“For companies, sustainable development is one of the great challenges for 2023”

For companies, what will be the great challenges of 2023?

In 2023, the challenges will be multiple. Sustainable development will be one of the main themes. But behind this concern, which has become unavoidable, will come a series of secondary questions, even primary ones. I am thinking, in particular, of supply needs, whether for raw materials or energy. This will have a profound influence on company policy and the operational decisions they need to make.

Another great challenge lies in the continuous transformation of the equipment, which is particularly visible in the industrial and technological fields in the broad sense. First, employees express new expectations in relation to the structures in which they work. The latter no longer seek only a salary, but also a vision and meaning. Then there is a whole generation that will retire, and another that arrives with new digital skills. Hence a market tension that will have to be understood and managed well.

How is digital technology positioned in terms of sustainable development?

Digital technology, which is now spreading across all industries, is the ally of a more sustainable economy. Through the digitization of processes, the use of artificial intelligence and digital twins of industrial processes, companies will be able to better understand the complexity of a sustainable system. We are all aware that in order to make an activity more compatible with the principles of sustainable development, it is necessary to play with more than one parameter (supply, manufacturing, distribution, etc.). For example, we may think that new techniques, such as 3D printing, will improve the carbon footprint of a manufactured product. Beyond this example, it is evident that the multiplication of data and its proper use will lead companies to make the pertinent decisions in this field, both in the strategic field and in each stage of the activity (supply chain, engineering, production , etc.). ).

At the same time, the voices affirm that digital is not the solution since in itself it consumes a lot of energy (use of servers, etc.)…

In fact, these are arguments that come up quite regularly. However, it must be said: any change in the way of working will necessarily involve the use of digital. It is true that digital consumes energy. However, when we look at the gains that the latter can bring in terms of improvement at all levels of the company, we quickly realize that it is essential. The gains obtained through the solutions that it allows to implement are considerable. Hence the impossibility of ignoring the digital.

Beyond the purely technological aspect, isn’t digital transformation above all a matter of people?

The great transformations are first and foremost issues that concern people, even if technologies can be the vector. Therefore, support for change is crucial. This shift towards the use of digital in processes, Siemens, as an industrialist, also had to assume it. So we had to transform our own company. On this occasion, we have developed teams that have participated in the digital transformation of Siemens. These are the teams we have assembled in our Advanta division. It is, today, the consulting branch of Siemens that is at the service of our clients and supports them in their own digital transformation. It has the advantage of being made up of professionals with skills in the consulting and industry areas.

This content was produced with SCRIBEO. The BFM BUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.