Between new store concepts that manage entirely without checkouts and the battle for supremacy in online retailing, the retail industry is also exposed to rapidly changing trends in other areas. Retail expert Alexander Henss, Senior Principal Consultant at Namics, reveals what these trends are.

1. data collection: the digitization of space

A great deal of data enters the retailer's showrooms along with the customers. So far, however, they have rarely been collected. As a result, brick-and-mortar retailers are missing out on enormous potential:
After all, the information generates revealing insights from which companies can derive appropriate measures or even new business models. Data can be used to clarify the following questions, for example:

• Which products immediately catch the customer's eye?
• Does the consumer touch certain objects to check the material?
• How do advertising measures work?
• What patterns of movement are created in the salesroom?

Amazon Go is a pioneer in the digitization of space. The American supermarket operates without checkouts, but customers have to register at the entrance using a smartphone code. Their movements and actions in the sales area are recorded by various sensors and evaluated by an algorithm.

2. offline, online, timeline: Network data optimally

Data also plays the main role in the second trend: the more facts are available about the customer, the more important it is to network them. With smart shopping carts, RFID and iBeacon technology, numerous values are collected offline in the retail industry. In order to be able to use these optimally, a functioning link with data from other channels, for example customer relationship management or search behavior on the website, is essential. A sophisticated strategy is needed so that the values can be combined to form a 360-degree customer picture. The following aspects must be taken into account:

• What data should be collected and what do they say?
• Which platform is used to collect or link the data?
• How does the evaluation take place?
• How can I use source data for predictive and prescriptive analytics?

Prescriptive analytics in particular are becoming increasingly important for retailers: they go one step further and enable the company to make additional recommendations for action. One example is the adjustment of parameters as part of a promotion to increase sales figures.

3. from shopping to experience: the in-store experience

Customers themselves are also moving more and more into digital worlds. Be it in online shopping or in social interaction. To ensure that the experience in the real store can keep up with that in the online store, retailers should rethink the design of their sales areas and incorporate digital solutions.

Smart screens can, for example, suggest matching accessories for pants or dresses in the dressing room. The use of virtual reality, on the other hand, makes it possible to better plan furniture or pictures into one's own home decor. Robots can, for example, bring suits in a different size and color to the customer's cubicle. And thanks to intelligent mirrors, new outfits can be shared with friends via social media channels.

4. disruption: B2B platforms on the rise

For the entire B2B segment, the entry of various global players such as Google, Amazon and Alibaba into the B2B business harbors both risks and opportunities. One thing is certain: in the long term, retailers will not be able to avoid platforms such as Amazon Business or Google Shopping. Anyone venturing into this still unknown territory must be prepared with a good strategy in any case. Is the platform in question even relevant for the customer journey? What technological requirements do I have to fulfill in order to become active in the digital marketplaces? Retailers urgently need answers to these questions in the coming year.

5. technology: system architecture in transition

In order to survive in the digital world, the right tools and methods are also indispensable in the retail sector. The technology behind them is becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse. Thanks to modularization, the software architecture is also becoming more flexible. The replacement of systems used to date is up for debate. Today, and especially in the coming year, companies are confronted with the following questions:

• Software On Premises or Cloud-Based Services? However, this question is becoming increasingly rare, as many manufacturers now only offer their software as a cloud service and do not use on premise software.
• Can AI be used to present offers in a more relevant way or to optimize channels? For example, it can help to suggest the right products based on surfing behavior.
• How can data availability be increased across touchpoints? One touchpoint, for example, is the stationary checkout, which shows the retailer the entire purchase history of the respective customer.
• How can the DevOps approach be used to shape a continuous improvement process? For example, digital innovations can go live faster and be brought to the customer.

Regardless of the particular decision, retailers should always keep in mind that the change will not only create more convenience for their own business, but also for the customer.

It is now common knowledge that you should not open an attachment to an e-mail from an unknown sender or use a USB stick that you have found. Most employees are no longer that naive. But there are also IT risks that even security experts are often unaware of. The Internet of Things (IoT) and the integration of numerous systems that are not part of traditional IT into corporate networks have created new potential points of attack. The central problem here is that most providers of such systems, such as elevator manufacturers or manufacturers of building technology, are not at home in IT security technology - yet their equipment and systems are highly relevant to it.

Two kinds of IT risks

There are usually two dangers: On the one hand, the respective systems themselves can be disrupted, damaged or paralyzed by attackers, which can have unpleasant to devastating consequences depending on the type; on the other hand, the attackers can use the systems in question as a springboard - "system hopping" - for penetrating corporate networks.

