We are still fascinated by the impressions we gained last week at the eCC in the St. Wendler Golfhotel. 

Things got off to a relaxed start on Day 1 with a get-to-know round and moderated icebreaker session on the conference motto "Digital Sales - A Look at Tomorrow's Sales!". Despite different opinions and diverse company-internal approaches, the participants agreed that given the increasing number of digital inquiries connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, topics such as customer centricity, seamless system integration, and standardization of the customer journey, among others, must come into focus. A news flash, in which our CEO Mesut Cengiz gave a brief update on new product releases and customer projects, was followed by a lively evening program with extreme athlete and motivational coach Joey Kelly starting at 7 pm. His advice, "Do it or leave it!" was particularly memorable as it became the "unofficial" guiding principle of the event over the two days.

With the new acquaintances and insights from day 1 in tow, the event continued on Thursday with engaging customer presentations, informative showcases, and stimulating discussion panels. KiM kicked things off with a presentation by its customer, Lamilux, followed by two showcases from our partners on the subject of 3D visualization and PIM. Right after the lunch break, our showcase was on the agenda. In a remarkable contribution, the project manager duo Carina Speicher and Thorsten Freichel explained how the digital commerce solution was implemented in three sub-projects at Dunkermotoren. The combination of a configurator, a webshop, and 3D visualization ensures a more efficient sales process and a significant relief for the sales department, despite a highly complex and extensive industrial product portfolio.

The presentation was followed in the afternoon by an impressive presentation on "Digital Marketing - The New Digital Sales?" by Jochen Geiger, Vice President of Marketing & Innovation at Witzenmann Group - which we count among our oldest customers. "Customers don't distinguish between marketing and sales," Geiger said. "They want a compelling customer journey, and to achieve this, marketing and sales structures must increasingly grow together," concluded the marketing specialist.

Before the event day was concluded with the annual raffle,  the partners deepened the topics of CPQ, 3D, and PIM within the three parallel Open Spaces. During the Plan Software roundtable, CEO Kevin Dewi and Dr. Darlene Whitaker, responsible for Corporate Development and Marketing, discussed the critical success factors of CPQ. They highlighted the extent to which Configure Price Quote solutions support the customer journey in the B2B sector, standing in front of a flip chart featuring a colorful drawing of a superheroine.

After two days full of new acquaintances, enriching insights, and impressive presentations, the general conclusion is as simple as it is radical: B2B companies have to include the topic of digitization in their list of priorities when it comes to change management. Only if employees are aware of its importance can a company implement digital measures and thus actively set itself apart from competitors. Long story short: Staying on the ball for digitization is worthwhile - even in B2B. You could almost think that Joey Kelly had already guessed it!