Leasing is an important financing option for companies. A study by BAK Basel and the FHNW School of Business shows that the Swiss leasing industry directly and indirectly triggered gross value added of CHF 800 million in 2015. The employment effect is 5,000 jobs. More significant are the additional investments made possible by leasing. In 2015, these investments were associated with a gross value added of CHF 5.3 billion and around 41,000 jobs. Leasing will become even more important in Industry 4.0. In a digitalized economy, where payment is made for use rather than ownership, leasing is the ideal form of financing. Scenario calculations show considerable potential: if Swiss companies were to lease at the level of comparable European countries, additional growth of CHF 6.5 billion could be realized within 10 years. CHF could be realized within 10 years. This corresponds to about one percent of today's gross domestic product. The study shows that leasing is more than just a form of financing: Leasing not only enables investment, but also facilitates the upcoming structural change and helps to better exploit the growth potential associated with the digital transformation.

The Swiss Leasing Industry

The Swiss leasing market amounted to approximately CHF 12 billion in 2015. CHF (new business). This represents a gross value added of CHF 490 million and around 2,700 jobs (FTE). If indirect effects are included, the result is a gross value added of around CHF 800 million and around 5,200 jobs. The economic impulse of leasing is even stronger, i.e. the consumer spending and investments financed with leasing. This results in a gross value added of 5.3 billion CHF. CHF, associated with around 41,000 jobs.

Less in demand as a financing instrument than in other countries

Leasing preserves liquidity, helps optimize the capital structure, can reduce the cost of capital and simplifies cash management. The company survey conducted as part of the study shows that most companies in Switzerland are aware of these advantages. Nevertheless, this form of financing is used less by Swiss companies than by their competitors in other European countries. In 2015, only 6.5 percent of total corporate investments were financed with leasing. The study reveals the reasons for this: Swiss companies primarily finance their investments with their own funds, balance sheet policy and tax arguments are less compelling, but less favorable legal conditions (in other countries, ownership of the leased asset can be secured more easily) or cultural reasons (preference for legal ownership) also have a negative impact on the use of this financing instrument.

More than a form of financing

Leasing allows greater participation in innovation cycles, frees up financial resources for research and development, and strengthens the competitiveness of industrial companies in the form of vendor leasing. This creates financial scope that can be used for investment and growth. There is much to suggest that these effects will play an even greater role in the future.

Key role in the transformation of traditional business models

In "Industry 4.0", companies organize and control their value chain over the entire life cycle of the products. This calls for integrated solutions from manufacturers, IT infrastructure that is always up to date, and remuneration systems adapted to the revenue model. Leasing plays a key role in the transformation of traditional business models. With the tendency not to own an asset but to pay for a solution, flexible forms of financing tailored to the business model will gain in importance. Leasing is then not just a way of financing the business, but will become an integral part of it.

Model simulations show that, under plausible assumptions, an increased use of leasing can lead to a noticeable increase in economic growth and prosperity. Provided that the use of leasing can be raised to the level in relevant international comparator countries (D, F, NL, UK) and that this is largely associated with an expansion of investment and innovation activity (low substitution effects), an overall (cumulative) increase in GDP of CHF 6.5 billion is possible over the next 10 years. CHF is possible. This corresponds to about one percent of today's gross domestic product. The productivity effects do not lead to a decline in employment in the model simulations.

Source: University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland

vonRoll itec, which specializes in IT outsourcing and cloud, is moving into the future with new owners and joining the IT security and network specialists Fernao Networks as an independent company. The long-standing management team led by CEO Martin Vogt and COO Vanja Rohr is taking a significant stake in the company and will continue to manage its operations. The composition of the new Board of Directors also shows that continuity has been ensured: both will sit on the Board of Directors, which Vogt will chair as Chairman. "We are grateful that we have been able to develop so well under the umbrella of the vonRoll infratec Group and see great added value for both sides in the partnership with Fernao Networks - not only for us as a company, but also for our customers," Vogt is convinced. The previous corporate strategy with a focus on hybrid cloud operating concepts, SAP Hana, digitalization as well as foreign strategy and all existing structures and organizations will be consistently continued. The data centers at the Gerlafingen and Solothurn sites will be retained. "We can now offer our customers expertise and resources in the areas of IT networking and IT security. This will allow us to continue on our growth path and develop the company positively," says Vogt.