According to NTT Security, companies should keep the following scenarios in mind:

1. Elevators are a prime example of the range of applications of the IoT - the troubleshooting or remote maintenance that this makes possible increase the efficiency of the systems considerably. Few people realize that maintenance companies, which may not have their own security concept, thus have mostly uncontrolled access to IT.
2. Modern air-conditioning systems are often accessible via the Internet for maintenance purposes - this not only provides dangerous access to the corporate network; tampering with an air-conditioning system - in the data center, for example - can cause devastating damage through overheating or system failure.
3. Fire alarm systems are also usually not considered in safety concepts - manipulations can significantly disrupt operational processes, for example through false alarms; they can also cause considerable damage, for example through activation of a sprinkler system.
4. Access control systems are often integrated into the IT infrastructure, but this creates a gateway through which attackers can gain not only unauthorized access, but also access to corporate networks.
5. More or less all companies depend on an undisturbed power supply. The effects of successful attacks are all the more serious here; an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or power management systems are not perceived as possible points of attack in most cases.
6. Entertainment systems are operated in many companies: for example, the usual TVs in the conference room. Common smart TVs have a connection to the web that can be easily attacked; for example, smart TV cameras can also be activated remotely. But few companies have securing their TVs on their radar.
7. Even in canteens, the devices are now often networked, such as smart coffee machines, some of which have displays for awareness campaigns or general company news. Many manufacturers have remote access to the machines for troubleshooting or reordering coffee, but these accesses are not usually monitored. Since the availability of the coffee machine is taken care of, but not the corresponding software updates and security configurations, this creates another gateway into the corporate network.

Expand the field of view

"The IT security philosophy has traditionally focused on IT systems and networks," explains Christian Koch, Senior Manager GRC & IoT/OT at NTT Security. "However, this no longer corresponds to the current threat situation: in the age of the Internet of Things, potentially everything that is powered by electricity is a system component that can be addressed via the Internet and is therefore automatically a potential target for attack. Companies therefore urgently need to broaden their field of vision and consider these risks as well."

Source and further information

Since the financial market crisis of 2007/2008, society's expectations of corporate responsibility on the part of economic players have changed fundamentally. Since then, the public has increasingly judged companies and business sectors on the basis of the extent to which they fulfill their economic responsibility.

Reputation as a value-adding factor

In the first part, the study looks at the development of public trust in the Swiss economy and its companies. By linking reputation developments with economic key figures of listed companies, it shows that an above-average reputation is also a value-creation factor. The public perception conveyed by the media thus plays a central role both in the development and destruction of reputation and in the economic success of a company.

Reputation is an expression of fulfilled social expectations. The second part of the study examines which forms of representation gained or lost importance in media coverage between 2005 and June 2018. Whereas at the beginning of this period it was mainly economic success and responsibility to shareholders that were important, in the course of the crisis the public increasingly focused on "economic responsibility" as a key differentiator.

"Economic responsibility" pays off several times over

The study concludes that assuming economic responsibility pays off significantly for individual companies and sectors, both on an intangible level (reputational effects) and on a material level (economic effects). Companies that are perceived by the public as being economically responsible have greater power of definition in public communication. They are therefore in a better position to help shape their public positioning with their own messages. In addition, these companies benefit from greater trust in corporate management.

Suva is the publisher of the study

On the occasion of its "100-year anniversary", Suva supported the present study on the Swiss economy. With its business model, which has always been designed to combine social and economic activities, Suva acts as an economically responsible player. Felix Weber, Chief Executive Officer of Suva, confirms this: "With its commitment to the safety of people, Suva has not only made an important contribution to social peace over the past 100 years, but has also contributed to the economic prosperity of Switzerland. We are ready to continue fulfilling these tasks in the next 100 years."

More information: www.commslab.com, www.foeg.uzh.ch 

Against the background of the internationalization and globalization of more and more companies, businesses are faced with the decision to make company data available in the cloud, regardless of location. The advantages of cloud computing, such as flexibility, scalability, resource and cost savings, are convincing arguments for being able to act faster and more efficiently on the market. With its comprehensive Managed Security Services, the Security Operations Center in Switzerland (staffed 7×24 by specialists) and professional Threat Detection & Response Services, Swisscom protects customer systems in real time.

