Digitization can now be found everywhere and is spreading like wildfire. I am therefore now writing a whole series of articles on the subject of digitization. My motivation behind this is that digitization means something different for every industry and type of company and I want to work out these differences. An illustration of the differences in different industries can be found in the following figure. In this section I would like to go into the actual core of this article and illustrate digitization in knowledge work. Industry characteristics Knowledge workers still play a crucial role for their employers, because knowledge is still traded as one of the most valuable resources of mankind. While knowledge work has so far primarily relied on the ability to think and act of the “human” worker, this industry is now also subject to a clear change and is increasingly tending towards work 4.0. In…

Digitization can now be found everywhere and is spreading like wildfire. I am therefore now writing a whole series of articles on the subject of digitization. My motivation behind this is that digitization means something different for every industry and type of company and I want to work out these differences. An illustration of the differences in different industries can be found in the following figure. In this section I would like to go into the actual core of this article and illustrate digitization in the automotive industry. Industry characteristics In the automotive industry, the focus is clearly on the production of vehicles. IT, like agility, played in the background for a long time because the focus was more on production and lean principles. At the same time, mechanical and design-related innovations in automobiles have long been leading. Nonetheless, in the last few decades the industry has increasingly developed into…

Digitization can now be found everywhere and is spreading like wildfire. I am therefore now writing a whole series of articles on the subject of digitization. My motivation behind this is that digitization means something different for every industry and type of company and I want to work out these differences. An illustration of the differences in different industries can be found in the following figure. In this section I would like to go into the actual core of this article and illustrate digitization in production. Industry characteristics So far, production in the IT sector has mainly benefited from the pure administration of production-related information or the job of processing orders. Due to the lack of technology and the low use of agile methods, complex relationships between processes and production were difficult to decipher and poorly optimized. Many manufacturing companies have already recognized this problem. They have found help in…

Digitization can now be found everywhere and is spreading like wildfire. I am therefore now writing a whole series of articles on the subject of digitization. My motivation behind this is that digitization means something different for every industry and type of company and I want to work out these differences. An illustration of the differences in different industries can be found in the following figure. In this section I would now like to go into the real essence of this article and illustrate digitization in the real estate and construction industries. Industry characteristics The focus of the real estate and construction industry is clearly on the asset. For example, the property or the plot of land to be built on itself. The industry is known for its low flexibility and lack of dynamic processes. Because of this, digitization and agile methods have so far only rarely found their way…

Digitization can now be found everywhere and is spreading like wildfire. I am therefore now writing a whole series of articles on the subject of digitization. My motivation behind this is that digitization means something different for every industry and type of company and I want to work out these differences. An illustration of the differences in different industries can be found in the following figure. In this section I would like to go into the actual core of this article and illustrate digitization in the craft. Industry characteristics The branch of the handicraft combines human ability with creativity and the handling of materials. The conception of innovation paired with added value and the interdisciplinary linking of ideas and solutions are still the main components of the industry. The craft actually describes by nature that it is linked to flexibility and dynamism. Nevertheless, agile methods and digital support are only…

Too often do you read articles that generally report on digitization and consider certain aspects to be absolutely important? However, you think to yourself: “This does not apply to my industry or it does not work in my company”. Home office alone has hardly lost any meaning in production and Industry 4.0 in knowledge work. So not all knowledge can be transferred without restrictions to every branch and type of company! In order to fill this gap, I analyzed more than 4000 literature sources on digitization and broken them down into the individual types of companies and industries. In doing so, I took 5 major trends in digitization and prepared them for industries and types of company. The status is April 2019. After completion, I would like to deepen the results in the course of 2019 with expert interviews from the respective industries. The digitization trend radar will therefore be…