Dallmayr has been bringing coffee enjoyment to Switzerland since 1968. Regional roots are an important part of the company's philosophy. The company now employs more than 300 people in six branches, covering the service network throughout Switzerland with local support.

Enjoy local - The best from Switzerland at the touch of a button

In cooperation with regio garantie, the quality seal of the Swiss Regional Products Association, Dallmayr has launched the first snack vending machines that are stocked only with regional products and are responsibly managed.

Enjoy local" brings variety to your snack vending machine: exciting refreshments and snacks, from producers in a wide variety of Swiss regions - produced in accordance with regio garantie guidelines.

Dallmayr Ambience

Home office has changed everyday office life. New room concepts are in demand with which companies can score points as attractive employers. From the compact coffee point to the fully equipped coffee lounge - Dallmayr finds the right solution for every company and ensures that certain "feel-good factor" at the workplace.

Whether a corporation, hospital, hotel or SME, Dallmayr Vending & Office sees itself as a partner for every size of company and offers "enjoyment from a single source". And how do you solve the coffee question?

Contact us: www.dallmayr.ch/automaten

What I'm getting at is that our past influences our thoughts and our actions. So far so good. And most people believe that our past is a fixed fact. But this is not the case at all. Our brains construct about half of our memories themselves to make the past consistent. Yes, that's right: only about half of our memories actually happened that way. The rest is added - without us noticing it.

And to push it even further: It is not the past itself that influences our thoughts today, but the interpretation of the past. Depending on the meaning you give to (sometimes even invented) events, you will think differently about them today.

This has quite dramatic consequences: Nobody is the way he is because of events of the past, but only because of the interpretation of them (even if they were extremely drastic events). For those who find this hard to swallow, Viktor Frankl's book "Man's search for meaning" is recommended. In it, he describes how, as a concentration camp inmate, his interpretation of horrific events ensured his survival.

What follows from all this: We can change our present thoughts and our decisions if we interpret our past differently. There is not just one reality of the past, but diverse views of it.

What can you do with this insight as a leader? Three things:

1. Who do you surround yourself with?
   Only include people on your team who have a constructive interpretation of their past within them and take full responsibility for their present situation. All too many people blame external circumstances for their fate. From the age of 25 at the latest, every person has full responsibility for his or her own life (I am not talking about the sad exceptions of physical deprivation of freedom).
2. What are the options?
   Be careful when someone sees only one way forward, derived from the past. There are always multiple options. Ask for them.
3. What is the significance of events?
   Together with your team, always interpret past events in such a way that they benefit us for the future. This has nothing to do with whitewashing, since there is no such thing as reality. But it will also lead to better results in the future.

This is just a small glimpse into the importance of psychology for leadership. And even these ideas can have a significant effect on your team's performance. Try it out.

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch

Automation is the topic of the day in the logistics industry. In times of an almost chronic shortage of skilled workers and a simultaneous increase in demand for logistics services, innovative approaches are needed to meet customer needs - "just in time", of course. Against this background, the topic of the event could not have been more topical. Four presentations illuminated digitization from different perspectives.

Digital pent-up demand

First, Lars Guggisberg, Director of the Association of Bernese SMEs and member of the National Council, gave an overview of the current state of digitization in Switzerland. He noted that our country still has a lot of catching up to do in terms of digitization, despite the well-known good framework conditions. He found the lack of willingness to invest and the backwardness in e-government particularly striking, for example, in comparison with the similarly large economies of Scandinavian countries such as Denmark or Sweden, both of which are top performers in IMD's global digitization ranking. Even though political initiatives to promote digitization have recently been successfully pushed through, their practical implementation is likely to take some time, as Guggisberg acknowledged. More promising seems to be a cooperation recently launched jointly by Gewerbe Berner KMU and digitalswitzerland for low-threshold digitization offerings for commercial enterprises.

Digitization for more efficient logistics

The next speaker, Stefan Hohm, Chief Development Officer (CDO) and member of the Dachser Management Board, took the audience into another world. He spoke of a cyber-sozio-physical system in logistics in which the data and physical flows of goods flow into one another and are guided by people to the precise fulfillment. "People are at the center of what's happening. Technology should not make the ultimate decision," is the company's principle. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, various innovations have been and are being introduced at Dachser. The fields of application range from semi-autonomously moving industrial trucks to exoskeletons that help employees lift heavy loads to a warehouse designed entirely as a digital twin. Thanks to data matrix codes on all pallets, the goods can be tracked there without gaps - even on screen - which reduces search and loading times. Dachser is also a member of the Open Logistics Foundation, which aims to create cross-industry data standards. All this is aimed at achieving even greater automation in logistics. For example, the Memmingen location already has an automated high-bay warehouse where 200 pallets can be stored and retrieved per hour. The dimensions are 52,000 pallet spaces on 7500 m2. For the future, Dachser is considering two-story transshipment terminals, on the one hand to reduce the land area used, but also to increase efficiency: "In at the top, out at the bottom" could be the formula.

And how are the employees taking part in these developments? Open and transparent communication at all times contributes a great deal to the positive response. Stefan Hohm admitted that, according to the Gaussian normal distribution, there are not only those who are enthusiastic, but also those who first have to be convinced and, last but not least, those who do not want to participate in the latest developments. But by enabling employees to program simple apps themselves for very small processes thanks to no-code or low-code solutions, you can lower the inhibition threshold to new things. And not to mention the fact that this can save a whole army of IT specialists, who are very difficult to find, especially for a logistics company.

The human being: A relational being

But what does digitization fundamentally do to us humans? How much digitization can humans withstand? Markus Ramming, PhD in neurobiology and coach for neuroleadership and neuroscience in management, then addressed these questions. "The brain becomes what we use it for," was his core statement. This means that if a child is "trained" to watch television at an early age, it will one day become an expert on television, Markus Ramming gave as an example. Derived from this: To become "experts" on digitization, we have to learn how to deal with it. Since humans develop routines in many areas, artificial intelligence opens up opportunities not only to recognize these routines, but also to learn them itself. The risk is obvious: at some point, we will no longer be able to distinguish whether it is a flesh-and-blood human being or an artificial intelligence talking on the other end of the phone. "We can be influenced, and AI can learn to exploit this," says Ramming. However, humans can counter this with two strategies: on the one hand, by developing an awareness of the capabilities of digitization, and on the other hand, by creating interpersonal relationships. It should be noted that everyone has individual needs, special motivational factors and fears that must be taken into account. Innovation management only works if this individuality is taken into account.

Automated or autonomous driving?

The last presentation was about autonomous driving. Markus Hackenfort from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW spoke of two lines of development: an "evolutionary" one that assumes five levels (assisted driving, semi-autonomous driving, highly automated driving, fully automated driving and autonomous driving) and a "revolutionary" one that starts directly with autonomous driving. He demonstrated this with the example of "Cruise," a young company that is currently causing a sensation in San Francisco and Phoenix with completely driverless cabs. The speaker went into detail about the advantages of autonomous driving: There are fewer fatigue-related accidents, mobility-impaired people can be better integrated, cab companies can save on personnel costs, and there are also other opportunities for new, innovative business cases along the lines of "... as a service". However, the fact that there is no possibility for a human to intervene can also prove to be a disadvantage. This is because the "cruise" vehicles can be sabotaged by simple "tricks" (for example, by placing an object on the hood that interferes with the camera's view and thus forces the vehicle to stop), which is certainly being practiced in San Francisco. In addition, the autonomous vehicles are noticeable for their "nice" driving style, which can sometimes be a hindrance in queue traffic, for example. The networking standards have also not been fully clarified: Should they be cross-manufacturer or not? And for traffic monitoring: Is there a central control option? And likewise, many cities are likely to ask themselves, based on the experience with e-scooters, which are often parked in the wild: Will the same thing happen with autonomously driving cabs? Nevertheless, Markus Hackenfort drew a clear conclusion: fully automated vehicles are a reality. There will be no stopping further development. After the presentations and discussions, the participants were able to gain a good impression of the high-tech equipment of modern vehicles at the truck driving simulator of Racing-Fuel Horgen. Driving a lorry showed that this is more difficult than one might imagine. But the fun factor was not missing.