Mail security from Hanover for the Swiss industry leader

Strong global networking is creating new threats, which is why security solutions from the cloud and companies with a high level of expertise in the field of cybercrime are particularly in demand. Swisscom has now found the ideal partner in Hornetsecurity - the headquarters of this company, which operated under the name antispameurope until 2015, is located in Hanover, according to the statement. "We were looking for a provider that could replace the previous different and highly customized solutions and reliably meet the high demands of our customers in terms of scalability, security and convenience. Hornetsecurity convinced us with the wide range of functions of its mail security services, the convenient multi-client interface and high flexibility," says Tim Rückforth, Product Manager Web & Mail Security at Swisscom.

"Beginning of a successful partnership"

Hornetsecurity's services offer the same high-quality protection against sophisticated attacks for all company locations in Switzerland and abroad. When it comes to data protection, Swisscom customers will continue to be on the safe side in the future: "Over the next eight weeks, Hornetsecurity will install its infrastructure in the redundant data centers in Switzerland at Swisscom. The data of Swiss customers will thus be processed exclusively on site. Protecting and securing our customers' sensitive and important data is a top priority for us," says Daniel Hofmann, Managing Director at Hornetsecurity. "With Mail Security based on Hornetsecurity, we will offer our customers the best protection against spam, malware and other threats in the future, which fits perfectly into our portfolio of Managed Security Services and which we will actively market through our channels. I am sure that this is the beginning of a successful partnership," said Rückforth.

Source: Hornetsecurity

Too big to use: Many companies are overwhelmed by the abundance of data sources. In the DACH region, only eight percent use a wide variety of data sources throughout the company, including data from other organizations, for decision-making. In 44 percent, this goal has been partially achieved. Many companies get bogged down in the handling and systematic integration of data from different sources. Four out of ten complain about technical deficits in using data for further analyses. The result: a lack of added value from analytics investments. These are the findings of the BI & Analytics study biMA® 2017/18 by Sopra Steria Consulting in collaboration with the Business Application Research Center (BARC). The studies are based on the biMM® (Business Intelligence Maturity Model) maturity model and the biMA® (Business Intelligence Maturity Audit) analysis method developed by Sopra Steria Consulting in collaboration with the universities of Duisburg-Essen and St. Gallen and the University of Düsseldorf.

Professional utilization of data sources is missing

With new technical possibilities (advanced analytics), the prediction of the future involving differentiated data sources is moving into the focus of companies. Many digital services are based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. These include, for example, forecasts of how customers and markets will behave in order to control production. Moreover, it is no longer just online retailers who want to recommend products to their customers or show them alternatives if the desired product is not available at the moment. Algorithms evaluate many millions of data records for this purpose. These come from an increasing number of data sources, for example geo, social media and sensor data.

The sticking point in the development of new business models and services is not so much the technical power of analysis, but the lack of professional utilization. 43 percent of the companies surveyed have difficulties deriving knowledge and insights from data and, as a result, creating added value through information. More than one in four companies (27 percent) see a need to catch up when it comes to integrating and linking data in their business work. As a result, the information fizzles out or companies draw the wrong conclusions.

Data-driven business models require new approach

Some companies are now moving away from the strategy of using as many data sources and data sets as possible. Companies such as the bank Goldmann Sachs and the German e-commerce group Otto are expressing that the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is more about having the right selection of data, but one that is fully understood. Other companies are embracing new concepts such as data thinking - a method that combines design thinking with data analysis and data mining. These examples show that a rethink is underway in many industries, away from Big Data to Smart Data strategies.

"It's not about becoming the world champion in tapping as many data sources as possible," says Lars Schlömer, Head of BI & Analytics at Sopra Steria Consulting. "It is not the quantity and quality of data that determine the quality of data-driven business models, but the technical and analytical know-how to do something value-added with the data. It is important to bring together qualified teams of data scientists and specialists who systematically identify and develop use cases in an agile working environment and who also answer the question of what data is actually needed," says Schlömer.

Source and further information: Sopra Steria

If an entrepreneur actually fails unexpectedly, the partner or the management staff is often called upon to a special degree. If an entrepreneur is no longer able to communicate, the situation becomes extremely precarious. Who can pay the wages? Who pays the rent? Who has the login data? Who has the contact to the partner banks or suppliers? Where are the original contracts stored? The questions can be extended at will. A central place, where the amount of information can be found summarized, exists in practice in very few cases and if so, where is this place?

The SME Emergency Case supports the Swiss entrepreneur for the first time with the most important preparations for a structured and central emergency planning for their own company. The SME Emergency Case contains over 100 pages with explanations and, above all, fillable forms for the entrepreneur. These can be entered, changed, saved and also printed out. The SME emergency case can be stored in a central location and only a few people need to be informed about it. In this way, the professional life's work can be secured as well as possible.

