At the Competence Centre eStandards Day of “eStandards in Practice”, Companies Report on Their Digitalisation Projects and Share Strategies and Solutions @ZukunftDigital What do lighthouses and digitalisation have in common? Not much at first glance. But like lighthouses, the lighthouse projects already implemented by small and medium-sized companies with the help of the Competence Centre eStandards offer orientation and have a signal effect on further digitalisation projects. To bring these projects together and inspire other Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Competence Centre eStandards organised a free “eStandards in Practice” theme day in November in Cologne. Titled “Lighthouse projects: Sustainable and economical digitalisation – strategies and solutions from the user’s point of view”, SMEs reported on their own digitalisation projects. The participants experienced first-hand which learnings, recipes and standards can be used to implement digital solutions. The workshop on sustainability, lead by Patrik Eisenhauer (CSCP), was well-received during the theme day. First-hand experiences on the topic were provided by FOND OF, a backpack company from Cologne who developed a sustainable return and recycling scheme and looked into circular economy solutions with the help of Competence Centre experts. “SMEs have the opportunity to receive very practical input on how to make their business models more resilient and to prepare their value chains for the future by thinking digitalisation and sustainability together. We see the positive effects of this type of thinking in many lighthouse projects, not just those that were specifically focused on sustainability”, comments Patrik Eisenhauer. In addition to practical reports and workshops, the theme day offered hands-on eStandards experiences. During guided tours through the Cologne Open Workshop and the Mobile Open Workshop, visitors experienced how artificial intelligence is changing shopping in the future (“Shopper’s Experience”). The “Technologies Experience” demonstrated the advantages of using standards in a vivid and playful way with everyday examples. In the Mobile Workshop, visitors were able to experience first-hand applications of additive manufacturing with 3D scanning and printing, virtual reality and smart building installations. Mittelstand 4.0 Kompetenzzentrum eStandards The Mittelstand 4.0 Kompetenzzentrum eStandards is an initiative of Mittelstand-Digital. Mittelstand-Digital informs small and medium-sized enterprises about the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation. Regional Kompetenzzentren help local small retailers as well as larger production companies with expert knowledge, demonstration centres, and networks to facilitate the exchange of experiences and practical examples. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy enables the free use of all Mittelstand-Digital offerings. Further information can be found at www.mittelstand-digital.de. For further information, please contact Patrik Eisenhauer. Photo © Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum eStandards