“It’s not enough to just innovate; you need to innovate fast enough,” asserted Roman Žák, referring to the conference’s subtitle “Driving the Digital Fast Lane” while also pointing out the biggest challenge in digitalisation. Žák is the co-founder of the conference organiser Aimtec. Žák spoke about sustainability, which, he says, we have always tended to perceive more in the environmental sense. But we also need to keep in mind another dimension of sustainability: the continuity of business, whose preservation in light of the market’s dynamic evolution is a growing challenge. And this even applies for Aimtec as a family firm. Through these words, Roman Žák introduced the company’s incoming CEO Pavel Boháč, who will be replacing its founders at the helm of the company.
People, people, people
Leadership is critical for digitalisation success, as noted by Dr Nils Finger from CBS International Business School in the introductory presentation. The importance of people, their management and their engagement and participation in transformation was also confirmed by other presenters, such as Michael Colberg from REHAU Automotive and Martin Vilím from AISIN. Michal Fichtner from Continental Automotive also spoke on the worries and fears that entirely naturally accompany major changes, and he called on participants to develop a mindset that supports change within their individual teams.
Data, AI, advanced simulations and cybersecurity
Another topic interweaving the contributions was data and its importance. While a few years ago we were still just passing on our experience with the importance of data collection, today we are much farther along – we’re discussing data quality and data analysis, integration and subsequent use. “Data’s worth its weight in gold,” stressed Fichtner. The right data is also important for the work of the team run by Tomáš Sauer. Using specific examples at FORVIA HELLA for illustration, Sauer described how data is utilised with the help of simulation tools.
It may just be impossible for a conference in 2024 to skip the topic of AI. Carlos Portillo from the event’s main partner SAP presented his company’s vision in this area, noting for example: “AI, in the business context, must be relevant (integrated into core business processes), reliable (grounded within the truth of your business data), and responsible (addressing ethics, data privacy and data security).”
As the selection of Software as a Service (SaaS) on the market grows and as cloud solutions come into use, the issue of their security is coming up more and more often. Wojtek Szczepucha from Amazon Web Services answered the question: how safe is the space provided by cloud infrastructure’s robust protection?
Another angle on it all
As usual, the conference was closed out by guests who looked at logistics digitalisation from a different point of view. Lukas Brandl from BLC – The Battery Lifecycle Company cast light on the specifics and challenges of battery logistics, while Michal Samuelčík from Replug Me offered his thoughts on how digital technologies can be used so that they are truly beneficial.
The recently retired professional cyclist and cyclocross rider Zdeněk Štybar also accepted our invitation onto the stage; he offered attendees an entirely new context for the topic of going fast. He spoke for example about how even athletes today need to rely upon data, thanks to which they can optimise their performance while they are preparing to compete.
Tech gadgets and the latest products
The conference partners set up an Experience Zone that was available to conference guests all day long. One long-term partner of this event is Zebra Technologies. “Conference attendees learnt about Zebra’s powerful device portfolio for frontline workers, such as ultra-rugged mobile computers with Wi-Fi6, 5G connectivity and powerful, long-distance scanning,” said Natalie Pavelková, Channel Account Manager, Zebra Technologies. “We also showcased our Bluetooth wearable scanner, which is the smallest enterprise wearable scanner on the market.”
Digitalisation and the transformation of firms and supply chains are speeding up, with more and more technologies and software solutions becoming available. However – as the speakers agreed – the prime movers of change always were and are people. And they will always benefit from the advice offered by AISIN’s Martin Vilím: “For digitalisation to succeed, you need to get a good night’s sleep for it all.”
TAL 2024 – Driving the Digital Fast Lane
Tuesday, 18 June 2024 / 8:30–17:00 + evening networking Parkhotel Pilsen (U Borského parku 31, 301 00 Pilsen)
The full programme is available on the conference website: https://www.talconference.com/en/agenda/
Main partners: SAP and Zebra Technologies
Conference partners: 4IGV, AIMPARTNERS, AKJ Automotive, Antesto, Asprova, Bayern Innovativ, Beratungsbüro Oberpfalz, Continental Automotive, Ernst & Young, European Region Danube-Vltava – Lower Bavaria Consultancy Office, IHK Reutlingen – Automotive, South Bohemian Chamber of Commerce, JOBka, LogTech, Mediterranean Shipping Company, the Pilsen Region with the support of the EU and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, ProGlove, SKLAD (Spolek Kompetentních Logistiků a Dodavatelů), Software 602, STILL, VertiFlex, Vodárna Plzeň and Happenee
Media partners: Aimtec Insights, Automa CZ, CIO Business World, Computerworld, Dopravní noviny, Ekonom, IT Systems, Logistika.Tv, Packaging Herald, praktická LOGISTIKA, Reliant Group, Robotic journal, Svět průmyslu, Systémy logistiky and TechMagazín
Aimtec
For over a quarter-century, we’ve been guiding automotive companies on their way to digital transformation. We help them to digitalise and automate production, logistics and the supply chain into one functioning whole so that their transformation truly benefits them. We empower our customers to learn, standardise and be efficient while also flexibly responding to the changes they face every day.
Media contact:
Petra Troblová
Key Account Marketing Manager
petra.troblova@aimtecglobal.com
+420 724 284 141
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