The SME emergency case was launched and developed by Oliver Aschwanden. He has been a succession expert for many years and accompanies SMEs in the succession process. The impetus for this product came from a series of experiences Aschwanden had in his private and business environment. "Especially in small companies, many responsibilities often hang on just one person," he knows. If this person fails, a company and its employees can quickly find themselves in existential difficulties. It is therefore all the more important to have a trusted person who can quickly access key information in order to ensure the company's ability to act. There are no statistics on how often such a case occurs. According to Oliver Aschwanden, however, it happens surprisingly often that the managing directors or entrepreneurs of SMEs suddenly and unexpectedly become unavailable.

The SME emergency kit is now available at www.kmu-notfallkoffer.ch.

The months of November and December mean the final spurt for Swiss small and medium-sized companies: processing orders, sending an invoice with each delivery and booking sales are now in the foreground. Massive, partly unplanned material purchases, maximum working hours and often overtime are necessary in the last quarter to serve all customers.

Many companies pay out the 13th month's salary and other bonuses with the December wages. They thank their employees with a nice Christmas event and their customers with small gifts. And all invoices with a due date of January 1, such as those from insurance companies, arrive on time for the holidays.

Gap between revenues and expenses

It all adds up to quite a bit of money! And money hardly comes in for a while: The invoices that were still sent out quickly give the customers a payment deadline until the new year, and payment deadlines are no longer strictly adhered to anyway. But the wages for the great end-of-year job, the invoices for material purchases and the costs for all the festivities still had to be paid in the old year. And most SMEs often close for the holidays until after New Year's week. That's when a gap opens up between income and expenses, eats away at the liquidity cushion and - voilà - here it is, the famous "January hole"!

How to avoid the January hole

In contrast to the waistline, the cash register is in a state of consumption in January. The start of the year after the company vacations is notoriously difficult. The room for maneuver is limited, expectations are high - the mood is one of hangover. It doesn't have to be, and here are 10 tips on how to avoid, or at least mitigate, the January slump by taking action now.

1. Financial and liquidity planning: Even a relatively simple financial plan shows the liquidity surplus or deficit on a monthly basis, even looking ahead. This does not require sophisticated software, but a simple table with income and expenses is usually sufficient. It is important to make the presentation monthly and realistic, in order to also recognize short-term bottlenecks or surpluses.
2. Cut spending: Sounds banal, but to avoid the January hole, expenses can be cut. Everything that is "nice to have" should be omitted completely the later in the year, or at least postponed to the two middle quarters.
3. Optimize revenue: Just as banal, you can try to increase revenue at the beginning of the year. Winter discounts, special promotions and stock sales help; the customers will thank you because they are usually also in the January hole.
4. Compare providers of interchangeable services: Autumn is a good time to compare the terms of interchangeable services: Insurance, energy, telephone and Internet, mobility are all monotonous products today and only the providers think it is important that we buy from them. For the typical Swiss SME, however, the offer is uniform and can be easily compared and exchanged. Cancellation in the fall and conclusion of new contracts at the beginning of the year can bring noticeable savings and welcome gifts.

Cushion the January hole

1. Steady wage payments: In order to break the end-of-year peak in salary payments, it is possible to spread the 13th month's salary over all months. Furthermore, it helps to pay the bonus only in the spring when the annual financial statements are available.
2. Check discount: "2% discount for payment in 10 days" is an annual interest rate of 72% - can the SME afford it? Do customers really pay faster because of this? Better to abolish and actively agree with customers on payment terms that are attractive for both sides - such as down payments and interim payments.
3. Supplier Credit: Conversely, the SME can try to negotiate more favorable payment terms with its own suppliers. In doing so, consider the mutual dependency and also include unusual solutions - e.g. exchange of goods instead of monetary payment.
4. Negotiate credit limits: Immediately arrange meetings with the house bank and two other banks. An overdraft limit for the current account is the ideal instrument for cushioning liquidity fluctuations and costs only if it is used; then, however, it is quite expensive. Therefore, compare offers and negotiate hard. Especially with new customers, banks are willing to do a lot that they hardly ever offer to existing customers.
5. Advance invoices: Anyone who has to make large advance payments and offer long payment terms for negotiation or industry reasons should consider factoring. Here, a financial institution, or in the case of a crowdlender several investors together, advances an outstanding invoice to a supplier for the period of time until the customer pays. Usually only up to 85% of the invoice amount is covered, but in most cases this is enough to cover material and labor costs, plugging the hole. The cost is relatively high, but it is only for a short time.
6. Rent capital goods instead of buying them: Companies whose production depends on a few large investments, such as expensive machinery or a complex building, can consider "leasing" as a financing alternative. The company selects the investment object, but the lessor then buys it and leases it to the company. The lessor then leases the asset to the company, which then pays regular payments from the benefits generated by the asset: The chicken pays for itself with the eggs it lays, so to speak. Intended for new acquisitions, existing capital goods can also be sold to the lessor and then leased back to free up liquidity quickly and effectively.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you avoid or cushion the January hole: Good preparation and efficient execution are important. Getting advice is not a bad idea. Because the famous "January hole" does not have to be!