Bringing business and science together

Conclusion of the event: The attendees gained interesting insights into the currently much discussed topic of digitalization. Not only industries such as logistics can benefit from its innovations, but also society: Provided it develops the right attitude toward new developments, which entail not only risks, but also many opportunities. "We see trade events like this as an excellent opportunity to bring together experts from business and science and to create images of the future for transport, logistics and supply chain management. We want to motivate participants to continue driving the digital transformation in their own companies and highlight the potential of working with a logistics provider like Dachser," explained Stefan Krüger, Sales Manager Dachser European Logistics Bern.

More information: Dachser Spedition AG

It was one of the first official acts of Polish Ambassador Iwona Kozlowska when she took over business in Switzerland in 2020 - in the midst of the Corona crisis: she launched a Polish-Swiss Business and Technology Forum. It was a complete success, and in the meantime the event seems to have established itself. The third event was held in Bern on September 18-19, 2023, and was again attended by between 100 and 150 visitors from both countries. In the form of panel discussions, various aspects of economic, political and research cooperation were highlighted. Future developments, e.g. from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0, were also discussed, as well as current challenges in cooperation between Switzerland and the entire EU or in the context of global developments such as climate change and demographic development.

Innovation at eye level

Switzerland and Poland have stable bilateral relations. This has been emphasized time and again. As a nearshoring location and as a sales market for high-quality capital and consumer goods, Poland has become increasingly important for the Swiss economy in recent years. Poland has also become a weighty international player as an investment location: measured in terms of investments made, the country is the No. 1 in the EU, as Ambassador Iwona Kozlowska noted in an interview with this medium..

While Poland is interesting for Switzerland as a sales market and resource for workforce, Poland is primarily interested in know-how transfer. They are aware of Switzerland's financial strength and its reputation as a center of innovation - and also as a haven of political stability with secure framework conditions. But especially in terms of innovation, Poland has caught up: with the Billon Group (blockchain solutions for document management, digital financial transactions and tokenization), Vigo Photonics (infrared sensor technology) or Elproma (electronics), three of the most innovative Polish companies were presented. These three companies illustrate that when it comes to technology, the two countries see eye-to-eye. And not to forget: Some Swiss innovation is also "Made in Poland", for example in the form of the now listed Kudelski Group from Lausanne - its founder Stefan Kudelski came from Warsaw.

Building trust - removing regulatory hurdles

There is no denying that many things work well between the two countries. However, as Ambassador Iwona Kozlowska also acknowledged, there is still a lot to be done in Poland. But: "We have the ambition to get right to the front." She sees a need to catch up in the area of vocational training, for example. Here in particular, the Swiss dual education system is seen as a role model. In Poland, for example, Prof. Dr. Joanna Cygler from the Lukasievicz Research Network emphasized the need for more openness toward a wide variety of competencies in companies. Even if the Polish startup scene does not need to shy away from international comparison in terms of dynamism, there is still a lack of entrepreneurial maturity at times, as Marcin Rzetecki, President of the Polish Blockchain Association, notes: "Young people need to learn better how to delegate and share the work.

And different regulations are sometimes perceived as hurdles. Marek Dutkiewicz, founder of HR Campus in Switzerland, knows both "cultures" very well: While in Switzerland many things are done with a handshake and trust, he still experiences things differently in his home country. Dr. Ing. Pawel Stezycki, also from the Lukasiewicz Research Network, agreed: "I employ six lawyers, although I would really only like to have one," he said, referring to the extensive contracts that are often the order of the day in cooperations.

Fruitful "bottom-up" cooperation

Where are the most important areas for cooperation between Swiss and Polish institutions? Economically and in the research context, it's primarily pharmaceutical, financial and information technology. Blockchain is a prominent example of this. The Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association has recently been established with the aim of networking Zug's "Crypto Valley" with exponents of the equally dynamic Polish blockchain scene - in the classic "bottom-up" manner. And it was precisely this bottom-up approach that became clear time and again at the Polish Business and Technology Forum: cooperation cannot be imposed "from above", but must come from below. Accordingly, behind all existing collaborations or those just starting out are initiatives by individuals. The Forum has set itself the task of networking these individual initiatives. In the meantime, there are numerous opportunities for cooperation between Switzerland and Poland. The difficulty may lie in finding the right point of contact among the multitude.

Contact points for initial information

Establish business from Switzerland with Poland? Swiss companies can get initial information here:

• Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bern 
• Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Basel (further locations in Zurich or Geneva are planned)
• Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE)
• Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association 

Interesting for research collaboration:

• Polonium Foundation (Foundation for Cooperation between Polish and Foreign Scientists)
• Lukasiewicz Research Network (22 institutes with over 4500 scientists and engineers)

The juries have selected the finalists for the Digital Economy Award 2023 from a large number of submissions. A total of 15 organizations and 14 individuals are in the running for an award in the various categories. Among them, ten personalities are also up for selection for "The Pascal," a public vote. Only the finalists for the ICT Education Excellence award will not be announced until the end of October.

With the announcement of the finalists at the Digital Festival, the majority of individuals, companies and institutions have now been determined who will have the chance to win an award at the Digital Economy Awards ceremony on November 16 at the Hallenstadion. The various prominent juries were impressed by the innovative strength of the projects presented, the digital maturity of the companies and the skills of the personalities. Christian Hunziker, Managing Director at swissICT and responsible for the jury process for the Digital Economy Award, adds: "In addition to the quality of the entries, the aspect of digital sustainability, a new criterion this year, was also judged very positively."

The following finalists have been selected in the various categories:

Digital Innovation of the Year

• Tigen Pharma SA with Elca Informatique SA
• Panter AG with cooperative ZFV-Unternehmungen
• Well Health Inc.
• Abrantix AG
• YAROWA INC.

Digital Excellence Commercial

• aliunid AG
• FELFEL with Apps with love AG
• Kantonsspital Baden (KSB) AG with Siemens Healthineers International AG
• Tigen Pharma SA with Elca Informatique SA

Digital Excellence Governance & NPO

• Financial Market Authority Liechtenstein FMA
• IT Canton Aargau
• Federal Office of Armaments (armasuisse)

Next Global Hot Thing

• ANYbotics AG
• Nomoko AG
• Veezoo AG

NextGen Hero

• Jessica Farda, University of St.Gallen
• Maria Näf, University of Applied Sciences EAST
• Lucas Renfer, Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH
• Tim Meier, University of Lucerne

The Pascal

• Gerhard Andrey, National Council / Liip
• David Gugelmann, Exeon Analytics
• Claudio Hintermann, Abacus
• Roman Hüssy, Abuse.ch
• Annina Indermühle and Beat Habegger, inklus.io
• Barbara Jasch, Vocational Training Zurich
• Yannic Kilcher, OpenAssistant
• Angela Müller, Algorithmwatch
• Tobias Schär, We continue to learn
• Stéphane Schwab, Canton of Fribourg

The public voting for "The Pascal" takes place at the following links: https://thepascal.reviu.io/vote

Further information about the Digital Economy Award

How to implement a profitable marketing strategy despite modest resources? How can companies find the right marketing tool? And how do you grow from a newsletter distribution list to a lead machine? The following checklist shows how to get started with digital B2B marketing:

1. think in terms of buyer personas and not target groups

Identify your most important target groups and create multiple, detailed Buyer Personas - possibly also for the different business units. Unlike a target group, a buyer persona is a concrete face. It is a fictional person who represents your typical customer. In B2B, a larger buying center is often involved. This is the approach: business managers, sales managers, IT managers or purchasing managers could all be your Buyer Personas.

