Ten theses for medium-term development
1. Cross-industry - all for innovation.
Cross-industry innovation becomes important precisely when a company's own knowledge is no longer sufficient. It is about combining knowledge from other areas with one's own knowledge in order to arrive at cross-industry innovations. Especially when a company's own business models cease to exist or come to a standstill, it is worth taking a quick look "outside". Networks have already provided indispensable support to companies in the past. In the future, networks will become even more important in order to use cross-industry synergies and to find linkage approaches to their own competencies.
2. Think outside the box - now more than ever!
Automotive manufacturers are producing respirators and food producers are switching to disinfectants. During the Corona pandemic, many companies were able to fight the crisis and deliver quick solutions through flexibility and adaptability. This thinking outside one's comfort zone has been propagated for years, but crises show the potential behind it. In the future, lateral thinking will become increasingly important in order to maintain the interconnections gained between industries and to be able to react to external shocks. Creative approaches to solutions are needed here. A Corona best practice collection can be found here!
3. From outsourcing to backsourcing - is regional the new global?
The current crisis clearly shows existing problems of globalization: Due to supply bottlenecks, there is a lack of goods and supplier parts produced abroad that are urgently needed domestically. Of necessity, the question arises whether certain goods and products should rather be produced domestically or in neighboring countries in order to be better positioned in the future. Many economic experts assume that companies that produce locally will emerge stronger from the crisis - both in terms of social perception and political opinion. This represents an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses in particular.
4. Sharing is caring - more than ever.
Even in the first few weeks of the pandemic, with the greatest uncertainty and complexity, business models and organizations that have responsibility and customer loyalty firmly embedded in their model have been able to maintain their proactivity and thus sustain their growth. For example, some companies that experienced revenue losses in the events sector were able to create pricing models that were fair and sustainable through their customer engagement efforts. Some companies were able to actively and quickly engage with their employees and with their stakeholders, resulting in reputational gains. Companies that no longer work in silos, but instead network and share solutions publicly, are disrupting industries. Solidarity and customer loyalty have gained tremendous value, which will be more important for new business models in the future.
5. Crisis-driven-innovation - innovation processes are getting shorter.
Crisis-driven-innovation is characterized by short innovation processes and cycles, so that products are brought to market in ever shorter production development times. In addition, forces are bundled in R & D and developed collaboratively. Small companies in particular are disrupting their business models faster than before. This entrepreneurship is contagious. In the future, innovation processes will become even more agile and the idea of innovation will come to the fore.
6. Digital and decentralized - a culture change.
The Corona crisis impressively documented how strongly digital solutions accelerate the decentralization of work. In moving jobs to the home office or other locations, they have played an indispensable part. As companies realize that they can do as well or better with greater decentralization, there will be fewer face-to-face meetings, less business travel, fewer traditional conferences, and fewer traditional trade shows. In the long term, the proportion of employees working from home or telecommuting will be higher than before the crisis. The first companies are already drawing conclusions: The news service Twitter will let all employees work remotely in the future. This will also lead to cultural changes - in the way people work and communicate. The importance of digital (data) security is becoming more and more important and is being perceived more. Innovative solutions are needed here.
7. Online platforms - it won't work without them anymore.
Online platforms have been bringing forth new business models for years and are changing numerous industries. In the crisis, they have simplified communication, collaboration and everyday life, and in some cases made them possible in the first place. The importance of platforms has grown so much that it is impossible to imagine life without them. In the future, there will be more business model innovations, start-up start-ups and initiatives that draw on the platform economy to innovate here.
8. Industry 4.0 - Booster for Robotics and Co.
While the topic of the automation of human work by robots and machines has so far been discussed primarily under the aspect of the threat of job destruction, the benefits of robotics and Co. have come to the fore in recent weeks. The technological progress of Industry 4.0 and accompanying technological innovation will be driven even faster and stronger in the future.
9. Restructuring the economy - sustainability becomes sustainable.
The pandemic has brought the economy to a partial standstill. To boost the economic crisis, there is already massive government aid. Numerous calls from science and society demand that these aids to the economy be used for sustainable restructuring. Ecological conditions of state aid can help achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 ("European Green Deal"). Companies from the particularly hard-hit sectors of trade, tourism and transport should use the current crisis to prepare for climate neutrality and new business models. Then they will have a competitive advantage in the future.
10. Networked and prepared - then globalization succeeds.
What can global society learn from the crisis? The Corona pandemic has shown the light and dark sides of globalization. It is to be hoped that it will continue to develop in the sense of an open world: Toward even closer networking with global protection of value chains that can temporarily take over these tasks if individual network nodes or network regions fail. To achieve this, every country, every company, every individual - in the spirit of innovation - must prepare better for future risks.
The future will show which changes will prevail in the long term. Whether the new findings and innovations also mean renewal in the sense of innovation remains an exciting question.
Accessibility
Language