Entry into the Swiss market

For Fernao Networks' customers, the addition of vonRoll itec to the Group will result in additional competencies in the area of PaaS (Platform as a Service). Hendrik Sauer, Managing Director at Fernao Networks: "We are happy that with vonRoll itec we were able to gain an experienced and renowned specialist for solutions in the areas of Microsoft Azure and SAP Hana for the Fernao Group." He added that this marks Fernao Networks' entry into the Swiss market. "We are looking forward to the future cooperation with the management of vonRoll itec and are convinced that we can take the group further together," Sauer said.

Business groups with experience

Fernao Networks is a group of companies that combines the know-how of several successful IT companies in the areas of IP networks, IT security, IT infrastructure and carrier solutions. With over 180 employees at eight locations in Germany, the company offers services such as consulting, implementation and managed services from a single source. Von Roll itec was founded in 2002 from the IT department of Von Roll Management AG and today employs over 50 ICT specialists. With locations in Gerlafingen and Zurich as well as two high-availability data centers, vonRoll itec has established itself as a reliable ICT partner for medium-sized to larger, also internationally active SMEs with numerous references.

More information: www.vonroll-itec.ch, www.fernao.de

After the good construction year 2016, many things point to a consolidation at a high level in the current year. Sales in the main construction sector in the first quarter did rise by 7.2% to just under CHF 4 billion, with building construction (+10.2%) performing better than civil engineering (+4.1%). However, weather effects always play a major role in the first quarter, so the increase should not be overestimated. In the midlands, January was very cold, but there is little construction in January anyway. In the more decisive months of February and March, however, the weather was kind to construction companies, which probably more than compensated for the cold January.

Consolidation expected at a high level

Order intake decreased by 8.1% year-on-year. Order backlogs are also down. This indicates that the increase in sales in the first quarter was of a temporary nature and that consolidation at a high level is to be expected in the course of the year. Overall, the Swiss Association of Master Builders expects construction volumes in the current year to be similar to 2016.

Higher risks in the housing market in the long term

The fundamental factors for the construction industry, above all the low level of interest rates and the still respectable population growth despite the decline in net immigration, remain intact. However, the fact that for some years now more apartments have been built than the market can absorb is a cause for concern. The vacancy rate is rising accordingly. Although it is not yet at a critical level, the risks in the housing market are increasing in the medium to long term.

More information: Swiss Association of Master Builders

In 2016, Pax reported an "excellent operating performance" in the occupational pension business. Compared to 2015, new business almost doubled and reached a volume of CHF 14.6 million, the insurer reports. Pax was also up in terms of periodic policyholder premiums. Premium volume grew by 1.9 percent to CHF 229.7 million. With this result, Pax outperformed the market, which contracted by 6.2 percent. The company thus successfully held its ground and gained market share. According to Pax, this result is due to the high flexibility of its pension solutions, further optimization of its services and intensive dialog with its distribution partners. These measures ensure that production is also sustainable. After all, Pax does not focus on quantity when it comes to growth, but rather on quality, according to the media release.

Solidly financed

The operating expenses in the occupational pension plan increased slightly compared to the previous year and reached CHF 23.9 million (2015: CHF 23.3 million). At the same time, the number of pension plans affiliated to Pax increased from 8,533 to 8,741 contracts. Thanks to this increase in the portfolio, average administrative expenses fell slightly to CHF 449 per person. Financially, Pax Insurance is in a solid position. The equity capital in the area of occupational pension plans increased by 7.6 percent and reached CHF 40.6 million. In addition, the Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio is well above the 100 percent mark as of the end of 2016.