This article is published in cooperation with System credit (www.systemcredit.com), a Swiss fintech startup that shows SMEs simple ways to suitable financing with fair conditions, independent of providers. As participating lenders are Bank Cler and swisspeers. Click here for the offers.

On November 28, 2018, GS1 presented the Swiss Logistics Award for the 23rd time. One of the winners was the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) with its new logistics and service center in Schlieren. This not only frees up space for the overall renovation of the USZ infrastructure and saves time and money thanks to sophisticated logistics processes. With the city logistics concept, it also relieves inner-city traffic. Based on the concept of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) and taking into account successfully practiced concepts from retail and industry, those responsible developed a reference model for hospital logistics. The focus was on standardized processes and plannable procedures with low inventory levels while maintaining high availability. The logistics and service center therefore does not primarily serve as a warehouse, but rather as a hub for the flow of materials in and out of the hospital complex. Only about 10 percent of the goods are stored. More than 20,000 items are delivered in bundles to the various USZ sites without intermediate storage. Every day, over 700 recipients in 43 clinics and directorates are thus served with more than 12 tons of material.

Unique concept in a difficult environment

The jury of the Swiss Logistics Award sees the USZ Logistics and Service Center as a unique concept for the care of patients in a difficult environment. "Healthcare, as an important cornerstone of our society, is currently experiencing an enormous push in logistics topics, which testifies to a professionalization in this area," says jury president Hans Rudolf Hauri. The USZ's solution was also convincing because the central warehouse can handle all product groups, from medical products, including sterilization, to medications from the cantonal pharmacy and foodstuffs. In addition, the ECR approach was implemented to a depth that is rather rare in the healthcare sector, says Hauri. "Last but not least, the USZ has not only created the center for itself, but also wants to open it up to other players. This holds valuable savings potential against the backdrop of ever-increasing cost pressures in healthcare."

Brändi Foundation receives award for commitment to logistics

The Brändi Foundation has been successfully integrating people with a handicap into the logistics market for years. GS1 Switzerland honors this commitment with this year's Swiss Logistics Public Award. With 15 companies and around 1800 employees, the Brändi Foundation is one of the largest employers in Central Switzerland. On behalf of the Canton of Lucerne and the Disability Insurance Fund, it offers work, training and living places primarily for people with mental disabilities, physical disabilities and psychological impairments. Nine companies of the foundation are active in logistics. The modern infrastructure makes it possible to take over entire production chains or parts of them for customers. Individual orders from industry, commerce, administration or private individuals are also possible. With the Swiss Logistics Public Award 2018, the jury recognizes the commitment of the Brändi Foundation in the integration of workers in logistics. "The integration of people with disabilities into the work process and thus into society is an important task," says Hans Rudolf Hauri. "The Brändi Foundation makes a major contribution to this." The jury is sending an important signal with the award to the Brändi Foundation, because not only the contribution of the employees in the logistics process is worthy of an award, but also the internal logistics of the institution.

More information: www.gs1.ch/swiss-logistics-award

Anyone who thought the topic of IT security was primarily of importance to large, international corporations is mistaken: A recent study shows the increasing risk of cyberattacks even in small to medium-sized companies: 80 percent of the companies surveyed were affected by an attack on their IT systems last year. Overall, these attacks increased sharply, especially those that entered the system via e-mail.

Lack of IT security culture

With many different workplace tools now in use in most companies, it is becoming increasingly difficult for employees to identify and correctly assess security risks. Strict security policies only help to a limited extent: generally, companies try to keep workflows as simple as possible - if they are complicated by security hurdles or controls, employees are more likely to try to circumvent them. To ensure that the company's safety strategy does not fail, employees must develop an awareness of safety in the workplace.

Here is the checklist for an IT security culture in the company

1. IT security starts at the top. If IT security is a top priority and respected by management, employees will also take the issue more seriously and be more likely to question their own user behavior. This connection is pointed out by a Security breach investigation in British companies. Managers need to set a good example in safety with their own behavior to provide guidance to employees and make them aware of potential safety risks.
2. Safety is the responsibility of all employees. The topic of security is not just the concern of a few, but affects the entire company. That's why every team member should be introduced to the topic. Sit down with each employee to raise awareness about the role of IT security in their day-to-day work. It's important to educate about the risks that the many different tools, content and your own user behavior can pose. Habits that have crept in over time and are problematic for the security of the company can thus be identified and changed.
3. Context is the key. Safety does not seem to be directly relevant to all employees. Nevertheless, it is important to involve all departments - this is the only way to create a safety culture for the entire company. In order to make employees from different teams aware of the specific situations in which the topic of safety is relevant, practical examples from their everyday work can be helpful.
4. Choose Head-Ofs. The IT team cannot assume responsibility for a company's entire security strategy. Therefore, employees from the various departments should be designated to act as a link between IT and the respective teams. They are closer to the day-to-day decisions and have a more detailed understanding of the workflows, or are directly responsible. Specially appointed security officers in each team can better support decision-making on the ground.
5. Safety training is a continuous learning process. Holding a one-hour training session for employees once a year is often enough to meet compliance requirements - but this is not the way to build a sustainable safety culture. In order to anchor a new understanding and awareness of safety among employees, it is important to also address the topic in regular meetings in the long term. Here, you can also think about incorporating playful elements and organizing a quiz in between, for example.

Conclusion: No technology can replace a safety culture in the company

Even though developers are constantly providing new security measures for business applications and tools, even these cannot prevent an increased risk due to incorrect user behavior. Therefore, it is central to create an awareness of IT security in the company that encompasses all departments from management to employees. Only when everyone pulls together can an IT security culture emerge that protects the entire company from cyber attacks.

About the Author:
Morten Brøgger is the CEO of Wire. Wire is a secure communication and collaboration platform. Business chats, conference calls, and file sharing - all content is protected by end-to-end encryption.

At the heart of Arnold Weissman's presentation is the observation that, firstly, digitization affects all companies, and secondly, that it has far more to do with leadership than with technology. This requires an understanding of leadership and practical leadership that will have to reinvent itself over long distances. Arnold Weissman explains why this is so and what this leadership could look like in the following interview.

Digitization is mainly seen as a technological challenge. What role does leadership play here?
Digitization will radically change the economy and society. Knowledge is available everywhere, technology enables radically changed business models. Times of major change need strong leaders who accompany people through these changes, which can also be associated with considerable pain. The greater the upheaval, the more important strong value-based leadership becomes. Understood in this way, leadership is right at the heart of digital transformation.

When we talk about digital leadership. What does leadership mean to you, and what is digital about it?
To me, leading, or leadership, means "lifting others up," enabling people to reach a higher level. Leadership means being "in resonance" with people. In a digitalized world, where people work when, where and with whom they want, the "old" control is lost and must be replaced by a culture of trust. Trust is the central prerequisite for being able to manage the complexity created by digitization.

Change and leadership are nothing new. Why should digital transformation require a different (new) leadership?
Probably the oldest book in the world is the Chinese wisdom book I Ching, the Book of Changes. Heraclitus, the pre-Socratics, spoke of Panta Rhei. Everything flows, everything is in motion, everything changes. Change is certainly not a privilege of our time. What digitization has changed, however, is the speed of change. In the world of Industry 1.0 to 3.0, systems could be mastered, traditional hierarchies were suitable organizational patterns. In the networked, virtual, digital world, however, these systems are becoming more and more superfluous, even counterproductive. So we definitely need new leadership if we want to successfully shape the digital transformation.

How must leadership be practiced in a digital company and how does it differ from conventional leadership?
When framework conditions change ever more rapidly, systems lose stability. Decisions have to be made under high uncertainty. And, they have to be made quickly. This requires networked, self-learning, agile structures in which managers behave like entrepreneurs in the workplace. They must take responsibility and carry this culture of delegating responsibility throughout the organization.

What do entrepreneurs and managers in SMEs have to change in their leadership behavior in order to successfully shape the digital transformation?
Basically, it tends to be easier for entrepreneurs in SMEs, because they are naturally much faster and more agile than the large corporations with their bureaucracies, simply because of their size and personal proximity. There, the motto is "Teaching Elephants to Dance!" In my view, SMEs have every chance of mastering the digital transformation, of shaping it, if they reflect on their natural strengths. More than ever, in the digital world, it is not the big ones who win against the small ones, but the fast ones against the slow ones!

