It starts with Top Management

The pace of change is higher than ever, pandemics, wars and now financial challenges means that the game plan is about to be changed for all of us. The value chains are changing, sustainability requirements and circular systems mean that production is on its way back to the Nordics and not least to Sweden. Now we have the chance to build our industrial country up another level and not just be good, but actually be the best in the world.

But the big challenge is that then the top management in our companies, small and large, must go ahead and show the way. A Lean-based basic structure, digitization and automation is a basic prerequisite for our success.

We must also change our skills supply system to meet tomorrow's needs. New organizational innovations are required for us to organize ourselves according to our process and value flows where customer value is created; today's silos and hierarchical structures limit companies' development. The challenge for them is to integrate their customers in the development of new goods and services, to create tomorrow's optimal value flows together.

Precisely for customer integration, digitization is a major enabler, but what is digitization? Basically, it's more about people, innovation and change than about technology, where our biggest challenge is our own organization. However, technology is a key enabler in the next step.

But the management in many SMEs hesitates, they don't know how to do it, this is not included in the strategy, they don't have the right client competence. You must go out and look around, visit the Factory for the future, study EDIG, make study visits, use your local IUCs. It takes brave leaders who dare to lead the way, test on a small scale and challenge themselves and see the possibilities, they are endless. In this way, we will be able to continue to be good, maybe even become the best in the world.