Policyholders benefit from sustainable business policy

As a cooperative, Pax is committed solely to the interests of its customers, who are also cooperative members. The profits remain in the company, from which the insured persons benefit in the form of a stable surplus participation. In 2016, CHF 4.4 million was paid out from the surplus fund to insured persons in the occupational pension plan. In addition, CHF 1 million was allocated to the surplus fund. This allocation, together with the remaining measures in favor of the insured, means that customers participate in the earnings at 97.8 percent via the "legal quota". This puts Pax well above the 90 percent required by law.

High security thanks to full insurance

In occupational pension provision, Pax builds on solutions in the full insurance model. For the affiliated companies, this means security and stability, because Pax bears the investment risk as well as the insurance risks for old age, death and disability. Flexible pension packages provide suitable protection during the various phases that a company may go through - from start-up to small business to large enterprise.

More information

Lee Hecht Harrison, an Adecco Group company and a leader in outplacement and career reorientation, finds a wide gap between desire and reality in a global survey of managers' sense of responsibility. Some 2000 decision-makers and HR managers on all continents were surveyed online and at client events. For almost three quarters of them, the sense of responsibility of superiors is an important issue in the free economy. But only just 31 percent of those surveyed are satisfied with the level of responsibility shown by managers in their company. And only slightly less than half (48 percent) of managers are said to act in a truly responsible manner. There are hardly any differences in these findings worldwide.

Focus on own results targets and technical issues

The main reason for the gap between desire and reality in managers' sense of responsibility: In day-to-day management work, the company's own results targets and the technical aspects take priority. All too often, however, the targeted development of employees, the sensitive addressing of performance weaknesses or the creation of a motivating working environment are neglected. Only just over a quarter (27 percent) of respondents said their company had a strong leadership culture.

Sense of responsibility boosts corporate performance

The analysis of the survey results highlights that a high sense of responsibility on the part of superiors is associated with better company performance. Caroline Pfeiffer Marinho, Country Manager Switzerland Lee Hecht Harrison, says: "Responsible leadership is a prerequisite for building and growing a permanently successful and flexible company. This is more true than ever in this time of challenging change due to digitalization, the increase of older people in developed economies, and political and economic uncertainties."

Lack of responsible managers

The lack of responsible managers is one of the most urgent problems in the field of human resources today. The survey shows that companies are rather hesitant to tackle this problem. Just under half of the respondents do believe that strict expectations are clearly expressed to managers in their company. But only one-fifth of the companies have the courage to reprimand mediocre and irresponsible managers with a view to changing their behavior.

"Awakening the sense of responsibility"

Andreas Rudolph, Regional Director German-speaking Switzerland Lee Hecht Harrison, emphasizes: "We did this global survey specifically to reveal crystal-clearly the great extent of the gap between desire and reality in managers' sense of responsibility. We experience the urgency of the problem every day as we work with our clients, which in the U.S., for example, include half of the Fortune 500 companies. Because many companies do not consistently address the problem and thus continually promote mediocre leaders, the company's potential is not fully realized. The survey report is intended to raise awareness among companies to instill a strong sense of responsibility in their leaders and create a leadership culture to match."

Behavior of a responsible manager

A responsible manager

• Continually develops his leadership skills
• Consciously builds team members' motivation and leadership skills
• Limits harmful behaviors to a minimum
• Demonstrates a high level of responsibility towards the environment
• Always acts in the interest of the entire company
• Works with leaders at the same level to look beyond his or her traditional area and align ways of working
• Shows optimism about the company and its future
• Communicates the business strategy in a well understood manner within his/her area of responsibility
• Takes on demanding challenges and makes difficult decisions
• Demands a high level of performance from himself and the employees

Source: Lee Hecht Harrison

Companies convince their customers with innovations. But only if the time factor is right. Rapid innovation is therefore a trump card in the globalized market: developing products as quickly as possible, bringing them to market, collecting feedback and implementing them. Rapid iteration steps based on automated processes produce continuously improved products and - success. At the 10th Eastern Switzerland Innovation Conference, organized by the Institute for Innovation, Design and Engineering (IDEE-FHS) of the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen, everything revolved around Rapid Automation and Rapid Innovation.