What are the particular challenges in owner-managed SMEs when it comes to leadership in the digital transformation?
Some owners still see themselves as patrons, where all decisions are made. After all, the owner also bears the financial, entrepreneurial risk. But if owners don't understand how to delegate responsibility, they have the same problems as large companies.

What role do the owners themselves play in the digital transformation of their companies?
They need to be at the forefront of change and make digital readiness a top priority. And they must accept that they need support for this, both internally and externally. For many, digital transformation will be the biggest change in their company's history. Banks, insurance companies, wholesalers and retailers, suppliers and even IT and tech companies. They all face the task of having to transform their business model and their company to make it fit for the future. In some areas, people are already talking about the "Amazonization" of markets. Owners need the courage to pursue their own transformation - and, as "first movers," they must strengthen their own employees, take them along, and accompany them.

What are the main mistakes you see in practice when the digital transformation doesn't really work out?
Many people make the mistake of viewing digital transformation solely as a technological challenge. But it is above all a cultural challenge. Even if the strategy and business plans are in place, implementation is by no means assured. As Peter Drucker says so well: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Digital transformation is more of a cultural challenge than a technological one. And now comes the problem: Managing culture is like trying to nail a pudding to the wall! For traditionally minded managers, this is of course a particular challenge, to accept that culture is not only so important, but also that it can only be shaped and changed by leading by example. And this takes time - despite all the speed of change. A really difficult challenge for impatient managers.

Finally, can you tell us a few keywords about your presentation on January 14, 2019 in Baden?
My aim is to show what changes are (likely) to come our way and how we can best learn to deal with them. We will talk about how we really put the customer at the center (Customer Centricity), how we need to adapt our business models, what this means for our organizations - and how we manage to bring the people who work in our companies along on this journey.

Event Note
Arnold Weissman will be speaking on Digital Leadership and the Art of Leading in Digital Transformation on Monday evening, January 14, 2019 at Focus on Future in Baden. More info and registration at https://www.focus-on-future.ch/veranstaltungen/digital-leadership/

About Arnold Weissman

Prof. Dr. Arnold Weissman founded the renowned consulting and training company the WeissmanGroup in 1987, which was awarded the "TOP CONSULTANT" quality seal in 2017 for its high level of expertise and consulting management for medium-sized businesses. The WeissmanGroup is internationally positioned, with offices in Nuremberg, Innsbruck, Zurich and Lana. Prof. Dr. Arnold Weissman also teaches business management especially for family businesses as well as marketing at the OTH (Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule) Regensburg, is head of the competence area for strategy at the Zurich International Business School (ZIBS) and external lecturer at the Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen. He is also the author of numerous knowledge books and practice-oriented articles. As a sought-after speaker, he speaks at more than 120 events annually.

Blockchain is the subject of much discussion, and not just in specialist circles. More and more companies are looking into the digital technology and working on initial applications. For experts, blockchain technology has a similar revolutionary potential as the Internet. But what exactly is blockchain? What does a company have to pay attention to when implementing a blockchain application and how does financing via Initial Coin Offering (ICO) work? These and other questions were the focus of the Blockchain for Business (B4B) forum held last Thursday, November 22, in St. Gallen. Speakers from science and practice told the more than 100 participants about their experiences with the promising "technology of the future" and gave tips for a possible implementation. The moderator was TV journalist Reto Brennwald, and the event was organized by the Institute for Corporate Management at the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen IFU-FHS.

Properties can create trust

"Blockchain can be described as a distributed transaction database," said Professor Ernesto Turnes, director of the FHS Center of Excellence for Banking and Finance, in his opening remarks. He identified availability, ownership, immutability, auditability and scalability as the five requirements for a transaction system. Trust can be established via these requirements and how they are achieved, such as through cryptography or hashing, he said. With regard to tokens, i.e. the tokens that are sold in ICOs, Ernesto Turnes sees "enormous potential" above all in investment tokens or asset or security tokens. They represent assets such as shares, bonds or real estate.

Roger Bigger, co-founder of Crowdli AG, a platform for real estate crowd investments, and managing owner of Azemos Group, shared the same opinion. "Security tokens can fundamentally revolutionize the fund world," he said. "They create entirely new concepts of investing: improved participation, greater flexibility and lower costs." But, he added, they are also much more complex to understand. And this is where Roger Bigger sees the big challenge: "Explaining this to a broad audience is difficult."

