Various companies are working to manage digitization and its effects, and it is essential that they find the right way of thinking about this. However, many do not understand even the most basic steps of the process, which leads to development problems. To drive development, it is necessary to change one’s way of approaching this issue.
The aim of this research was to identify the weaknesses, strengths, dangers, and trends in the market and those measures, potentials, and steps to changing one’s way of thinking to advance digitization in Germany. With this in mind, the following research question was posed: to what extent do the weaknesses, strengths, dangers, fears, potentials and trends in backward digitization in Germany depend on one another? To answer the research question, personal interviews were conducted, alongside original research and interviews with renowned companies. The interviewees were divided into three groups: manufacturers, wholesalers, and food retailers. The interview partners were sought from throughout Germany. Each group had an adapted questionnaire. The questions were divided into three categories: weaknesses; potential dangers, fears; and potentials, strengths and trends.
Problems were clearly identified in all three categories that can be traced back to the greatest weakness in Germany at the moment: mindset. All three groups are evidently influenced by this weakness, with progress in digitization increasingly falling behind.
On this basis, the findings of this study indicate that it is advisable to hire younger employees, purchase entire teams, support start-up promotions in the company, and renew the own views of the entire topic. Further research could consider renewal of the own views of the individual components.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Theoretical background
- Strong food retailers and their digitization
- Food wholesaler and their digitization
- Suppliers and manufacturers
- Food retail trends
- Transfer performance
- International digitization of food retailers and wholesalers
- Analysis from the Cartel Office of the food retailers
- Food wholesalers and retailer weaknesses
- Fears and potential dangers for food wholesalers and retailers
- Strengths, trends, and potentials for the food market
- German food retail in the future
- Three steps to digital understanding
- Research method
- Determination of the analysis units
- Interview guide
- Introduction of experts
- Results and interpretation
- "Weaknesses" – the results
- "Fears and potential dangers" – the results
- "Strengths, trends, potentials for the food market" – the results
- Interpretation of the "weaknesses" category
- Interpretation of the "fears and potential dangers” category
- Interpretation of the “strengths, potentials, and trends” category
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This research aims to investigate the digitization challenges faced by food retailers and wholesalers in Germany. It analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, dangers, and trends of digitization in the sector, exploring the factors that hinder or facilitate its adoption.
- Obstacles to digitization in the German food industry
- Key trends and potential opportunities in the digitization of food retail and wholesale
- The impact of mindset and cultural factors on the adoption of digitization
- Recommendations for enhancing digitization in the German food industry
- International perspectives on digitization in the food sector
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction sets the stage for the study, outlining the importance of digitization in the food sector and highlighting the challenges faced by German companies. Chapter 2 delves into the theoretical background, examining the specific challenges of digitization for food retailers, wholesalers, and suppliers. The analysis then shifts to "Transfer performance" in Chapter 3, exploring the international landscape of food retail and wholesale digitization. Chapter 3 further analyzes weaknesses, fears, and potential dangers in the German food sector, before identifying strengths, trends, and potential opportunities. Chapter 4 details the research methodology employed, including the interview process and analysis of data. It presents the results and interpretations of the research findings, offering insights into the key challenges and opportunities in the German food industry.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Digitization, food retail, food wholesale, German market, strengths, weaknesses, trends, dangers, potential, mindset, cultural factors, research methodology, interviews, case studies, international perspectives.
- Quote paper
- Oleg Korob (Author), 2019, The critical study of food retailers versus wholesalers. Opportunities of digitization in the international market, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1191043