Transport, reload, sort

In the Rapid Automation workshop, the participants experienced the advantages of iteratively developed prototypes in a practical way. After a brief introduction, they were given the task of building prototypes for transporting, sorting, reloading and charging used glass from various robot kits such as littleBits, Lego Mindstorms EV3 or Arduino. And to do this in a specific sequence. Lukas Schmid, head of IDEE-FHS, is pleased with the results. "Not only do all the prototypes work, but also the production line." The goal of the workshop, he says, was to give the participants a feel for all the things that can be done with simple robot kits in a very short time. And they were to get to know different kits with their advantages and disadvantages.

Quickly built, simply programmed

Following the practical part of the conference, the participants learned how national and international market leaders drive innovations with Rapid Innovation and thus successfully position themselves in their markets. Optrel AG, for example. The Wattwil-based company specializes in anti-glare products that are used primarily in welding and medical applications. In his presentation, Ramon Hofer Kraner, head of research and development, showed where his company uses prototypes similar to those created earlier in the workshop. For example, a cutting robot that cuts adhesive tape to the required width. All it took was a small setup on an existing robot and they were able to cut 10,000 to 20,000 adhesive strips, Hofer said. With the help of relatively inexpensive robotic arm systems, such as those from EVA Robotics, Dobot or Franka, this will become faster and easier in the future, he added. "Perfect for pick-and-place processes, they can be set up in no time and programmed with a tablet."

Neural network paints paintings

An insight into the world of data was provided by Romeo Kienzler, Chief Data Scientist at IBM Watson IoT (Internet of Things). In the production process, many small computers and sensors provide a large amount of data. Data that is uploaded to a cloud can already be analyzed there and then used accordingly, for example to detect and predict anomalies. Artificial neural networks, which function similarly to our nerve cells in the brain, play an important role here. The idea is to build ever larger and more powerful networks, deep learning systems. They can learn not only all mathematical formulas, but also functions. "For example, a neural network learns the style of an artist and then paints a new painting itself," says Romeo Kienzler. Neural networks can therefore be used to create predictive models for industry. "Big Data and physical production are the heart and head of Rapid Automation," said Romeo Kienzler.

Robots with feelings

Finally, Michael Schüpbach, Sales Engineer at Fanuc, showed that robots are now not only increasingly intelligent, but also have sentient sensors. Founded in Japan, Fanuc is the world market leader in industrial robotics and produces 120 different robot models with handling weights ranging from 500 grams to 2.3 tons. One important division is collaborative robots with embedded sensors. This allows them to be operated safely without a safety fence. The robot arm, for example, stops as soon as it is touched. In addition, it can be pushed away quite easily. "Because a protective fence is no longer necessary, the robots can take on various tasks. This opens up new possibilities for designing production and the workplace. This can be provided for both the robot and the human and can be flexibly retooled." If 2D and 3D vision systems, force-torque sensors and feeling sensors are combined in robotics, rapid automation emerges, he said. "If you build a whole system out of that, then you get rapid innovation."

The 11th Eastern Switzerland Innovation Conference will take place next year on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

More information: IDEE-FHS

As of July 2017, the customer service operations of business travel services provider Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) in Switzerland will be reorganized. Katharina Turlo, a Swiss national, will take over as Senior Director Program Management Central Europe. Mirco Biasi will act as the direct contact in Switzerland as Head of Program Management Switzerland. He thus succeeds Ralf Stephan, who will leave the company in June at his own request. "We would like to thank Ralf Stephan for his consistently excellent work over the past years and wish him only the best for his future," says Walter Ruggli, Vice President Switzerland & Eastern Europe at CWT. "At the same time, we are pleased to have found a successor with a lot of client experience and Swiss market expertise in Mirco and Katharina. Another advantage for our clients is that both contact persons speak fluent German, English and French."