Attorney Thomas Müller of Walder Wyss Attorneys at Law in Zurich classified the legal qualification of the tokens, which is quite complex and somewhat different depending on the token. He described the secondary market as a major problem: Some of the tokens could only be used to a limited extent and the National Bank currently has "zero interest" in a digital franc.

Optimize processes, save costs

The n'cloud.swiss AG, a provider of cloud computing solutions, relied on blockchain at the beginning of 2018 and carried out an ICO. The next ICO is to follow as early as next year... According to Chief Marketing Officer Pascal Dossenbach, blockchain is suitable for "those companies that want to offer a product or service for which there is also a market". For him, it is important to have "serious planning with realistic goals" and an "ICO whitepaper that comes across like a business plan to convince investors".

For Pascal Egloff, lecturer and project manager at the FHS Competence Center for Banking and Finance, "needs not every company has to have a blockchain, it has been possible without one". But almost every company could use the technology. "The only question is whether it's worth it," he said. Blockchain often serves as a catalyst for thinking about digitalization, he said. Ulrich Schimpel, CTO Europe Team & IBM Research, Zurich, has a similar view: the blockchain solution only brings something where it is better than the existing process. However, if the new technology is then applied, processes can be optimized and costs saved. Today, blockchain is not only used in banking, but also in healthcare, insurance, logistics and sales.

An underestimated technology

Vitus Ammann spent years in Zug's Crypto Valley and is now a Digital Transformation consultant at SBB. In the expert panel, he said, "We are still at the very beginning with blockchain technology, about where we were with the Internet in 1995." He has high hopes for the technology, with comparable effects on the economy and society as with the Internet. Nick Beglinger, CEO of Cleantech21 Foundation, and Roman Schnider, Head of Audit Blockchain Clients at PwC Switzerland, have a similar view. "Blockchain is still greatly underestimated today," said Nick Beglinger, and Vitus Ammann believes that in ten years, securities will already be largely traded via tokens and no longer via the existing systems. Will banks still exist at all then? "I think so," said Roman Schnider, "but their remit is likely to shift." For Stefan Jeker, head of Raiffeisen St.Gallen's innovation lab, one of the big challenges of the future is to think in ecosystems and beyond processes. "Blockchain technology will change our lives, allowing us to focus on what makes our lives worth living."

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More information:
With all the developments surrounding blockchain, it is difficult to keep track of everything. That's why Ernesto Turnes and Pascal Egloff from the Institute of Corporate Management IFU-FHS have written a textbook entitled "Blockchain for Practice. Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, ICOs and Tokens." At the same time, they offer customized presentations as well as company-specific workshops and have organized the Blockchain for Business (B4B) forum.

Many companies lack digital competence not only at management level, but above all at board level. Especially there, the selection of "digital first" thinkers is very small to non-existent. With the newly launched "Digital Board Academy," members of the board of directors will be able to further educate themselves in two evening modules on digital topics such as data exchange, big data, digital strategy, cyber threats and the development of smartphone technology. The course will be offered in Zurich, Bern and Basel as a first step.

Burning issue of digitization

The program was launched by Maurice Nyffeler and Dominic Lüthi. Nyffeler is a transformation expert with a focus on business and culture. Lüthi initiated the first digital mediation platform for boards of directors, foundation boards and advisory boards (f/m) in Switzerland. Based on this professional background, they have recognized that digitization/digital transformation is a burning issue for most SMEs, but one that is often neglected due to ignorance or lack of understanding and, in the worst case, can have a negative impact on a company's future prospects.

Says Dominic Lüthi: "Our goal was to develop a course that would give board members enough know-how to include digitization in the development of long-term corporate strategy. With this knowledge, board members also become more effective for companies and more attractive to the market." Maurice Nyffeler also points out another point: "Digital transformation not only brings technological challenges, but also demands holistic development from a cultural perspective. This is a major challenge for many company managers, which we also address in Digital Board Academy."

Board members must not miss the boat

Digital transformation can offer SMEs in particular great opportunities, which is why it is important that they do not miss the boat on the digital future. Because digital transformation is more than just "digitization": It affects not only technology, but also organization and business. It has come about through the convergence of three developments called SoLoMo, where So stands for Social, Lo for Local and Mo for Mobile. Social refers to the ability to exchange large amounts of data in real time, independent of location and time. Local refers not only to GPS, RFID chips, etc., but also to the immersion in large amounts of data ("Big Data"), while Mobile deals with the breathtaking development of smartphones.

The first modules of the Digital Board Academy have already been held. The excellent feedback shows that although many companies are concerned about the topic of digitization, the topic has not yet arrived everywhere at board level.

More information: www.digitalboardacademy.com