Our keynote speaker Dr. Burkhard Varnholt puts it bluntly: As he sees it, there are now three groups of industries or companies in the world, the losers, the survivors, and the successful. While he believes that the global economy as a whole will recover, the path there is both new and uncertain. The only thing that is clear is that the impact of digitalization will continue to spread and meanwhile affects all areas of life and business.
What do we need to keep in mind?
Varnholt is convinced that Switzerland will be able to maintain its position as Europe's most competitive market economy. This is thanks to its liberal constitution, good governance and excellent access to the European market. He is confident that the global economy will recover fully, but warns: “What is currently happening in the world is a historic turning point from an economic, political and social perspective.” This involves risks, but also opportunities. From an economic perspective, small and medium-sized companies in particular would benefit because of their agility. The keynote will tell you what you should pay attention to:
Companies must prepare for emergencies
Are Swiss companies prepared for a second wave of the coronavirus? These and other questions were discussed by a top-notch panel on the first day of the GoGlobal Days 2020.
Christoph Wilhelm (Founder and CEO of Global Sourcing Services AG), Urs Häusler (Managing Director of valantic Schweiz AG) and Eric Jakob (Head of the Directorate for Location Promotion at SECO) and Martina Gmür (Head of Export Promotion at S-GE) were also present.
Risk management, digitalization as a management task and flexibility to overcome uncertainty
In the current situation, it is important to start implementing clear risk management processes as quickly as possible, in order to be better prepared next time. Digitalization plays a vital role and goes beyond working from home and zoom meetings. It must be understood as a mindset within the company. And it must also be treated as such by management. Last but not least, we need to realize that the uncertainty will remain. Embracing agility and flexibility will benefit companies, given that Switzerland is better placed than other economies in an international comparison.
You can watch the full discussion in the video:
