Companies that rely on process digitization and artificial intelligence benefit from the agility and well-informed decisions

Volatility, transformation, and organizational alignment are key challenges for companies. This was a common consensus among the international attendees of the 13th digital Corporate Strategy Execution Forum. During the two-day conference, 25 experts discussed the topic of "Implementing Strategy & Sustaining Business during Large Scale Change" by sharing valuable experiences and solutions from practice. The unanimous appeal was that companies should adapt their strategies more quickly to ubiquitous changes and take a sustainable approach.

Kondratieff cycles getting shorter – prompt reactions required

The Kondratieff cycles, which define the long-term wavelike development of the global economy, have been accelerated. With the fifth wave, it already became clear that the original periods of up to 60 years are being reduced and basic innovations are influencing the structural change of the economy at even shorter intervals.

Recognizing these developments at an early stage and reacting adequately is crucial to ensuring the survival of the company. That is why agility is required in strategic decision-making and implementation, as well as the ability of the organization to align itself cohesively with these developments.

Artificial intelligence and process digitization drive agility

Well-founded decisions are based on valid data existing in every company. Ideally, all available data is collected and structured in one place so can be analyzed and evaluated immediately.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning methods provide valuable support. They allow the clustering, interconnection, and analysis of all required data in the minimum amount of time. With the help of simulations, expected scenarios/developments and their effects can be evaluated in advance and alternative strategies can be prepared. If the anticipated changes occur, the company will be able to act without any time loss.

Another important aspect to improve agility is the digitization of business processes. Once digitized, they are measurable and easier to manage and provide important data for corporate management.

How a digital platform and ML/AI facilitate companies to become more adaptive and agile in the entire strategy process was outlined by Martin Erharter, a member of the Evolutionizer Executive Board, in his keynote.

During his presentation "End-to-End Approach for Strategy - Why you can't just look at execution ...!" he explained the benefits of a holistic approach to strategy that encompasses objectives, strategy development, and implementation.

The participants' lively interest in this topic was evident from the numerous questions about both the underlying ML/AI models and the cultural challenges that come with an agile mindset.

If you would like to watch our keynote again or share it with colleagues, you can access the video recording here.