"Information is always available at any time! Above all, this creates new expectations. These can be transferred to every area of a company and have a lasting impact on the way customers are treated - not only in B2C but also in B2B. Including the underlying processes"
Michael Thron
The decisive keyword is: expectations.
The world today has not only become faster, it is above all interconnected on a global scale connected. The flood of information that people are exposed to on a daily basis has increased enormously compared to previous years. At the same time, each individual is gaining new opportunities. Whereas consumers used to pay more attention to regional products, the internet now makes it possible to purchase products from all over the world without even having to leave the house.
This creates new expectations - and countless new business models.
A simple example of this is online ordering. Customers have one basic expectation, namely fast delivery. This usually takes one to two days. Not a "nice to have", but a key requirement for anyone running such a store. However, more is needed to win over customers in this "always-on world". Customers want to see and know in real time what is happening with their product or exactly where it is: This is changing the industry, production and the entire supply chain. Information is no longer just collected in order to store it in a data tomb, but to actually use it and evaluate it intelligently.
But can companies still differentiate themselves today? Is this still possible in times of globalization? Yes, because the second central change in our society offers companies new approaches to customers.
"Users no longer focus on owning things, but on using them! Usage is crucial, and that's the only thing users want to pay for."
Mathias Kaldenhoff
The resulting expectations mean that more models are needed in production that are not based on purchase, but on the service actually used. This means that in future, hardware will increasingly be rented or leased in order to purchase the required performance of the means of production in line with usage. The transition to such an asset-as-a-service model has a direct impact on performance management, the visibility of data interfaces, maintenance and forecast management.
In short: if the service is "only" rented, this has significant advantages for the overall production status and production performance, especially in the digital supply chain. This is because these models offer an essential advantage: direct feedback from customers - digitally.
