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An essential component of digital value creation is the innovation of digitally networked business models. By networking different actors and service bundles, new customer value can be created. However, this networking leads to increased complexity, which makes it difficult for tradition- al industrial companies in particular to exploit these opportunities in a meaningful way. For this reason, a system is presented that reduces com- plexity through modelling and makes it possible to compare the effort and benefits of business model ideas at an early stage.

Germany is the largest European trading partner of the People's Republic of China. The main exports are chemical products, machinery, motor vehicles and electrical engineering. However, German companies are finding it difficult to gain access to the Chinese B2C-market. E-commerce, which has been expanded in recent years, can enable German companies to enter the Chinese custom- er market. The article presents the situation of e-commerce in China and shows relevant support offers of the platform operators, which, however, can lead to economic dependency. For German companies, it seems advantageous to deal with the principles of success of Chinese e-commerce in order to implement them in their traditional markets.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already an important part of business models and processes of many companies. In the future, AI systems will pro- foundly change our working environment. AI systems can develop completely new potential for companies in a wide variety of sectors and domains - especially in industry. Existing busi- ness models can be optimized along the value chain by optimizing production flows and processes or avoiding production downtimes with predictive maintenance. At the same time, AI systems can enable completely new business models and thus radically change existing mar- ket structures through new players. The AI economy of tomorrow will be more individual, more precise and more sustainable: Competitive value creation without AI will not be possible in many areas of industry.

A robust and resilient supply chain is a critical success factor for the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. However, today’s supply chain faces various challenges, such as higher complexities and increasing dynamics coming from megatrends (i. e. globalization and sustainability). The medium-sized drive technology industry, with its global supply chains and high customer requirements, is particularly affected by these challenges. Therefore, digitalization initiatives are crucial. This article analyzes current digitalization projects in the drive technology industry in order to identify relevant trends and fields of application. Synthesized from the industry's target picture for higher resilience/ flexibility, greater transparency and more sustainability along the supply chain, these provide guidance for medium-sized companies and their digitalization strategies. (Only in German)

To show SMEs a way to identify changes at an early stage, the interactive situation awareness monitor developed by Fraunhofer IPK is used. This gives companies an individually structured overview about their environment and their company (e. g. order situation). The area of the corporate environment is currently being expanded to include the compa- ny-specific component of automatic recognition of context-related data in order to provide relevant information to a company automatically. For this purpose, a machine learning model is developed and trained using company-specific data sets. First- ly, it is necessary to create the data sets with relevant and irrelevant environment information. For that, the PESTEL analysis is applied in this paper. Further- more, advantages and disadvantages of the analy- sis for generating data sets are discussed.

Supported by an intelligent assistance system, the sustainability and digitalisation of the tideindependent Industriehafen Bremen can be increased. To guarantee port security, a constant level of the isolated harbour is essential. There is great potential for increasing energy efficiency if the lock naturally waters the harbour basin at times of high tide instead of employing a pump station. This contribution shows how artificial intelligence and innovative software systems were used to develop an assistance system to improve existing procedures without making extensive changes to the existing port infrastructure. (Only in German)

This article aims to develop a model for the acceptance of RPA technologies based on the presentation of the state-of-the-art. The model is the basis of an empirical study on the acceptance of robot-assisted process automation (RPA) at a global technology company. The results of this study are presented in a corresponding publication "An Empirical Analysis of Technology Acceptance of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (Part 2)".

The trend toward digitization o ers considerable potential; this is particularly true in supply chain management (SCM). However, not every technology is suitable for every company and its processes. This article presents a structured approach that supports companies in the selection process. The approach consists of several phases: Starting with the identi cation of business goals and ending with the selection of those technologies that seem most promising. Its applicability was tested in a research project at a logistics service provider. It is easily transferable to a concrete decision-making situation.

Procurement 4.0 represents comprehensive information technology networking with suppliers. This enables the automation of the operational procurement process and forms the basis for closer collaboration with strategic suppliers. However, such networking is also accompanied by risks which can sustainably reduce the success of procurement. After an assessment of digitization-induced risks it is shown that a trade-off between relationship and supplier risks takes place, depending in the intensity of the network.

Maritime container transport is the backbone of international trade and supply and distribution processes in global manufacturing networks. However, digital support of container transportation related processes is still insu cient. This article shows how a digital platform can facilitate the digital interaction between industry and logistics stakeholders. Using the quotation process as an example, it describes how the platform can support transactions between shippers and transport service providers. Use of the digital platform increases process transparency, reduces duplication of work and reduces the time required to carry out the processes.