In his welcome address to the auditing and consulting industry, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer spoke about the unavoidable necessity of the OECD tax reform and its implementation in Switzerland, and also presented an outline of the current financial policy challenges facing the Confederation. In a panel discussion, federal parliamentarians Judith Bellaiche and Erich Ettlin emphasized that inflation, the energy crisis and, in general, the development of federal finances will continue to occupy us intensively. They also pointed out that Switzerland also needs to keep up with digitalization and new forms of work. All representatives from Berne also agreed that the tax system plays an important role for a strong Swiss business location.

Withholding tax reform failed - reforms regarding OECD minimum tax mandatory

The unsuccessful vote on the partial abolition of the withholding tax on September 25, 2022, was described as a missed opportunity to strengthen Switzerland as a business location compared to other countries. The tenor at the event was that Switzerland could not afford another defeat in the vote - on the much more important issue of international tax compatibility with the greatest possible attractiveness of Switzerland as a business location. EXPERTsuisse President of the Tax Division, Daniel Gentsch, summed it up as follows: "There are many tax issues in the room; now it is a matter of setting the right priorities with a view to locational attractiveness, the ability to obtain a majority and financial viability.

Sustainability developments affect companies as well as the auditing and consulting industry

Prof. Thomas Berndt pointed out the international developments and stated that the topic of sustainability in reporting and auditing will increasingly reach the Swiss economy. In the panel discussion, Alessandro Miolo, President of EXPERTsuisse's Auditing Division, pointed out that, in addition to multinational companies with the various aspects of supply chains, Swiss SMEs will also be dealing intensively with this topic over the next few years. Thomas Koller, President of the Business Consulting and Fiduciary Division, saw this as a great opportunity for small and medium-sized member companies of EXPERTsuisse to play an important multiplier role. In this context, the industry partnership announced at the annual conference with "Digital SME Checkup Sustainability" (by tfy-consult) supportive.

Recruitment of specialists and quality of service require multidisciplinarity

Association President Peter Ritter pointed out that all size categories of member companies generate relevant revenues in the specialist areas of "Audit & Assurance", "Tax & Legal" and "Consulting & Business Services": "Consulting is already an important business area for all size categories today, which we as an association would like to increasingly support". Marius Klauser, Director and Board Delegate of EXPERTsuisse, added: "In general, it shows that the interplay of different disciplines is a necessary condition for high quality in audit and consulting mandates and, moreover, an important aspect of employer attractiveness when it comes to recruiting new people." Top graduates in auditing, tax and fiduciary services were also on stage at the annual conference during the presentation of the Newcomer Award.

Integration of ASCO into EXPERTsuisse as of January 1, 2023

The Swiss Association of Management Consultants ASCO will be fully integrated into EXPERTsuisse as of January 1, 2023. Marius Klauser showed how the so-called "Transformation 2025" - until the 100th anniversary of the association and beyond - will look like. In order to make the best use of the major trends of digitalization and sustainability as an industry and for the economy, complementary competencies are needed. "Since customer-oriented consulting and holistic management are gaining in importance in this context, the integration of ASCO into EXPERTsuisse is an important step in the association's development," says Marius Klauser. The previous cooperation with ASCO will become a full integration, giving consultants from EXPERTsuisse and from ASCO member companies an integration and training platform at EXPERTsuisse (Consulting & Business Services) and strengthening themselves as a profession throughout Switzerland.

In addition to the integration of ASCO, EXPERTsuisse also enters into a cooperation with the Swiss Umbrella Organization for Business Succession (CHDU) which is about the formation and certification of competencies in the field of holistic succession consulting. This will further strengthen the consulting ecosystem, according to the associations.

Source: EXPERTsuisse

The myth of a generation gap in the workplace is debunked in a new study published by HR consulting firm Egon Zehnder in cooperation with consulting firm Kearney. According to the study, Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X and Boomers are more similar than thought when it comes to their ideas about jobs and careers. In particular, when it comes to personal well-being, work-life balance and expectations of leaders, there is a great deal of agreement between the generations. The study involved 8181 respondents from eight countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK and the USA. Differentiation was made between the following five generations: Gen Z (born between 1997 or younger), younger Millennials (born between 1988 and 1996), older Millennials (born between 1978 and 1987), Generation X (born between 1965 and 1977) and Boomers (born between 1957 and 1964).