Mirco Biasi has been with CWT for almost 20 years in the operational area of Traveler Services, including as Manager Traveler & Transaction Services Support and as Manager Products & Optimization. In his new position, he will be a member of the Swiss leadership team and report directly to Katharina Turlo, who is still familiar with the Swiss market from her 19 years with CWT in Switzerland. There, she worked in operations as well as in customer service and sales. At the beginning of the year, Carlson Wagonlit Travel bundled its customer service activities for Germany and Austria. The expansion to the Swiss market is intended to promote closer cooperation and a more intensive exchange between the regions.

Source: www.carlsonwagonlit.ch

This year, 507 pension funds (previous year: 467) took part in the "Swiss Pension Fund Survey 2017", conducted by Swisscanto Pension Ltd. From the feedback, an overall picture emerges that can be described as "mixed". On the one hand, the Swiss pension funds reacted to the demographic development and the challenging markets by adjusting their investment strategy as well as the conversion rates and future pension obligations in 2016 as well. In order to secure their long-term stability, the pension funds are exhausting their room for maneuver. On the other hand, on the income side, the risk appetite has increased slightly, and investments in equities and alternative investments have been increased proportionately. On the risk side, the pension funds have further adjusted the relevant parameters to demographic and capital market requirements. "The focus of the pension funds continues to be on the technical interest rate and the conversion rate. The pension funds continue to refrain from mandatory lump-sum withdrawals from the extra-mandatory part," comments René Raths, member of the Board of Directors of Swisscanto Vorsorge AG, on the adjustments made by the pension funds.

Satisfactory investment return, but need for action indicated

Following the weak previous year (1.1%), returns on investment in the 2016 investment year were satisfactory, averaging 3.6%. The risk appetite of Swiss pension funds in the investment area increased slightly. While the share of fixed-income investments and liquid assets declined, investments in equities and real estate increased. Large pension funds also invested increasingly in alternative investments. They achieved an above-average performance of 4.0%. This contrasts with small pension funds with a performance of 3.3%. In the long term, the better return can be attributed to the broader diversification.

In contrast to the small pension funds, the large pension funds were more frequently affected by negative interest rates. Thus, 67% of the funds with more than 500 million assets reported having paid negative interest. Among the small pension funds, the proportion was 52%. Overall, this corresponds to an increase of around 3% compared with the previous year (58% compared with 55% in the previous year).

Too rigid BVV2 guidelines in asset allocation

Swiss pension funds further optimized their asset allocation last year. In this context, a high 44% of the pension funds stated that they had used the possibilities to exceed the limits of the BVV2 guidelines. Large pension funds, in particular, have invested proportionately more pension assets in alternative investments than required by the BVV2 ordinance. In contrast, small pension funds mainly use the extension article to increase their real estate quota.

Iwan Deplazes, Head of Asset Management Swisscanto Invest, comments: "There is no alternative to tapping into additional, illiquid asset classes if you want to continue tapping into the full return potential in the interest of insured persons in the future. After all, pension funds basically have the necessary long-term investment horizon to do so." According to the study, two-thirds of the pension funds would also welcome it if the upper limits for the categories were lifted.

Coverage ratios remain stable, technical interest rates decline

The average funding ratio of the pension funds remained stable in 2016, according to feedback from the Swiss pension funds. In the case of private-law funds, the funding ratio fell slightly to 109.7% (previous year 110.4%) despite good investment performance. In contrast, the funding ratio of the public law funds recorded a slight increase to 94.6% (previous year 92.0%). The development must be seen against the backdrop of a renewed drop in technical interest rates, with less progress being made in adjusting technical interest rates in the public sector.

The downward trend in technical interest rates has continued for 10 years in succession. As a valuation interest rate, the technical interest rate indicates how much interest can be expected to be paid on the accrued pension capital. For private funds, the technical interest rate now averages 2.19%, for public funds 2.55%. By comparison, in 2007 the values were still 3.51% for private-law pension funds and 3.69% for public-law funds.

Conversion rate already today at 6.0%

The conversion rate is falling in step with the technical interest rate. Since 2005, the mean value of the conversion rate has fallen from 6.9% to 6.0% in 2017 for men at retirement age 65. This means that the conversion rates of most pension funds are significantly lower than the BVG mandatory rate. The reason for this is that most pension funds are enveloping and have adjusted their conversion rates downward in the extra-mandatory area. The enveloping conversion rate applies to 85% of the insured. This has already fallen to the 6.0% mark. This corresponds to the minimum conversion rate provided for in "Altersvorsorge 2020". In addition, around 70% of the pension funds provide for conversion rates in the order of magnitude between 5% and 6% in some years.

Othmar Simeon, Managing Director of Swisscanto Pension Ltd., adds: "In order to maintain financial stability in the long term, technical interest rates and future pension obligations will continue to fall in the current low-interest environment. In 2016, however, it was still possible to earn good interest on pension assets thanks to the friendly capital markets. For example, the average interest rate on savings capital across all funds was 1.72%, while the minimum interest rate is set significantly lower at 1.25%."

Source: Swisscanto Pension Ltd.

In recent years, customer service has become an increasingly important element of the product life cycle and thus a critical globalization competence. In particular, the large machinery and plant manufacturers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland want to further expand their customer service business internationally in the future: Over the next five years, they plan to grow their service branches outside their home regions by 15 percent. South America (+37 percent) and East Asia (+31 percent) will benefit particularly strongly, followed by the Middle East (+28 percent) and North America (+24 percent). This is the result of a recent study by the management and technology consultancy BearingPoint in cooperation with the trade magazine LOGISTIK HEUTE. Experts from 61 companies from the mechanical and plant engineering sector in the DACH region were surveyed. The focus was on the status quo and development prospects in the international business with customer service.

Maturity and internationalization level of service organizations

The analysis shows that many companies still have significant potential for improvement in their service organization: In just under half of them, the share of sales generated by customer service is still less than 20 percent. Three quarters of the companies therefore want to use internationalization as an opportunity, systematically expand their profitable service business and expand into new markets. However, there are some significant differences in terms of service strategies. The categories of service product management, service marketing, standardized processes, resource management, spare parts management and the degree of coverage by digitization or IT solutions) formed the basis for assessing the service maturity of the individual companies. It is striking here that companies often fall short of their own expectations: On average, the relevance of the categories is assessed as being much higher than their own maturity level demonstrates. The combination of globalization and maturity level then results in the classification of companies into "champions" (25 percent of the companies surveyed), "potentials" (22.5 percent), "beginners" (22.5 percent) and "underachievers" (30 percent).

"Although the service business does not yet account for a significant share of sales at most companies in the German-speaking plant and mechanical engineering sector, the dynamics of globalization are increasingly spreading to the service sector after production, purchasing and sales. We expect a strong increase in international service branches and activities in the coming years and consequently a consistent expansion of this business area. In terms of digitization, many companies still have a lot of catching up to do. The digitization of service in particular is increasingly becoming a minimum requirement for competitiveness in the market. If companies do not catch up here, they will not be able to survive in the long term," comments Donald Wachs, Partner at BearingPoint.

Digital service concepts as success factors

According to the study, many machine and plant manufacturers have identified their service weaknesses and are planning to increase their level of maturity through targeted improvement measures. In the context of digitization, the introduction of digital service concepts is the main way to score points. These include, for example, digital inspection, digital customer portals, networked products (IoT), remote monitoring and predictive maintenance. In the course of the many initiatives, digitization is finally advancing to become the industry standard. If the restructuring of the service organization to expand internationalization succeeds as planned, for the majority of companies (77 percent) the contribution of the service business to total sales will be over 20 percent in the future. In some cases, up to 40 percent will be earned with services.

Frank Duscheck, Partner at BearingPoint, concludes: "The GEXSO study makes clear that the companies surveyed are very differently prepared for internationalization and also deal with it strategically in different ways. This is reflected, among other things, in the fact that the number of service and sales force employees varies greatly compared to the total number of employees. However, this will change quickly, as 93 percent of the companies surveyed plan to develop a global service strategy, standardize processes and promote global knowledge exchange in the future. This means that the difference between so-called 'high- and low-performers' will narrow significantly over the next five years."

Source: www.bearingpoint.com

The global attack with the WannaCry malware is still making headlines and once again demonstrates the impact of extortion software. Even though the focus of WannaCry is strongly on automatic spreading by exploiting a vulnerability in Windows, many infections with WannaCry - as is usual with ransomware - take place via email. Switzerland currently appears to be relatively unaffected by the attacks. But what would happen if Switzerland became the focus? How would employees behave here? Between May 8, 2017 and May 12, 2017, the IT service provider advact sent a ransomware email to a total of 21,662 employees from 42 different Swiss companies in agreement with the participating companies and evaluated their reaction. In 41 companies, at least one employee opened the email attachment contaminated with potential ransomware. A total of 1,803 people executed the malware in the attachment, according to the company. This means that these people could also have been infected with WannaCry, for example. This corresponds to 8.3% of all email recipients. The following - anonymized - list shows the opening behavior of the tested companies:

Of course, all employees were informed about the test after the evaluation. Through the experience and the education, participants were able to learn to see through attack mechanisms more quickly and to react correctly in an emergency. The attachment benchmark described above thus offered much more than just a company comparison. Security exercises of this kind are also a fixed component of advact's awareness-raising offering.

Further information can be found at: http://www.advact.ch

Surveys by Swissmechanic/FHS St.Gallen and Ernst & Young confirm the lack of capital as the biggest hurdle to SME digitization. Nevertheless, Swiss SMEs show above-average commitment and willingness to implement when it comes to digitization and Industry 4.0, according to a recently published statement. More than 70 % of Swiss industrial companies have already implemented process optimization and automation, and more than 63 % are pushing further innovations, the survey says. The motivation for many SMEs is the sheer will to survive and the fight for margins in a very well positioned environment "Extra Helvetia": The euro is becoming increasingly favorable due to an expansive monetary policy, neighboring countries are actively promoting their own industry, where exports, sales and - in the wake of the profits generated - reinvestments are rising. The international market power structure is shifting to the disadvantage of the Swiss electrical, metal and watch industries as well as Swiss mechanical engineering. "Here, on the international battlefield of digitalization, the Swiss SME is fighting with a pocket knife, so to speak, against a well-armed superior force," writes Swissmechanic.

Limited investment opportunities due to lack of capital

The current survey results of Swissmechanic/FHS St.Gallen and those of Ernst &Young all show the same situation of industrial SMEs in Switzerland: The entrepreneurs are in themselves willing and technically able to implement digitized processes. However, their investment options are so limited that they are still pessimistic about their digitization potential. After two weak years for exports and earnings due to the strong franc, reserves have been depleted and budgets for new investments have been exhausted. In the survey, which Swissmechanic conducted together with the FHS St.Gallen and in which 200 Swissmechanic member companies participated, 51 % describe their earnings situation as "not satisfactory". 40 % have difficulties with new business models and strategies, another 42 % with digitalization and automation of production. It is precisely here, in the core elements of digitization, that SMEs face the greatest obstacles. This is because further optimization is very cost-intensive here, or the manufacturing sector has intrinsically high investment costs in the digitization and automation of production.

This finding finds support in the Ernst & Young Company Barometer 2017. When asked whether industrial companies would like to invest more, 31 % answered in the affirmative. Furthermore, 17 % of all industrial companies - SMEs and large companies alike - stated that they were unable to invest (more) in digitization due to a lack of capital.

Digitization brought to the ground

Thus, for many SMEs, further tackling digitization fails due to the availability of investment capital. The expensive purchase of new machinery and the upgrading of existing machinery and equipment are long overdue. Robust measures are needed for this, otherwise the opportunity of digitization for Swiss SMEs will be missed.