2. collect the right data

Are your marketing measures aimed more at gaining new customers, expanding your industry, increasing sales, or do you want to place new products on the market? Then your strategy will vary accordingly. Regardless of which goal you have chosen, the basis of every digital marketing process is customer-related data.

3. find marketing tools

In order to use customer data effectively, marketing platforms are needed that on the one hand cover all relevant functions, but on the other hand also offer interfaces to the other systems in the company (such as CRM system or web store). To do this, it should know the relevant channels in advance and define your processes together with sales and those responsible for e-commerce. However, this alone is not enough.

4. create content strategy

Develop a content strategy that delivers valuable content to your individual buyer personas. Create an editorial plan for blog posts, white papers, e-books, case studies, videos, or infographics. Make sure your content is engaging, informative, and relevant. Score each interaction and determine at what threshold the lead becomes relevant to sales because the sales opportunity is correspondingly high

5. personalize the address

A personal approach and individual offers are more likely to lead to a deal than if customers have the impression that they only receive generally valid information. You can achieve this by segmenting your target groups according to different attributes and using personalization tokens. With appropriate marketing automation tools and a growing database, you build contact lists and trigger-based campaigns. This way, recipients are personally addressed according to their interests and behavior.

And one last tip: Start B2B marketing with what you have. Go step by step to the goal!

Source and further information: www.sybit.de

Digitalization does not stop at SMEs. In smaller organizations in particular, the potential is seen, but not exploited to the full extent due to limited resources. In this situation, being involved in a location initiative such as digitalswitzerland is often perceived as not being compatible with size and access is lacking. However, the successful cooperation between the Biel-Seeland Chamber of Commerce and digitalswitzerland has now shown precisely that these fears of contact are groundless. The SME Digital Roadmap can be seen as an impressive result of the joint work of the two organizations. This is a tool that leads interested SMEs in a structured process from the starting position to a realistic, future-oriented approach to the digital future.

Nothing less than this success story is now to be continued as digitalswitzerland intensifies its work in the greater Bern area: Small and medium-sized enterprises will now have additional valuable access to digitalswitzerland's information and activities via Berner KMU, their usual point of contact for a wide range of questions on challenges facing tradespeople. The most prominent example is the aforementioned SME Digital Roadmap.

This partnership is of immediate benefit to all involved. "Effective immediately, we can offer our members more support on their SME's challenging path to a digitally driven, prosperous future," says Lars Guggisberg, Director of Bernese SMEs and National Councillor for the Canton of Bern. Marcel Dobler, Vice President of digitalswitzerland adds: "digitalswitzerland is an initiative for the digitization of the whole of Switzerland and I am very pleased that we can support the SMEs of the Bern region with this partnership."

Source: digitalswitzerland

The last few decades have been characterized by a steady downward trend in capital investment, especially in Europe and the USA. While capital spending by U.S. industry still grew by more than 5% p.a. in the years 1980 to 2001, it fell back to below 3% in the following two decades. We even had to deal with an extreme phase of underinvestment in many sectors after the global financial crisis of 2007/08. This trend is now undergoing a reversal. An above-average increase in capital investment of 8.7% p.a. is expected for the years 2019 to 2024.

A new megatrend

Due to the massive US investment programs, one can now speak of a new megatrend. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August 2022 is a particular contributor to this. Over the next ten years, around USD 300 billion is to be invested in deficit reduction and USD 369 billion in energy security and climate protection programs in the USA. In addition, there is the CHIPS and Science Act with a volume of more than USD 50 billion as well as additional, almost equally high private investments for the research, development and manufacture of semiconductors. Accordingly, the current investment cycle is likely still in its early stages. Market strategist and historian Russell Napier speaks of an expected boom in capital investment and the reindustrialization of Western economies.

