“SMEs face the challenge of having to recognize for themselves what opportunities digitalization as such offers them. To do so, they must be able to draw on digital skills of their own and, above all, understand that every market player is seeking its salvation in digitalization – they must become ‘gold diggers’ themselves, but also create their own mine in the process.” (André Winzer)
Having been a guest in Saarbrücken last year, I’m delighted to travel to Saarland again as a speaker at the “Zukunftsdialog Mittelstand” (Future Dialogue for SMEs). This time I’m heading to Saarlouis, a town of 34,000 inhabitants.
Of course, I hope that the “digitalization of SMEs” won’t mean digitalizing everything. That would be a particular shame at the Ludwig chocolate factory. After all, who wants to eat chocolate only virtually instead of savoring it on their own tongue?
The district of Saarlouis itself is also facing change – and historically, it has already been through quite a few. Saarlouis has only been part of the Federal Republic of Germany again since July 6, 1959. People here are used to change. The strong local dependence on steel and automotive manufacturing means that SMEs need to be strengthened, because these industries are themselves currently undergoing structural change. While steel is suffering from enormous price pressure, the automotive industry has to face, among other things, the shift toward electrification and autonomous driving. This calls existing infrastructures into question once again. Incidentally, the same goes for its twin town Eisenhüttenstadt. But before the complaining starts, I’d rather spark enthusiasm for shaping and modernizing. Adapting to change is unavoidable anyway if you want to hold your own in competition and within regulation. And every change also holds the chance to change life and one’s surroundings for the better.
That is exactly what the “Zukunftsdialog Mittelstand” event is for. Three thematic workshops will get people excited about change. The aim is to understand digitalization properly, set impulses for new things, put ideas into practice – and receive good funding support along the way.
In the first 45 minutes, I will set the tone on the opportunities of digitalization, aiming to spark as much drive to shape things as possible in the audience for the subsequent workshops.
Since around 2012, the term Industry 4.0 has been firmly established as a buzzword in Germany and discussed in depth. Everyone is on board, since it is about nothing more and nothing less than the digitalization of industry. Since 2015, economic policy has increasingly focused on SMEs, as this seems to be one of the major levers. Policymakers hope that targeted “agenda-setting” will help the country’s own SMEs survive and reposition themselves.
SMEs themselves, however, seem to be “resistant to advice” – or rather, they have to be able to answer for themselves where the benefits of digitalization and connectivity might lie. In other words, they need to gain an inside view of possible use scenarios for Industry 4.0. Only once they understand the benefits will they take action themselves.
I will build an understanding of these benefits in order to inspire as many people as possible to become gold diggers. The goal is not to copy market behavior, but to examine along your own value chain where a potential vein of gold might lie.
For the invitation from the Saarland Minister for Economic Affairs, Labor, Energy and Transport, Anke Rehlinger, I would like to express my sincere thanks in advance.
You can find the program here:
Flyer: Zukunftsdialog Mittelstand in the District of Saarlouis [in German]
If you’d still like to register, it’s best to contact:
Gesellschaft für Wirtschaftsförderung Untere Saar mbH (WFUS)
Großer Markt 8
66740 Saarlouis
Email: wfus@kreis-saarlouis.de
Fax: 06831 503-1919
Venue and time:
Tuesday, October 11, 2016, 3:30 pm
Viktorʼs Residenz-Hotel Saarlouis
Bahnhofsallee 4 | 66740 Saarlouis
Entrance: “The Club”
