“At BÜFA, the chances of digitalization are weekly discussed in a meeting where members of all our business areas and different business processes take part. We look at every process that is relevant for our value chain — from supplier to customer — and try to find step-by-step digitalization projects that will improve our performance. We are keen to reach a continuous flow of information throughout the supply chain without any media change.

Additionally we ask ourselves if there are possibilities that digitalization could replace the existing business models. This question already led to the formation of BÜFA-i, a start-up within the BÜFA group that develops an online marketplace for chemical trading and that can — among other things — enlarge our geographical reach. Generally, BÜFA seeks to increase efficiency by investing in digital technologies.

The biggest risk I see at the moment concerning digitalization is being too slow. To be able to successfully implement this paradigm shift, it is essential to engage all employees in the process.”