Turning point also in Europe

Massive investment programs are also being launched in the EU. The European Green Deal and the European Chip Bill are particularly worthy of mention here. The comprehensive Green Deal alone includes access to EUR 600 billion, with which the transition to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy is aimed. Additional private investment is also expected.

Investment Opportunities

From an investor's perspective, the dynamics and extent of these developments offer a wide range of investment opportunities, including for Swiss and European companies. For us as fundamentally oriented stock pickers, the global infrastructure transformation plays a key role in the positioning of our Bellevue Entrepreneur funds. In the Bellevue Entrepreneur Swiss Small & Mid fund, up to 30% of the target companies are direct or indirect beneficiaries of this long-term trend. These include VAT, Inficon, Belimo, LEM, Gurit and Huber + Suhner, to name a few. Below are three selected and exciting examples:

• IoT as a key technology for Industry 4.0: As a leading IoT provider, the Swiss company U-Blox is very well positioned to benefit from the digital and global development. The growth and profitability potential of the company is still underestimated, so the stock has great upside potential from a valuation perspective.
• Energy transition creates new winners: Another crucial area is energy supply. The world needs more energy, immediately for more security and independence of supply and prospectively for a sustainable future. For the end markets of natural gas, solar photovoltaics and hydrogen, Burckhardt Compression's technology in the field of compressor solutions is indispensable. Gigantic investments are being made worldwide to drive the energy transition. With a global market share of approximately 40% to 50%, it is not surprising that Burckhardt recorded a record order intake of CHF 1.3 billion in the last fiscal year. The growing hydrogen sector in particular offers interesting opportunities. The increasing demand for hydrogen as a clean energy source and the need for liquefaction by means of compressors for transport and storage open up growth opportunities. Hydrogen production capacities are expected to increase 10-fold by 2030.
• There is no way around logistics providers: In all countries where construction spending on new production facilities is increasing as a result of re- and nearshoring, new intralogistics capacity is needed along the entire value chain. These shifts in capacity and material flows require advanced solutions, where leading intralogistics providers such as Interroll and Kardex are benefiting. These niche suppliers are helping to automate storage, retrieval and material handling systems, which are increasingly a critical cost and efficiency component. The increased demand here is due to various factors, including government subsidies for the production of strategically relevant technologies and the need for safe and efficient logistics.

Conclusion: Infrastructure investments ahead of long-term trend

There is currently a driven boom in capital investment in the West, driven by strategic and political motives. This global cycle of infrastructure investment is a long-term trend that will be with us for at least the next decade. Companies that want to succeed in this new "gold rush" are those that offer innovative technologies, indispensable services, and comprehensive solutions - including logistics service providers, energy infrastructure specialists, and IoT solution developers.

Source: Bellevue Asset Management AG. Bellevue is a specialized asset manager with core competencies in healthcare strategies, alternative and traditional investment strategies, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The information and data contained in this release in no way constitute an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to subscribe for securities or financial instruments. The information, opinions and estimates conveyed herein reflect an assessment at the time of issue and are subject to change at any time without notice. 

After the 300-employee ICT service provider bossinfo.ch AG appointed a new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the form of Yves-Alain Dufaux at the beginning of spring, the company is now strengthening its operational management in a further step: André Schmid has joined Boss Info as Group Chief Officer (CSO) and Urs Walde as Group Chief Operating Officer (Group COO) as of April 2023. Jürgen Krotzinger as Group Chief Financial Officer (Group CFO) and Andrea Portmann as Group Chief Human Resources Officer (Group CHRO) joined Boss Info in summer 2023. Ueli Boss completes the operational management team from his role as Head of Dynamics 365 Business Central as Group CEO Stv.

Group CEO at Boss Info Yves-Alain Dufaux explains: "Boss Info is undergoing a transformation, which has involved, among other things, a new organization and strengthening of the management team". The new management is of great importance for the planned growth steps, says Dufaux, who took over the management of the company from majority shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Directors Simon Boss at the end of March 2023.

