More and more companies are confronted with digitization such as Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and data integration. The concept of Industry 4.0 is regularly referred to. This is the name for the next revolution in industrialization, which states that the production method will change drastically because factory machines and processes communicate independently via the cloud. But how do high-tech companies look at these developments and what do they do about it? 

Supply Value defines the high-tech industry as an industry sector in which technology is designed at the highest level of development. A high-tech product is a product that is made with the most modern technology. The fact that technologies continue to develop ensures that products that are now high-tech will later be outdated. Examples of products are chip machines and medical devices.  

The high-tech sector is characterized by: 

• A high innovation power as a result of ever increasing customer expectations 
• Strong growth and ambition, especially in exports, as a result of a worldwide increasing demand for high-tech products  
• 4% growth in 2018 
• Export was 22 billion in 2016 and the ambition is that in 2025 it will be 75 billion 
• A labor shortage in the Netherlands 
• As a result, companies are increasingly looking for people from abroad. 
• A high entry barrier for new players 
• This is because sector-specific knowledge is needed.

Various trends and developments are visible in the sector. For example, the fact that the use of technologies such as blockchain and others are more popular in the media than in the sector itself, as there is a lack of insight into the practical application. In addition to technological developments, there are more and more developments coming from outside the Netherlands in the sector, such as the increasing trade conflicts, the oil price and the Brexit, which may damage the competitive position of the business community.  

With our expertise, we can help high-tech companies improve and accelerate their procurement and supply chain processes to prepare your organization for Industry 4.0.  You can think of advising and implementing a best of breed SaaS application to improve your purchase2pay (P2P) process. In order to keep innovating, we can help organizations by providing them with optimal information. Our spearheads to achieve this are setting up KPIs, dashboards and process optimization. We use various methodologies and tools for this, including OGSM, PowerBI and Lean Six Sigma.  

In case of technological challenges, for example in the field of big data, we can help you set up the right governance, develop business cases and the implementation of the projects for which the business case is positive. We also offer various standard dashboards and KPIs for the high-tech sector.