Optimisation through Digitalisation – Important Factors for the Business Model of the Future

Digital environmental systems form the future business concept. Above all, in the case of established companies, digitalisation is usually slow. The reasons for this and what these companies can learn from newly founded companies will be described here.

The Business Model of the Future

It is self-evident that a strong product, an extensive customer base, experience as well as stability and quality form the basis of a successful company. But to remain competitive in the future, new elements will be important, such as working economically, customer focus and network presence, and innovation, digitization and flexibility are required. The mixture of corporate and start-up brings the strengths of both together and thus forms the company of the future.

Problems with the Digitalisation Process

Everything is digitized, the world is changing in all areas, whether in industry, politics, education or banking. A change in the mindset of established firms is necessary. They must focus on meeting future challenges.

Continuous Digitization requires…

Digital transformation is not a one-time process, but a continuous task. For companies, digitization will always be one of the tasks. Unfortunately still a lot of companies often lack the required experience.

Factors for Successful Conversion

A recent Bitkom study has shown that the surveyed companies expected to have finished the digital transformation in 2025. However, the analysis of the annual reports of DAX-30 companies revealed only slow development. The reason for this is usually the limited experience of the decision-makers with digitization and entrepreneurship. The middle management is rejective and there is no responsible chief digital officer in every major company. In principle, however, it is important that the transformation process includes all important areas of the company. These include:

• Products and services,
• Business model, environment and platform,
• Method / process
• Services / Products
• Marketing

These 5 fields are considered as one unit and together form the overall strategy, the individual factors in themselves are only a component.

From Producer to Platform Provider

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to find new ways to market their products. The companies that have turned from product development, production and marketing to platform providers have proven to be extremely successful. American companies such as Facebook, Apple and Google show how competitive advantages are changing in the economic environment. What makes German companies different from the American ones is being less customer focused. Offers should be networked and be an experience for the customer. As a positive example in Germany, Flixbus is mentioned. This company does not represent itself as a touring car company, but offers a platform in which the customer and the experience of his journey are the focus.

Models for a New Work Style – Young Company

In the young companies the network idea stands before rankings and the focus on results is more important than the procedure. Other methods and processes are applied, whereby new products are developed together with the customer. The development process and test phase are much faster, and the learning speed is also increased. The start-up scene provides clues to advance digitization and innovation. The success of the company of the future can be realized through digital transformation and new work methods.