Source: bossinfo.ch AG

Published for the sixth time by Kearney and its partners Raiffeisen, swiss export and Angst + Pfister AG, the SME survey provides an insight into the current situation, challenges and opportunities for SMEs. 382 representatives of Swiss SMEs were surveyed in the period from May to the beginning of July 2023.

Optimism among SMEs has declined

The focus of the survey was on the resilience of SMEs in the current challenging environment. According to Kearney partner in Zurich Fabian Siegrist, the majority of SMEs are considered resilient or very resilient to the current crises. However, raw material and energy prices coupled with the shortage of skilled workers are causing entrepreneurs great concern.

After the very optimistic outlook of SMEs in last year's survey, this optimism is fading in this year's survey. The reticence of SMEs is reflected, among other things, in their financial expectations. Only half of the companies surveyed now expect sales to rise this year, compared with 63 percent (2022) and 69 percent (2021) in previous years.

Roger Reist, Head of Corporate Clients, Treasury & Markets and member of the Executive Board at Raiffeisen Switzerland, describes the headwinds currently facing SMEs as great: "The goods demand boom created by the pandemic has finally run its course, and consumers are instead spending more on services again. On the other hand, industrial demand is being weighed down by stubbornly high inflation and rising interest rates. Nevertheless, the study confirms that a large proportion of Swiss SMEs are once again proving their resilience."

Large differences in resistance

Given the numerous and complex challenges SMEs face in their day-to-day business, the study examined how SMEs respond to crisis situations in order to mitigate the effects of crises, prevent them altogether or even benefit from them. For SMEs, satisfied customers and employees are the key metrics by which their own resilience is measured, followed only by financial metrics. Only 19 percent feel well prepared when it comes to the shortage of skilled workers. According to the study results, the SMEs surveyed have taken numerous measures to strengthen themselves against challenges and crises. Process adjustments, which also include the digitization of processes, rank first. This is followed by investment in innovation and adaptation of customer and pricing strategies. Claudia Moerker, Managing Director of the swiss export association, notes that many companies have optimized their supply chains to meet consumer demands and kept inventories as low as possible to save costs.

Economic risks weigh on outlook

For the next three years, 62 percent of companies still expect their own company to perform well to very well, compared with 67 percent in 2022 and as many as 76 percent in 2021. The successive crises and challenges have thus left their mark on SMEs. As in the previous year, the SMEs surveyed identified the high energy and raw material prices, access to skilled workers and personnel, and once again the unclear bilateral relations between Switzerland and the EU as the greatest economic risks for the next twelve months. Since the failure of the framework agreement with the EU, little has changed in the bilateral relationship between Switzerland and the EU. For this reason, around half of the companies surveyed continue to call on politicians to find a solution to the EU issue. It is clear from the study that the importance of this concern increases with the size of the company. In view of the worsening shortage of skilled workers, the demand for securing the need for skilled workers and ensuring attractive framework conditions and further location promotion is increasing compared to previous years.

The "SME SME Study", which has been conducted since 2018, provides an annual assessment of the situation of Swiss SMEs.

Source: Kearney

3D models do more than conventional visual media on the Internet: The non-linear representation enables visitors to a company website to zoom in on details of the products directly in the browser at will, to view them from all sides and to virtually test how they work. Due to their extreme richness of detail, 3D models enable a realistic functioning image of the product, which can be excellently used for online marketing. The technology is new, but already mature. The display runs directly in the browser, as naturally as images or movies.

Five reasons why companies and manufacturers should use 3D models of their products for innovative marketing:

1. Realistic and interactive representation: With 3D models, products can be displayed in high quality and with photorealistic details. 3D models allow potential customers to interactively explore the product. This gives them an accurate picture of how it actually looks and functions in use. This interactive experience creates an engaging customer experience and can increase interest and willingness to buy.
2. All variations of the product united in a single simulation: Often, all possible variations of a product cannot be represented at all or only with high time and cost expenditure. Interactive simulation makes it possible to combine all conceivable variations with each other, either arbitrarily or limited by rules. This makes it easy to simulate hundreds or thousands of variants in advance. This saves time and costs.
3. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR): 3D models are the basis for immersive technologies such as VR and AR. With augmented reality (AR), companies offer their customers the opportunity to visualize products in their own environment simply by using their smartphone via their company website. This enables unique customer experiences.
4. Cost and time savings: Once created, 3D models can be reused for various marketing purposes. Companies can use 3D models for product photos, promotional videos, animations, and other marketing materials, reducing the cost and time of producing physical prototypes and shoots.
5. Online presence and e-commerce: In today's digital world, a strong online presence is critical. 3D models can be used in online stores, on websites and in social media to present products in a visually appealing way. Customers can view products in 3D and get a better understanding of their features and functions.

The result can be a real eye-catcher with which every company likes to present itself on the Internet. It can also serve a clear purpose: The 3D model represents the functionality of the product in detail and thus equally serves as a permanently and fail-safe accessible virtual trade show booth.

Source and further information: TRImachine GmbH.
TRImachine offers a classic agency service. Through TRImachine's "Software as a Service" infrastructure, customers can independently upload their 3D data securely and then design it both visually and functionally. 

Jobs continue to be diligently advertised: ManpowerGroup's 38% forecast for new hires puts Switzerland 13 percentage points above the outlook for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) economic region and 8 percentage points above the global average. As a result, Switzerland ranks first in the EMEA region and second globally for hiring expectations. Year-on-year, the Swiss net employment outlook shows an increase of 18 percentage points. Compared with last quarter, it is up by 11 percentage points. As a result, these hiring expectations are the highest since the survey was launched in 2005. Jan Jacob, Country Manager ManpowerGroup Switzerland, says: "The data shows that employers expect a significant intensification of hiring activity in the fall. Despite the global economic headwinds, recruitment remains in focus, driven by the extreme talent shortage coupled with low unemployment. Companies are focused on finding and engaging talent. To this end, recruiting strategies are being adapted and a larger pool of candidates is being considered."

Optimistic outlook on the southern and western borders 

 At 57%, Ticino shows the highest net employment outlook for the coming quarter. In second place is the Lake Geneva region 46%, representing an increase of 35 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2023. However, the survey results are also positive for the other Swiss regions, with scores ranging from 30% to 38%. The only region to report a slight decrease (-1 percentage point) in hiring expectations compared to Q3 is Northwestern Switzerland.

The communications industry and microenterprises

Companies in the "communications services" sector report the strongest employment outlook, with 66% (44% more than in Q3). Switzerland ranks second in the world for this segment's employment outlook, exceeding the global average by 35 percentage points. Companies in the "transport, logistics and automotive" (62%) and "energy and utilities" (53%) sectors also expect a positive development. The "finance and real estate" and "healthcare and life science" sectors are down 5% compared with the summer quarter. In terms of the size of companies surveyed, micro companies are expected to plan to hire the most in the next three months (57%), small (41%), large (34%) and medium companies (31%).

Recruiting strategies in times of a shortage of skilled workers

As the talent pool shrinks, companies are changing their recruitment and workforce management strategies. To fill vacancies, about half of respondents say they give equal consideration to temporary and permanent workers.

To overcome the talent shortage, 29% of companies are willing to hire older applicants and employees who want to change careers or do not have all the technical skills they are looking for. Among boomers (ages 59-77), companies' strategic focus remains on retention (24%). For Gen Z (ages 18-26), Millennials (ages 27-42) and Gen X (ages 43-58) candidates, 25% of respondents say they focus on upskilling and retraining strategies. The most crucial for 40% of companies in the recruiting process are communication and teamwork skills. According to ManpowerGroup's survey, these two soft skills are ranked as particularly high across all sectors and regions in Switzerland or even globally. In an environment of competition for talent, employers see work-life balance and a positive work culture, including recognition of performance, as the most important factors for increasing productivity.

Source: ManpowerGroup