12 January 2016, 08:05
At the “Meeting Rome 2015” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Fassi crane, Giovanni Fassi, CEO of Fassi Gru, spoke to 60 distributors from all over the world.
His speech was a significant moment of reflection and a realistic reading of the current and future markets.
Managing an organisation is not easy, even at the best of times, and it is particularly difficult when the news constantly reminds you that everything you thought you knew about the way the world works seems to be unpredictable. Or at least devoid of any logic. The fortunes of industries, companies, products, technologies and even of countries and cities, are changing rapidly in a completely uncontrolled way.
This new world is radically changing some of the paradigms. A radically different world is taking shape. The operating system of the world economy is being rewritten. The balance of power in the world economy is shifting to the South East at a speed never seen before. In 2000, 95% of the most important international companies had their headquarters in developed countries; studies tell us that by the year 2025 almost half of the major firms in the world will be in emerging countries.
Another driving force of change is surely represented by the degree to which the world is much more connected through trade and the movement of capital, people and information.
We live in an era of rapid and exponential change. The economy, and more generally the global dynamics, continue to evolve at a faster and faster pace, and it is no longer possible to maintain pre-established positions. The world is changing and this inevitably changes our point of view too.
What is the significance of all this for Fassi? Many times we have said “we'll never do that”, but we have had to change our minds. Since 2009, the crisis has definitely made us much more sensitive to changes in the market, making us rethink our future tactics.
With the new system of shared knowledge, with the ability to easily access content and information anywhere through digital means, a greater sensitivity and awareness has developed: now the “knowledge” is more accessible than ever before. But that's not all, people today like to be “co-creators”, to be directly involved in the object they require, in order to create customised solutions. This is precisely why the role of intermediaries is tending to decrease. Disintermediation first of all touches the intimate and spiritual aspects, ahead of the social and finally the purely physical ones.
All of this is also happening in the context of knowledge and in the forms of learning. Today people tend to acquire information in an increasingly independent and thorough way. They do it in depth, using various approaches - horizontal, vertical and transverse - turning to new sources and making the most of sharing through social media. The institutions related to the world of information and learning no longer have the same power and the same role that they had before.
The same process is taking place in the relationship between the consumer and the products. Through digital technologies, the internet and the development of e-commerce solutions, people can reach out and communicate with brands in a much more direct way. The dynamics of distribution are changing and are becoming more and more “disintermediate”.
This is a growing trend in a world where, generally speaking, the mature economies are suffering, particularly in some areas, and especially in the more technical, scientific and innovative fields.
In the areas where in-depth knowledge is required, the intermediary is still essential because it meets the specific needs of individuals through a mechanism involving information, consideration, choice and confidence. But we don't know if it will always be like this.
What does all this mean for Fassi? It means that we consciously listen and observe, focusing our attention on all possible developments. We do not want to find ourselves unprepared, we want to stay vigilant and, if necessary, ready to respond in the best way possible, together with our network, which is present in every corner of the world.
Therefore, if the premise of this speech is correct, we must seriously consider the prospect of change in our paradigms, if we want to continue to have a future.
Taking a new path can be frightening. But for every step we take, we understand how fatal it would have been to stand still. Today we can look backwards and see how far we have travelled, but we are also prepared to look ahead.
Always ahead!
Source: PREWE Presse weltweit, Fassi Ladekrane GmbH