Healthy work-life balance important for all generations

One of the key findings of the survey is that the financial solidity of the employer and a healthy work-life balance are just as important as an attractive salary for all generations (80 %). However, according to the study, mental and physical well-being is even more important to respondents when choosing an employer (82 %). Two-thirds of respondents would also leave their jobs for a position they personally find more meaningful. Willingness is highest among Millennials (70 %), compared with Gen X (59 %), Gen Z (58 %) and Boomers (54 %). All generations, on the other hand, value leaders who listen, empower their teams, are transparent about their decisions and communicate a vision. And of all generations, Millennials feel the most confident and empowered to overcome challenges. Seventy-six percent of them are optimistic that they will have the success they deserve in life, followed by Generation X (63 %), Boomers (62 %) and Generation Z (61 %).

Collaborative leadership receives greatest encouragement 

The desire to work autonomously is also reflected in employees' expectations of their superiors. They particularly appreciate being listened to and trusted, when managers ask for assessments and their decision-making process is comprehensible. "Today, working in line with the times also means, above all, giving your own employees the space to develop. To this end, freedom and the delegation of responsibility are just as important as active, transparent exchange with one another. Companies that lead the way here have a clear advantage," says Dr. Mirko Warschun, Partner, Managing Director and Head of the Consumer Goods & Retail Practice EMEA at Kearney. "A collaborative corporate culture is in demand across generations. Leaders who take the time to explain decisions, engage the workforce and treat their teams as equals make the difference today," says Simone Stebler, Consultant and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Egon Zehnder Switzerland.

"With the study results, we refute the alleged conflict between generations and their expectations of their work environment. Instead of being guided by supposed opposites, employers should create a working climate that combines the expectations of all age groups. In implementing this, managers are crucial," says Dominik Schaller, Consultant and Managing Partner Switzerland at Egon Zehnder.

Source: www.egonzehnder.com

For many suppliers and their customers, trade shows are an attractive platform for knowledge exchange and personal contact. The business events provide a kind of all-round view of what's on the market in the relevant sectors and what's new - also in terms of price, quality and innovation. Industrial trade fairs in particular often present complex products that require explanation. Exhibitors have the opportunity to network at industry meetings or to observe the competition. However, a visit to a trade fair is often also associated with tourist activities - so the trade fair locations benefit in economic terms.

At the same time, however, trade fairs are also associated with an enormous amount of work, especially for the exhibitors and particularly when international trade fairs are involved. The transport of products is logistically and legally complex and involves high costs, which are offset by an unclear return. What there has been less awareness of so far is that major events such as international trade fairs have an enormous ecological footprint. And regional trade fairs also repeatedly cause increased traffic volumes, traffic problems and congestion.

Study exposes trade fairs as CO2 guzzlers

In the study "Trade fair industry - change of era or 'back to normal'?", the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences Cologne and the B2B platform operator Visable expose international trade fairs as true CO2 guzzlers. While many trade fair operators would do anything to be sustainable (e.g. with solar panels for energy supply, etc.), the problem lies in the high volume of travel they entail. Taking the prominent International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) in Berlin as an example, "The CO2 footprint of the IFA is enormous. It's as if Berlin were to grow by the size of Frankfurt for the duration of the trade show. That's not the official way of calculating it, but it illustrates the problem," says study author Prof. Dr. Mareike Müller. At the same time, it is a problem for which there is no awareness and apparently little political will to change anything: because clear rules on CO2 accounting for trade fairs would be missing. As co-initiator of the study, Visable CEO Peter F. Schmid says: "Organizing trade fairs and the associated travel of international visitors cause huge amounts of CO2. But no one is tackling the issue. We can't afford that if we're serious about climate protection."

Digital trade fairs offer new opportunities

But trade shows could just as well be handled digitally and take place in virtual spaces. Suitable digital presentations can depict products and product details even more accurately, including 3D animations or even directly to scale on the production floor via augmented reality. The seller can answer customers' questions using chatbots or in person. During the Corona lockdowns, the switch to digital sales solutions was also necessary in many cases. For example, during the pandemic, Visable, which operates the wlw (formerly "Wer liefert Was") and europages platforms, saw the number of listed companies rise to 3 million.

