Trends in 2023

1. Cost Cutting

Companies battle inflation and spiked interest rates. Minimising operational costs will be important, for instance by rationalising the existing solution as well as optimise ways-of-working and accelerate the use of automation technologies.

Treasury management systems that offer improved visibility, better controls, and streamlined and automated processes will be worth looking into.

2. Sustainability – trace your footprint

Since June 2022 it has been mandatory for certain large companies operating on the EU market to report on Environmental, Social and Governmental aspects (ESG).

ERP vendors will continue to deliver solutions with traceability, analytics, and renewable energy in mind. E.g., Manufacturing planning and scheduling engines that follow energy consumption or AI tools that monitor and predict the estimated power consumption of a production masterplan.

3. Accelerated ERP implementations

Many companies need an ERP upgrade but in an unstable marked, more companies will explore functionality in exiting ERP solution and do implementations with an absolute minimum viable product and maximum focus on reliability and stability. E.g., custom components and minimized initial reengineering efforts. All to preserve past customization investments as much as possible.

4. Data will be the cutting edge

The right data at the right time. Because the market is changing fast, companies need to be ahead of changes with good data quality that enables fast time-to-market and reaction to changes.

Better access to data means companies can leverage data to make data-driven decisions, optimise processes, and develop predictions and anticipate trends. Further, utilizing data more efficiently create new business opportunities and better customer relation, which will be crucial in the years to come in a world that has become less predictable and more volatile.

5. Decentralized and value-based IT

IT is everywhere – tools encourage non-IT-trained employees to become software developers. No-code platforms are becoming popular as they allow individuals with little to no coding experience to create and customize digital products and solutions.

However, be aware that no-code solutions come with certain pitfalls that requires mitigation with the right set of application governance without having to rely on a team of developers or specialized technical skills. And, be aware that specialist solutions require specialist knowledge.

6. Utilizing test automation

In a world with an increasing frequency of updates to critical IT platforms, a solid test strategy will become fundamental for success.

Companies with at cloud application landscape, need to be on top of test automation, to effectively realising business values, get faster utilization of new functionality creating less issues for the business and ensuring a stable business operation, when implementing new features or improving existing solutions.

A solid test strategy is key to success with test automation, to ensure to automate the right processes, with the right governance using the right tool.

7. Value Stream Organizing

We will see fewer delivery teams that are divided by traditional functions, e.g., Finance or Logistics. Instead, more companies will organize themselves around value streams, e.g., Product Design & Development or Engage, Sell and Retain. This shift in organizations’ delivery models, will break down internal organizational barriers and create (virtual) cross-functional teams incentivised through cascaded OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). It will allow for faster time-to-market and improved talent development and retention of employees.

Further, by utilizing a Product Management setup, companies can accelerate value realization by reducing the gap between digital development and customers – which will essentially generate revenue growth.

8. Cyber Security

Security is being challenged. Cyber security has been and will be a crucial part of any companies’ strategic goals for the coming years. Some companies will have to accelerate the implementation of better security as the existing servers and application is a business-critical risk, whereas others need a better security foundation in order to move into the next phase of their development in a very volatile market, hereunder migrating into the cloud.

9. Contingency planning

Volatility is the new normal. If the past three years with pandemics and geopolitical instability have taught us anything it should be that the world has become less predictable than it used to be. Having a plan B is no longer sufficient – companies need to have much deeper playbooks and digital systems to navigate the volatile markets during 2023 and beyond – both in terms of worst- and best-case scenarios.

10. Improving working capital through Supply Chain optimization

Cash is Queen especially during times of recession and inflation. Companies are already under pressure for cash relief to navigate the current global environment with volatile component supply, increased interest rates, freight bottlenecks, geopolitical instability etc.

According to Global Supply Chain Institute, over 80 percent of a company’s costs and working capital is tied up in the supply chain and operations. Hence, you can’t afford to ignore this area. One of the first places to look is your inventory – and the mechanisms, processes, and digital systems behind to drive, control and monitor it in the most efficient way.

Predictions developed by Unify Partners.