Swissmechanic is therefore holding the Business Day at the Lucerne Exhibition Center on 14.09.2017. Well-known representatives from politics, business, finance, fintech and Industry 4.0 will be there to discuss the topic of "Bringing digitalization to the ground". The focus will be on innovation, financing and the concrete implementation of digitalization for SMEs. Speakers and debaters on the panel will discuss the approaches to solutions: Gerhard Pfister (President CVP Switzerland), Ruedi Noser (Council of States FDP), Prof. Dr. Peter Jaeschke (FHS St.Gallen), Otto Hofstetter (Hofstetter AG), Dr. Niklas Kramer (Sandvick AG) and Roland Goethe (Goethe AG, President Swissmechanic Switzerland), Patrick Berhalter (Berhalter AG), Prof. Dr. Christian Thiel (FHS St.Gallen), Christian Frei (InspiredView Ltd), Andreas Rauch (GF), Alwin Meyer (Swisspeers) and many more.

More information about the Business Day: www.swissmechanic-businessday.ch.

A youngster, a communications punk, a hacker and several other speakers from business, politics and society: they were responsible for an exciting mix of topics at this year's Digital Economic Forum. The massive impact of unstoppable digitization on society and cyber security were the focus of the conference, which was sold out with around 250 guests. Philipp Riederle - just the "youngster" and digital native - presented the demands of Millennials on jobs and life. Author, blogger and strategy consultant Sascha Lobo said, among other things, that it is not technology that is changing our world, but the way we deal with it. And all illusions of a secure cyber world were destroyed by the "gentleman hacker" FIL from Team Red: He made it clear that private individuals, organizations and companies who become the target of a hacker attack have no chance to defend themselves. What is important, he said, is personal behavior and awareness that this insecurity is permanent. As the DDPS officer responsible for risk analysis in all matters of information and cyber security, Ferdinand Kobelt knew about the massive relevance, the enormous opportunities, but also the unprecedented risks of the Internet of Things, which can no longer be stopped. Business philosopher Anders Indset concluded with a forceful call for yesterday's philosophy to be paired with tomorrow's science and technology. In various business tracks, the Digital Economic Forum also presented successful visions, concepts and ideas for overcoming digital challenges.

However, the announcement of the realization of the digital canton of Glarus caused a sensation at the Digital Economic Forum. Within just 12 weeks, Glarner Kantonalbank, together with the cantonal technical operations and HIAG Data AG, created the basis for the "fastest and cheapest data highway in the Alps" has been created, according to the statement. This project is intended to form a new basis for doing business in a peripheral region so that the "digital divide" can be overcome. "The interaction of the various stakeholders to create good framework conditions for investments is obviously easier in rural areas than in urban anonymity," Landolt explained at a media roundtable and panel discussion at DEF. Politicians, he said, do not need to regulate either regionally or nationally, but rather allow such projects and enjoy them. For Glarus, he said, this digital infrastructure is of eminent importance, also to break commuter flows in both directions and to realize an optimal basis for doing business. Hanspeter Tinner, COO of HIAG Data AG, made it clear that the company, as a technical enabler, is fundamentally interested in digitally opening up industrial sectors and offering companies the infrastructure they need for the new world of work. Accordingly, Tinner explained that there was great interest in working with Glarner Kantonalbank as the initiator to realize an innovative, fast and, above all, secure network for the entire region. "With 9.6 terrabits, we are providing the largest bandwidth for an independent, fast and affordable fiber optic network to which business-critical applications and data can be connected. Digitalization and business are now being brought together, Ralf Luchsinger, CIO of Glarner Kantonalbank and Vice President of the NüGlarus initiative, which was also newly founded, continued. This initiative is intended to help ensure that new startup services and co-working opportunities are realized in all larger towns via the fastest and cheapest data highway in the Alps. It also aims to support joint innovation structures and the administration in the introduction of e-government. The digital canton now offers a huge toolbox and NüGlarus has the task of communicating this potential, added Hanspeter Tinner.

More information on the Website of the meeting