Haptics and personal contact are missing

For the time being, however, purely virtual trade shows are only replacing a small proportion of the trade shows where people are present. And they are not visitor magnets. They generate only a fraction of the traffic of their physical counterparts. A survey by Visable found that 69 percent of respondents would miss professional networking, meeting new customers or social aspects. Finally, customers want to see, try, experience and test the products they are so specifically interested in. Since trade show customers are usually a special clientele, they also have an interest in meeting and getting to know each other.

One criticism of virtual trade shows is the lack of a uniform model in which content can be provided without having to deal with a new system every time. In many cases, there is a lack of will on the part of the trade fair operators themselves to keep an eye out for new and uniform solutions - as well as on the part of politicians to ensure uniform framework conditions. For the time being, virtual trade shows still seem to have too little appeal. But a change is likely to be on the horizon - especially since the sharp rise in energy and fuel prices has recently been added to the mix.

Hybrid trade fairs as a model for the future

The current Macromedia study also sees virtual or hybrid trade shows as a possible path toward sustainability. Visable CEO Peter F. Schmid is irritated, however, by the reticence of trade show organizers regarding the transition to a digital age: "Haven't enough industries slept through the digital transformation yet? After all, trade shows are places where information transfer and communication are at the center of attention - and both are undergoing massive changes as a result of digitization. Who seriously believes that the deeply analog trade fair model from the Middle Ages doesn't have to adapt to this? After all, this is also an enormous opportunity for trade show operators."

Source: Visible

The IMD, Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, has published its world ranking on "Digital Competitiveness". The results for Switzerland will be explained at the Digital Competitiveness Summit 2022 on September 28 in Lausanne.

Among the top 10 in terms of digital competitiveness, Denmark takes 1st place, while the USA, in 2nd place, has to relinquish its top spot for the first time since the launch of the "IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking" in 2017. Sweden remains in 3rd place, Singapore improves by one rank (4th place) and the Netherlands also rises by one place to 6th place (from 7th place).

Digital competitiveness: Switzerland makes progress

Switzerland's rise in the rankings is due to its good performance in the knowledge factor, which the World Competitiveness Center defines as "the necessary know-how to discover, understand and develop new technologies". This factor is one of a total of three main categories according to which the researchers rank the results of the studies. The other two factors are future viability and technology.

Top rank in knowledge

For all subfactors in the range Knowledge ranks Switzerland among the top 10 economies, coming in 2nd in terms of talent, remaining 8th in terms of scientific concentration, and also 8th in terms of education and training. In the area of Technology Switzerland's position remains unchanged for the subfactors capital (12th place) and technological framework (11th place), while the regulatory framework has improved slightly compared to the previous year (2022: 8th place vs. 2021: 9th place).

Switzerland's need to catch up

The ranking makes it clear that Switzerland's digital capabilities are in need of improvement: The availability of digital skills is viewed less positively by managers today than it was a year ago; this criterion has dropped to 18th place (from 11th). Scores also remain relatively low for science graduates (26th), women graduates (30th), number of female researchers (31st), and R&D productivity as measured by number of publications (35th) - despite improvements in most of these areas. Overall, the findings shed light on the factors that make it easier for governments and the private sector to improve their ability to protect digital infrastructure from cyberattacks, the experts said. In addition, they show how this promotes the adoption and diffusion of digital technologies. Switzerland ranks 27th out of 63 in terms of government cybersecurity capabilities, 15th in terms of the importance of cybersecurity to business leaders ("To what extent is cybersecurity adequately addressed by businesses?"), 18th in terms of e-participation, and 16th in terms of e-government (providing online government services to increase access and inclusion for citizen:s).

Source: https://digitalswitzerland.com/

It occasionally happens that federal councillors have to change their plans at short notice. This is particularly true of Finance Minister Ueli Maurer, whose agenda is one of the busiest among federal councillors; time and again, there are scheduling conflicts. The 26th Thurgau Economic Forum has now been affected by such a clash. It is with great regret that Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer has had to announce that he will not be able to be in Weinfelden on November 3. The reason is an important trip abroad.

Oswald Grübel: High-profile banker

The organizers of the Economic Forum succeeded in attracting a high-profile new speaker for the closing address: Oswald Grübel. He fits in perfectly with the core topic of the event: the impact of the current crises on the financial and innovation system. Grübel is often referred to as the last tycoon of Swiss banking. He began his career at Deutsche Bank, then worked for 37 years at Credit Suisse Group, where he was head from 2003 to 2007. From 2009 to 2011, he was group chief executive officer (CEO) of UBS. Next fall, Oswald Grübel will turn 80. With great interest and a wealth of experience, he continues to comment on the financial world with a critical eye.

Top-class trio

The rest of the program of the 26th Thurgau Economic Forum remains unchanged. With HSG economist Monika Bütler, Sandra Banholzer, CEO of Rausch AG, and German economist Hans-Werner Sinn, a top-class trio will address the challenges in times of crisis alongside Oswald Grübel. For the first time, the Thurgauer*in of the year will present himself/herself in conversation. The Economic Forum will be moderated by Thurgau-based SRF presenter Mona Vetsch.

Source, more information and registration for the event: www.wft.ch

For the third year in a row, second-hand goods were bought, exchanged, repaired, recycled or passed on throughout Switzerland and on online platforms on Secondhand Day on September 24, 2022. This annual day of action was launched in 2020 by Ricardo, myclimate and Circular Economy Switzerland to raise awareness and enthusiasm among the Swiss population for sustainable consumption in the form of secondhand as part of the circular economy. The idea behind it is simple: by using products longer, the amount of new goods that need to be produced can be easily reduced. There are many ways to do this: Share products, pass them on, reuse them, repair them or refurbish them. Secondhand Day takes into account the fact that this form of consumption directly saves resources and emissions such as CO².

2,330 tons of CO² saved

This year, around 2,330 tons of CO² were saved through the sale of used goods, which is almost a quarter more than in the previous year. This amount saved corresponds to the daily CO² production of the equivalent of 58,400 people or a city like Biel. The initiators Ricardo, Circular Economy Switzerland and myclimate draw a positive conclusion for the Secondhand Day 2022. "We are extremely satisfied that the third edition of the Secondhand Day was also a great success and that we could bring the colorfulness, the coolness, the high quality and ultimately the sustainable sense of second-hand goods closer to numerous people. We are getting closer step by step to our goal of getting the Swiss population to rethink their consumer behavior and change it in a sustainable way," says Francesco Vass, Managing Director of Ricardo.

Second hand goods are more and more accepted

The data collected annually on Secondhand Day gives hope: In 2020, 1500 tons of CO² were saved on the first Secondhand Day, in 2021 it was 1,895 tons of CO² and this year even 2,330 tons of CO². The trend is strongly increasing and the willingness to buy second-hand goods is growing. One of the reasons for this is the growing variety of modern second-hand and vintage stores, attractive second-hand shops as well as trustworthy online marketplaces and vehicle-occupation platforms in Switzerland. This diversity can also be seen in this year's Circular Heroes, who contributed physically or digitally from all over Switzerland. The frontrunners among the stationary Circular Heroes are the Salvation Army's Brockenhäuser, while the online leaders were the platforms Ricardo and tutti.ch.

Source and further information: www.secondhandday.ch

Under the direction of digital leadership experts Sunnie J. Groeneveld, Manuel P. Nappo and Urs Bucher, executives, lifelong learners and digital transformation experts will take part in the third TEDxHWZ. This year's TEDx will again be held in hybrid form at the HWZ with limited seating and online via livestream. With ten contributions on the theme "Enrich your mind", accomplished speakers will inspire and excite their audiences with exciting stories and groundbreaking ideas on Saturday, November 26, 2022. At this hybrid event, the audience will benefit from the numerous discussion topics as well as from the opportunity to interactively exchange ideas with participants and speakers in live digital discussion forums. This promotes personal networking with a view to future cooperation opportunities.

What are the goals of TEDxHWZ?

As part of the Executive MBA Digital Leadership HWZ, students organize their own TEDx (university) event. This makes the HWZ the first Swiss university to incorporate this challenge as a fixed component in the curriculum of a degree program. Lecturers and course directors inspire and motivate the participants of the Executive MBA Digital Leadership to develop their own perspective on leadership skills in a digital future. As digital leaders, the TEDxHWZ 2022 team aims to present ideas worth sharing to an interested audience. The event consists of a series of talks and performances in the well-known TED(x) format.

This year, TEDxHWZ is dedicated to today's reality, which is characterized by turbulent events and thus becomes the new normal. This involves a multitude of challenges that have a reciprocal influence on each other. This in turn requires individual resilience. Overcoming these challenges requires a new approach and mindset. Collaborative, interdisciplinary teams with their collective intelligence are best suited to solve complex tasks in a systemic context. Permanent change and adaptation is required, making lifelong learning an ongoing task.

Renowned speakers on stage

With their exciting stories and ideas, the ten speakers will show how important it is to take different perspectives when shaping our future. Among other things Nicolas Huxley will be appearing as a speaker. He is an entrepreneur who founded the recycling company Elephbo in Cambodia, the circular economy app TauschToni, and a sustainable gadget startup called LilyBeKind. He considers himself an adventurer who has traveled four continents by bicycle, and he is passionate about making a difference in developing countries. In his presentation, he will highlight how the lack of focus is a risk for any enthusiastic person, curious creator and entrepreneur. "The eagerness to build something new and seize opportunities quickly has pitfalls that are often underestimated. Especially in the early years of startups, there are dangers lurking around every corner that want to be efficiently circumnavigated," emphasizes Nicolas Huxley. Nicolas Huxley talks about the balancing act of pivoting and persevering based on authentic experiences from his entrepreneurial journey. "Focus is the key to magical synergies, it is the fundamental basis for becoming the go-to person known for a subject, and suddenly the dots connect themselves," Nicolas Huxley underlines.

Further Suba Umathevan will be on the TEDx stage. She holds a master's degree in international relations with a specialization in international law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. In her more than decade-long career in non-profit management, she focused on women's and children's rights. She has also led development programs in many countries in Africa, Asia and South America, formulating strategies to help managers identify global megatrends and prepare for change. Before joining DROSOS FOUNDATION, Suba Umathevan headed Plan International Switzerland, an organization that promotes children's rights and equal opportunities for girls. Suba Umathevan is a member of the Assembly of the International Committee of the ICRC. She will talk about how she deals with her cultural identity and diversity. "What I perceived as weaknesses in her childhood have turned into strengths through her own authenticity. Coming to terms with her own history has helped break down cultural barriers and social norms," says Suba Umathevan.

Also Dr. Sarah Genner will be part of TEDxHWZ. Sarah Genner is a proven digital expert, consultant, board member in Zurich and course director at HWZ. She has an early PhD in Internet research, teaches at various universities and is a keynote speaker. She is passionate about digital technologies and their complex impact on society and the world of work. In her TEDx talk, she shows how we should be resourceful in dealing with the infinite possibilities when we are connected 24/7. The question is whether more technology will make us infinitely more productive. "The search for the good digital life is about weighing the risks and benefits of digital technologies - in our private lives and when we collaborate in the world of work," Sarah Genner emphasizes.

More information: www.tedxhwz.ch

After the lost vote on the partial abolition of the withholding tax, Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer accused the Swiss people of a lack of knowledge of economic contexts. A new study recently published by the innovation service provider Zühlke also seems to prove that much of what has to do with money does have a certain complexity and is therefore not understood everywhere. The survey "Educational Banking - With financial education against inflation?" showed that many Swiss people lack the necessary knowledge, especially when it comes to investing money. It seems that there is a backlog demand for so-called "financial literacy" in this country.

For the study, 2000 male and female bank customers aged 18 to 60 were surveyed in German-speaking Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The survey was conducted in June 2022.

Financial literacy in Switzerland lower than in neighboring countries

Compared with its German-speaking neighbors, Switzerland is characterized by a low inflation rate and a high savings rate. However, according to the study "Educational Banking - Mit Finanzbildung gegen die Inflation?" by Zühlke, Switzerland is by no means ahead when it comes to targeted capital investment or the knowledge thereof. Similar to Germany and Austria, 52 percent of the bank customers surveyed between the ages of 18 and 60 say they do not understand most investment products.

Systematic asset accumulation would also require detention. More than half of those surveyed said that they wanted to invest part of their money in a risky way. However, only 20 percent of respondents own shares. In the case of funds/ETFs, the figure is as low as 15 percent. A large proportion of the money, on the other hand, is held in savings and checking accounts. The proportion of Swiss people who have cryptocurrencies in their custody accounts is comparatively high at 17 percent.

The main reason given by respondents for deciding against shares, funds and ETFs was a lack of knowledge (40 percent). Around one in three shies away from the risk of losing money. The differences between men and women are also clear, according to the survey. For example, 33 percent of men say they do not know enough about investing in stocks and ETFs, but 46 percent of women do. Losses are balked at by 25 percent of male respondents and 34 percent of female respondents. Men are also significantly more likely to invest their money in stocks, mutual funds and even cryptocurrencies than women, according to the study. While 26 percent of men invest in stocks, only 15 percent of women do. Bitcoin or Ethereum are in the portfolios of 25 percent of men and ten percent of women.

Only 34 percent of respondents correctly estimate the effect of inflation

Fundamental gaps in financial literacy become clear in the study. According to their own assessment, around 70 percent of respondents are very well or rather well versed in the subject of financial investments. However, only just under one in two can spontaneously answer a question about the return on an investment correctly, and only 34 percent of respondents correctly estimate the effect of inflation.

The survey also shows that the Swiss save for emergencies, vacations and retirement. But it is precisely with the latter that the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in a study on the topic of old-age pensions. recently demonstrated that many Swiss people do not take enough responsibility for their own financial retirement planning because they lack the necessary knowledge.

Only 18 percent name capital investment as a savings goal. A quarter put aside more than 500 francs a month for this purpose. However, 30 percent save less than 100 francs, and 10 out of 100 Swiss people don't even manage that. The main reason: "Saving is not financially possible." This fits in with the fact that many have long since lost track of their money and spend it according to their gut feeling - although they actually think long-term, would like to in financial matters (79 percent). With rising prices and inflationary pressure, saving and investing money is also becoming more interesting again: most strongly in the 18 to 29 age group with 77 percent of respondents. However, they are more likely to seek information from family and friends (31 percent) than from a bank advisor (26 percent). At least the latter is considered to be somewhat more competent (33 percent compared with 28 percent).

Great interest in innovative banking services

Across all age groups, around 60 percent would like their bank to play a more active role in financial management. This could be achieved by means of automated services that provide low-threshold support for saving and investing money. For example, three quarters of respondents would be interested in discount coupons that match their own shopping habits. Around 70 percent would welcome being warned when they reach a spending limit they have set themselves. 62 percent would have their spending checked for savings potential. 56 percent would use a service that automatically invests the difference to rounded-up bill amounts in funds, ETFs or crypto assets when they shop. An important tip for banks: just under 60 percent of respondents would be willing to switch to a bank that offers such so-called educational banking services, which encourage people to be more conscious with their money and start investing.

"Our survey clearly shows that Swiss banks would do well to prioritize the issue of financial literacy. This is where there is real potential for differentiation. Their different target groups expect a personalized approach as well as new services and training offers - also in combination with gamification aspects. The Metaverse also offers new opportunities in the area of financial education, which banks should already address today," says Stefan Hirzel, Head of Banking at Zühlke Switzerland, commenting on the results.

Source: Zühlke

Like the oxygen we breathe, energy is part of the lifeblood of a manufacturing industry. Decades of price stability and security of supply in the provision of energy have been massively affected by recent developments. A recent survey by Swissmechanic shows that the sharp price increases and the looming energy shortage pose an existential threat to many companies.

Situation critical for Switzerland as a workplace

More than 160 Swissmechanic companies from all regions of Switzerland have expressed their views on the effects of the development of the main energy sources electricity and gas. Massive price increases dominate energy procurement. For a good two-fifths of SMEs, the figure is at least 50 percent. Some companies even report price increases of over 500 percent, and in certain cases electricity tariff increases of up to 1600 percent are reported.

