In the first episode of the new year, Rufus welcomes Heiner Krauss as his guest. He developed the new Thomas digitalisation strategy and is now overseeing its implementation. He has been involved with electronics throughout his entire professional life. Networking, digitalisation, smart homes – he is familiar with all of these topics. When Thomas was looking for a Senior Digital Transformation Manager a year ago, Heiner knew it was a perfect fit.
In his new position, the family man with a love for football and cycling wasted no time and got started right away. Because when everyone is talking about transformation, a strategy is essential. You need a clear roadmap, he says, otherwise you’ll be driven by the variety of possibilities rather than what makes sense.
The strategy has now been adopted. It defines four areas of action, the ‘4 Ps’: ‘Purchase’, ‘Processes’, ‘Products’ and ‘Production’. Flanked by a fifth “P” for ‘People’. Because without people who support the strategy, nothing works. This is especially true for the implementation, which is now starting: Each department can identify use cases for the 4Ps. Ideas for what could be digitised and how. All of this is collected and evaluated in terms of its benefits. ‘It’s not about digitising for the sake of it. A problem must be solved or value created,’ says Heiner.
He sees every day how important it is to involve colleagues in this process: many people have questions about what digitalisation and AI mean for them. Heiner has a clear position on this: people should continue to play the leading role. Furthermore, he believes that nothing is worse than imposing something new on people and processes. ‘People and their experiences are valuable sources of expertise that cannot be replaced. I think it’s absolutely essential to make use of this and to take people with you in this process of change,’ he says.
When you listen to him, you can tell that this is something he really cares about. ‘I enjoy working with people and helping to make things clearer. It’s something I’m passionate about and see meaning in.’
The question of his favourite snack remains. This much can be said in advance: the Krauss household has a separate shelf for ‘Nutriscore D’ items. And Heiner plays a part in ensuring that a particular item is restocked especially quickly.
If you want to know what that ‘food’ is and what else there is to say about Thomas’s and Heiner’s digitalisation strategy, just listen in – time will fly by again!
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