Collaboration and digitization in value chains is the way forward!

It has never been so easy to generate, manage and share data as it is now. It has given us completely new ways to create customer value. Data is the new oil, it is said, and most of the world's now largest companies build their operations around data management. Although it can be difficult to relate to the very largest companies, all businesses need to understand how they can create value from data and how others can take part in it. It is important to understand their strengths and see their business in a larger perspective, an ecosystem. Where can we create value and how can others benefit from it? What strengths do others have that we can benefit from? Technology is usually not the limiting factor here, but it is the willingness to share information.

In an increasingly complex world, it is difficult to be the best at everything. We need to work together to be competitive. Throughout the ages, we have been forced to work together to even survive at these latitudes. The collaborative culture that has emerged is perhaps our single greatest competitive advantage for the future. With technology we can do a lot, but not without people. Achieving the full potential of digitalisation requires trust, transparency and a willingness to cooperate!

Analyzes made in the Digital Stambanan project show that the vast majority of state-funded digitization projects focus on solving limited challenges within a company. To date, too few projects have focused on what digitization can do to develop collaboration between companies. Therefore, I believe that more effort should be put into how digitalisation can increase cooperation in value chains and create new values.

The success of the largest companies is based on taking cooperation to a new level. Their solutions, platforms, enable transactions or exchange of information between different parties to be done very simply and smoothly. They also involve different actors in the solution of creating benefits for each other, which in turn attracts more people to participate. A simple example is social media. If your friends are there, you are more willing to be there too. The more people on the platform, the more interesting it is for third-party developers who can develop new features. With new and better features, more people are attracted to participate. The owner of the platform can monitor and control the participating actors. With the user data that is generated, an increased understanding of the actors is created and new values ​​can be created more easily. Anyone who succeeds in initiating such a positive spiral for cooperation can build great values ​​in a short time.

I do not mean that all companies can or should do as the largest companies in the world, but I think there is a lot to be gained from understanding the mechanisms behind and what collaboration means to be successful. Cooperation and digitalisation in value chains are the way forward to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish industry!