60 percent of the companies surveyed do have long-term contracts with energy suppliers. However, many of these contracts are currently expiring or will expire at the end of the year. This will make procurement even more expensive. "The situation is critical. We cannot pass these prices on to the market," knows Jürg Zwahlen, owner of Birchmeier Sprühtechnik AG. "Swiss industrial companies already have an enormously difficult competitive position in foreign markets due to the constantly appreciating franc. Now exorbitantly rising electricity costs are added to this. Another locational advantage is dissolving."

Shutdowns threaten existence

Another threat is likely to arise from an energy shortage. The interruption of the energy supply for a period of four hours a day over a longer period would endanger the existence of their company, confirm more than two thirds of the Swissmechanic companies surveyed. This would force them to withdraw from the market.

For Swissmechanic, securing electricity and gas supplies in the short term has top priority. "Bans, restrictions and quotas, such as those currently being considered and planned by politicians, must not be implemented, or only in extreme emergencies and with the involvement of the economy/companies, and then only for a limited period of time," emphasizes association director Jürg Marti. He also points out the danger of a creeping expansion of the state apparatus in the wake of reporting obligations, control and sanctioning measures.

Demand: Adjust overpriced grid usage

To defuse the supply situation, Swissmechanic expects voluntary savings efforts from companies and private households alike. If these are not sufficient, the association supports the proposal of the Swiss Trade Association, according to which value chains and industries enter into energy-saving agreements with the economic national supply, with plans that it has developed itself.

Furthermore, Swissmechanic sees grid costs and levies to the communities as a lever against rising electricity prices and demands that the Federal Council adjust the overpriced grid usage.

A reliable and affordable energy supply has been the basis for Switzerland as a manufacturing location for well over a hundred years. Swissmechanic demands a reliable energy policy from the Federal Council and Parliament that creates solid electricity production capacities in the short, medium and long term.

Source: Swissmechanic

"Success leaves traces", a much quoted statement puts it in a nutshell. Those who are successful by their own efforts think and act in a certain way, which very likely contributes to success. However, all these success factors can be massively cancelled out by dangers that many see and pay too little attention to. The conclusion is then sometimes that the success factors "do not work for me or us". In reality, however, one has often only sabotaged oneself by disregarding the risks to success.

Here are three, from my experience with my clients, big dangers that lurk for you and your team if you want to become more successful:

Risk No. 1: We fly too low.

Of course we have to be careful not to fly so high that we run out of air and the wax in our wings melts in the sun (according to Icarus). But: Icarus should also not fly too low, because otherwise the waves would have caught him. And this is exactly what I see with most leaders and teams: they fly so close above the ground that they constantly touch the surface. The flight altitude relates to goals, to one's own demands on behavior, to my tolerance thresholds, and more.

So: If we want to become significantly more successful, a big danger is that we don't develop the thrust to get to an appropriate height. Then we always fall back to the ground of the current state, which just does not help us to significantly increase our success.

Risk No. 2: We think too small.

What would we have to do to achieve ten times as much? This is a question that evokes great thinking. Because you can't achieve such an increase with your current mindset. You have to think in completely different dimensions.

You always find this when you look at the biographies of particularly successful people. The commitment (physical, temporal, financial) is often increased tenfold, often a hundredfold, in order to achieve the lofty goals (see point 1).

Risk No. 3: We wait too long.

A great deal of success is prevented by not moving forward quickly enough, but by always waiting. I see this again and again in strategy projects, where we create a great vision and define implementation steps, but people then hesitate to take the first step.

In addition to points 1 and 2, successful people and teams are characterized above all by the fact that they quickly accelerate and create facts on the way to greater successes. Therefore my tip: Make it a habit to go ahead as soon as you know where and why. Then you can always correct.

Eliminate risks to success

So here you have three big risks on the way to massively more success. Getting these out of the way is often more important than rushing into any measures.

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

With a total of more than 20,000 participants to date, the study "ERP in Practice - User Satisfaction, Benefits & Prospects" (www.trovarit.com/erp-praxis) is the largest vendor-independent exchange of experience among ERP users. The comparative test has been conducted every two years since 2004 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Trovarit Research team is supported by an international group of experts. Among others, the Research Institute for Rationalization (FIR) at RWTH Aachen University, the Center Integrated Business Applications (CIBA), 2BCS AG (Switzerland) and Der ERP-Tuner (Austria) are represented in this group.

Comparison test shows stable satisfaction

The evaluation of the ERP solutions shows that user satisfaction has remained stable compared to 2020. However, with regard to the overall assessment of the software partner's services both during ongoing operation and during implementation, satisfaction has dropped significantly. There are software providers, for example, where the range of the rating for solution and service is up to two school grades.

ERP as People Business

This result shows how strongly the ERP business relies on the competence and commitment of individual employees in the consulting and support of ERP vendors: The large number of sales or acquisitions of ERP vendors in recent years has resulted in considerable restructuring on the vendor side. Due to personnel changes and altered responsibilities, relationships between ERP user companies and "their" consultant, which have often grown over many years, have been affected, often to a considerable extent. The fact that such changes have such a strong impact on user satisfaction suggests deficiencies in the professionalism of the ERP vendors' service. At least if one understands this to mean a stable quality of service that is largely independent of the skills of individuals. Apparently, in many cases there is still a lack of efficient structures, standards and methods for implementation projects or for release upgrades, troubleshooting and support in day-to-day business, as well as for consulting on deployment optimization.

Winners and Losers in ERP Satisfaction

This year's comparative test confirms the now well-established finding that "lean" ERP solutions, pronounced industry solutions and/or solutions from smaller vendors with relatively small customer bases score best overall in terms of user satisfaction. The top-ranked solutions in the portfolio - work4all, syslog.ERP and ISSOS PRO - all meet at least one of these "conditions".

The best solutions among the larger installations, on the other hand, are only found in the midfield. One reason for this is the high level of requirements in conjunction with noticeably greater effort for implementation, maintenance and (end) user support. Infor's CloudSuite, the successor to Infor LN, is the best performer this year. In this respect, Infor CloudSuite (Infor CS) not only makes up ground lost two years ago in terms of satisfaction with the maintenance partner, but also surpasses the significantly better satisfaction results from 2018.

Criticized for mobility and performance

Despite the overall high level of satisfaction, the study also reveals weaknesses in details that definitely burden the everyday lives of ERP users and administrators: Despite a slight improvement over previous years, "Mobile usability of ERP software" continues to score the worst of all the satisfaction aspects examined, with an average score of 2.76. Apparently, the measures taken by the software providers (e.g., increased conversion to web technologies with Responsive Design) are not yet having an effect. On the one hand, there are large differences between the individual ERP products. On the other hand, the expectations with regard to mobile access seem to be rising almost as fast as the performance of the ERP software in terms of "mobility". The user assessment of the "performance" and "stability" of the ERP software has deteriorated noticeably compared to 2020. On the one hand, the fact that the graphical interfaces of the solutions require more computing power certainly plays a role here. More important for both aspects, however, is possibly the fact that in recent years many users access the ERP software from the home office via the Internet. Limited bandwidths and unstable Internet connections also affect the ERP software.

New trend topic: sustainability

Among the "usual suspects" such as data and information security or usability/ergonomics, a new topic was added to the list of topics and trends: sustainability. After all, about 36 % of the participants approve of the topic "sustainability" with questions around energy efficiency or also CO₂- As a result of numerous political and legislative initiatives (e.g. EU CSR Directive, Agenda 2030, Supply Chain Sourcing Obligations Act), but also increasingly as a result of growing pressure from customers, more and more companies are striving to make progress in the area of climate neutrality, for example, and to be able to demonstrate this progress.

Source and further information: www.trovarit.com

With the new Now Platform release "Tokyo", ServiceNow supports companies in overcoming the current complex business challenges in an economically uncertain environment. The focus is on improving employee and customer experience, automating workflows, and accelerating value creation that benefits people as well as the environment and the companies themselves. "The time for experimentation is over. A digital business platform is the only way to create a great experience as well as new business value and drive transformation faster. It's how businesses stay resilient in our digitally driven world," said CJ Desai, chief operating officer at ServiceNow. The Now Platform Tokyo Version has been available since September 21.

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