Digitalisation has become an all-encompassing buzzword that describes the transformation of our society in terms of information technology. Only German SMEs are still hesitant.
ERP solutions such as SAP Business One are of course also tools that (can) drive this digitalisation forward. However, it would of course be too short-sighted to focus solely on individual software solutions. The digital transformation is more far-reaching than even buzzwords such as Industry 4.0 can express. It encompasses new technologies as well as machines, organisations and business models. Last but not least, it affects individual people and their skills.
SAP away from the old ERP ways
The solutions and new approaches that SAP is researching and working on today, for example, often have little to do with the origins of pure merchandise management to do. Rather, the idea behind the management of BIG DATA is the all-encompassing processing of information from all areas of a person's life. As far as Germany is concerned, it does not seem to be in a bad position at first. After all, we have a lot of intellectual and technical infrastructure to cope with the digital challenge. At the same time, one of the main pillars of the German economy is, after all, the Middle class. The latter is recognised worldwide as extremely efficient and sometimes even innovative. However, in terms of digitalisation, there already seems to be a growing gap with industry.
Studies see a need for SMEs to catch up
That Institute for SME Research in Bonn has now published a study in which SMEs were surveyed. The aim was to find out how much progress has been made with digitalisation in SMEs. The results suggest that there is still a lot to do, or to put it positively, that there is still plenty of "digital potential" for German SMEs to realise.
In the study "The importance of digitalisation
In the survey "SMEs", companies with a turnover of between one and ten million euros stated that they had comparatively high deficits in controlling.
The ubiquity of sensors in medium-sized manufacturing companies still seems to be a pipe dream 4.0. While the workflows of 26 % of the organisations surveyed are already supported, 35 % of the companies control their logistics digitally.
74 % of all companies surveyed even stated that internet-based information and communication technologies had either no or no decisive influence on their business model.
Fear of digitalisation
In some cases, fears of digitalisation are even expressed. Perhaps not without good reason, some small businesses fear becoming more standardised and comparable in the digital mainstream.
In any case, there is alienation on the part of medium-sized companies.
"One in three entrepreneurs state that they are no longer able to follow the numerous trends in information and communication technology. As a result, the entrepreneurs concerned are barely able to identify important trends for the company at all, let alone properly weigh up the benefits and costs of investing in digitalisation."
The ongoing debate about data security in companies that take advantage of global data networks has not exactly encouraged openness towards all-encompassing digitalisation.
As the IFM study is not the only one to come to these conclusions - there is a survey by Deloitte that comes to similar results - cautionary voices are being raised. As early as 2014, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported:
"You have to let that sink in first. A massive wave is rolling towards German SMEs with Industry 4.0, production processes are changing globally due to the advancement of automation, it is estimated that more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the network by 2020, i.e. in a mere six years, and SMEs don't find this relevant. Is that still chutzpah or just ignorance?"
Don't panic about the digital refuseniks
But perhaps we shouldn't be too alarmist when it comes to the digitalisation of German SMEs. Ultimately, it's about tools. Tools that must serve the purpose of a medium-sized company. Weighing up when and which tools should be used has always been a reason for an entrepreneur to think carefully - at least in the SME sector. It cannot be the role of IT experts, consultants and service providers to lash out at supposed "digitalisation inhibitors". We should help them to act after all.
German SMEs focus on digitalisation - "step-by-step" and long-term
Business Intelligence: A Guide for SMEs
Are German SMEs missing out on digitalisation?
IFRS - International Financial Reporting Standards for SMEs too
