Digital Transformation is in full swing across all industries. Keeping up with the frontrunners and actively shaping the future requires significant effort – so wouldn’t it be better to let others lead the way and wait for a proven solution to emerge…
…or maybe not?
In previous articles of this series, we’ve already defined what Digital Transformation entails and identified key success factors based on real-world case studies. Digital Transformation is a holistic approach and a part of the continuous change within organizations. It is fueled by technology, aiming to improve the customer experience and increase internal process efficiency.
So how customer-centric are you?
Bing Chat Copilot creates a personalized city guide with restaurant tips and key sightseeing spots for a weekend trip to London, Amazon delivers to your doorstep within 24 hours at the click of a button, and your delivery app provides an accurate countdown to when your favorite pizza will arrive. These conveniences are only made possible by the seamless integration of digital processes, consistently geared toward maximizing customer value.
Your customers have come to appreciate and expect these kinds of experiences in many areas of life—this ease has become the new standard. And it extends beyond B2C into the B2B space, where customer expectations are no less demanding. After all, B2B is still a people business—only with the added complexity of addressing the needs of multiple stakeholders simultaneously.
By leveraging digital technologies, you can enhance perceived customer value—through fast, seamless interaction even outside business hours, and when the usual service rep is unavailable. Customers increasingly expect instant, personalized, and binding offers – just think of Uber’s fixed pricing or the growing number of online configurators. At the same time, digital processes boost efficiency by automating manual tasks, streamlining data exchange, and reducing processing times. The result? A vastly improved customer experience—and more effective operations.
The Trend is Your Friend
Since the launch of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has been omnipresent. The chatbot vividly demonstrates AI’s potential in supporting knowledge work and services while also casting new light on established machine learning models that have quietly supported tasks in healthcare, manufacturing, and maintenance for years.
It’s no coincidence that Gartner, in its Emerging Tech Impact Radar 2023, predicts significant productivity gains through AI-based tools within the next 12 months. According to Gartner, companies that identify these potentials early and integrate them quickly into their value chains will gain a significant competitive edge through increased productivity.
But it’s not just AI. Gartner also sees blockchain re-emerging as a high-impact trend within the next one to three years—opening the door to entirely new business and monetization models. Blockchain is a key enabler where transactions involving goods, assets, or data must be recorded securely and comprehensible between multiple parties.
Blockchain is already playing a key role in the digital transformation of the logistics sector—ideal for organizing cross-company goods flows. Both startups like CargoLedger and major players such as Accenture, Microsoft, and IBM are implementing promising solutions.
Back to the Roots
Let’s pause for a moment. While emerging technologies and trending topics are exciting, especially in the context of digital transformation, they often come with high expectations. Driven by the fear of missing out, many executives jump on the bandwagon—only to be overwhelmed by limitations, tight budgets, and technical constraints. And even if you keep pace with the trend, it may lose momentum and be overtaken by the next big thing. Many jump trains in the hope of reaching the destination faster—yet that path doesn’t always lead where you expect.
Let’s say you decide to automate part of your service ticket process using a large language model. Customers should interact with a chatbot in a self-service flow that answers simple queries and relieves support staff to focus on more complex cases.
Do you know which questions are asked most frequently—and can be solved with a simple answer? Where are you currently collecting this data, and how do you ensure the issue is actually resolved? Where does your service process allow a smooth handover when the chatbot can’t resolve the issue? If you can’t answer these questions, you’re building a house on shaky ground.
So even if you already have lighthouse projects targeting specific segments of digital transformation, make sure you’re building on solid foundations first. Otherwise, your well-designed and thoroughly planned lighthouse might sink into unstable soil—becoming your company’s “Leaning Tower of Pisa” and a cautionary tale for failed transformation. In the worst case, this creates “toxic ground” for future digital initiatives, undermines employee buy-in, and discourages further investment. Meanwhile, competitors use the opportunity to surge ahead.
The Solution?
Even if targeted projects promise quick wins, always view them as part of a bigger picture. According to the Journal of Digital Economy, poor data structures in legacy systems are one of the main reasons digital transformation initiatives fail—especially machine learning projects, which are frequently hindered by outdated system landscapes, fragmented data, and broken process chains.
That’s why you must analyze your value chain:
- Are all processes marticulously documented? How do they interlink?
- How is information flowing between departments?
- Are there system gaps, manual Excel steps—or even paper-based processes?
- What problems do these issues cause?
Build a stable foundation first before chasing the next trend with hopes of fast results. You’ll find that optimized system configurations, thoughtful data structures, and integrated processes—free from system breaks—already deliver major efficiency gains and improved IT security. And once the foundation is solid, trend technologies like AI can truly shine—built on a platform that can actually support them. To compete tomorrow, you must lay the groundwork today.
What does this mean for me?
Digital technologies are reshaping not only our culture and communication, but also the very core of your business model. To stay relevant, your offerings must evolve with changing customer expectations.
New technologies like AI and blockchain promise immense value—but in practice, most projects fail due to legacy issues and unstable foundations.
Disruptors across many industries are challenging market leaders with digital business models and gaining an edge through strategic use of new technologies. Simply adopting the same tools won’t unlock the same potential. That’s why successful digital transformation must start by creating a robust foundation of systems and data structures, followed by applying the right technologies to consistently deliver maximum customer value.
