Since February, company managers have had the opportunity to determine the digital maturity level of their companies and receive recommendations for action and industry comparisons after evaluating the 22 questions asked. The test focuses less on the degree of innovation or extreme automation, but rather looks at the extent to which the company's central business processes run with the help of established digital technologies. The answers of the first 266 companies show the degree of digitalization of German SMEs.

The number of employees in the companies surveyed. © Abas

It is clearly evident that SMEs are barely making use of the opportunities for digital optimization: This can be seen, for example, in the monitoring of systems and machines and the extent to which AI is used for predictive maintenance. The situation is similar with the use of audio-vision tools, for example pick-by-light systems and the recording of outgoing goods using RFID. The average maturity level in the three areas is only between 1.13 and 1.26. The values are to be understood as follows: The technology mentioned is used to no extent (1.0), to a small extent (2.0), to a considerable extent (3.0) or largely throughout (4.0). Against this backdrop, the result provides a clear indication that the benefits of digitalization in the area of outbound logistics and the monitoring of machines and systems are not yet being realized. Valuable potential for supporting employees in outgoing goods, which can lead to shorter delivery times, greater efficiency and ultimately increased customer satisfaction, often remains untapped, even though it is relatively easy to implement.

Outstanding individual results by degree of digitization. © Abas

The companies surveyed are somewhat more advanced in terms of procurement. In a large number of companies, procurement requirements are determined by the ERP system and corresponding requirements proposals from the ERP system are checked by the planner or purchaser. The value here is 2.74 or 2.65. This effectively avoids supply bottlenecks. The frontrunner, however, is the transfer of outgoing invoices via the Internet - at 2.84, this is the highest value determined in the digitalization test and is therefore implemented in many companies, at least to a considerable extent. In contrast, a maturity level of 1.68 for the transfer of outgoing invoices via EDI means that there is virtually no evidence of use, and the importing of incoming invoices via Smart Transfer or EDI also received an approval rating of 1.68 in the digitalization test and is therefore still not an established practice among SMEs.