shells are usually "left behind" for further attacks after an already successful infiltration. According to the Talos researchers, attackers benefited from the fact that many web application user accounts were only protected with weak passwords or single-factor authentication.

Strengthened ransomware defenses thwarted greater successes

The threat from ransomware remains high. Even though Cisco Talos observed a general decline in successful extortion cases in the first quarter of 2023, ransomware activity remains high overall. So-called "pre-ransomware" activities accounted for approximately one-fifth of all attacks, so a rise in successful attacks can be expected again in the coming months. Cisco Talos was able to attribute many of the preparatory attack activities to well-known ransomware groups such as Vice Society. According to the researchers, the quick intervention of security teams at victim companies helped contain attacks before encryption could take place. In the first quarter of 2023, healthcare was the primary target for criminals, followed closely by retail, real estate and hospitality. 

OneNote documents as a weapon

So-called "commodity malware" was already on the rise last year. It is widespread and can be purchased or downloaded for free. Commodity malware is usually not customized and is used by threat actors at various stages of their activities. In the first quarter of 2023, previously sighted commodity loaders such as Qakbot now appeared again in greater numbers. Qakbot frequently made use of malicious OneNote documents in the process. The use of malicious OneNote attachments was also observed in other attack attempts. So, threat actors, according to Talos' analysis, continue to experiment with file types that do not rely on macros. Microsoft had begun disabling macros by default in its applications in July 2022. Other applications that carry and manage other files are also affected.

More results

The first quarter of 2023 brought further findings. For example, thirty percent of the observed attack cases either did not have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled or had it enabled for only a few accounts and critical services. Further, the open source toolkit Mimikatz was used in nearly 60 percent of ransomware and pre-ransomware deployments this quarter. Mimikatz is a widely used post-exploitation tool that steals login IDs, passwords, and authentication tokens from compromised Windows systems.

But there is also more encouraging news: Recent law enforcement successes in breaking up large ransomware gangs (e.g., Hive) are having an impact. However, this creates room for new families or the formation of new partnerships. For example, a new Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) family appeared in Q1/2023 with Daixin Ransomware.

Source: Cisco

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/web-shell-angriffe-als-neue-top-bedrohung/

A new Fanta is now available throughout Switzerland that will put taste buds to the test and make them ponder - because the purple bottles reveal nothing about their contents. For the fourth year in a row, fans are being called upon to solve the mystery surrounding the mysterious flavors of the limited edition What The Fanta.

"Fabulous Flavour Hunt" Cooking Show

This year, the search will be accompanied by the "Fabulous Flavour Hunt" cooking show with host Gloria, who will help curious taste hunters decipher the clues. Presenter Gloria goes on a mission to help Fanta fans correctly guess the new flavors. In addition, clues are published on social media that need to be deciphered.

In the spirit of the Milan Declaration, all What The Fanta flavors come without sugar. The variety is available for a limited time only via the local website and nationwide at Coop, Migros and Spar.