Digital transformation is an inevitable trend of high-quality development of SMEs in the context of the digital economy. At present, the digital transformation of Chinese SMEs has problems of insufficient understanding of transformation, weak transformation capabilities / weak digital foundation, lack of capital investment, and insufficient talent supply. Based on the analysis of the current status of China's development, drawing on the experience of German
SMEs 'digital transformation initiatives, the policy recommendations for China's SMEs' digital transformation are formed.
1 Introduction
Relevant research by the China Institute of Information and Communications pointed out that the digital economy is based on digital knowledge and information as the key production factors, with
digital technology innovation as the core driving force, and through the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, continuously improve the digitalization and intelligence of traditional industries. To accelerate the reconstruction of the new economic form of economic development and government governance. The characteristic of the digital economy is that data has become the latest key production factor, and digital technology innovation provides a constant source of power. Under this background, enterprises 'production, organization, and marketing models are accelerating changes, and enterprises' digital transformation has become a future development trend. At present, large enterprises have begun to explore, but there are still various problems in
the digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises as an important subject of the microeconomics.
2 The meaning of enterprise digital transformation
Taken together, it can be considered that
the enterprise's digital transformation refers to the enterprise's full use of digital capabilities to adapt or promote its own major changes in customers and markets, thereby forming digital channels and marketing, intelligent production and manufacturing, intelligent support and control, digital products and Services, business model innovation, etc. Enterprise digitization is different from automation and informatization. Enterprise automation focuses on the automatic realization of production line operations, and the technical embodiment is to use industrial equipment to replace labor; informatization will show that the business process is solidified in the computer, focusing on the management dimension, mainly through information software to fix the process, so as to achieve production efficiency improvement and operation management Optimization, etc .; Digitalization covers the entire process of production, marketing, operation, and management. The Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, and intelligent technologies are applied to enterprises. The focus is on deeply exploring the value of data in production, management, and service processes, making data services For production and decision-making. Automation and informatization are the basis for the development of digitization, and digitization is the advanced development stage of automation and informatization.
3 The causes and problems of the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in my country
3.1 Analysis of the dynamics of digital transformation of SMEs in China
From a macro perspective, the contemporary economic society is in a transition from the traditional technological economic paradigm to the digital economic paradigm driven by the innovative application of digital technology economy. The new round of scientific and technological revolution brought by digitalization will bring an unprecedented strategy for China's economic development. Sexual opportunities and directional guidance. The popularization of information technology has caused major changes in industrial development conditions and market demand characteristics. Public manufacturing and social innovation are showing their unique vitality. SMEs have become the main body of the new ecology of endogenous regional industrial organizations. At the same time, SMEs account for more than 90% of the number of Chinese enterprises, contribute more than 50% of taxes, and solve more than 80% of the employment of urban laborers. Whether China can successfully realize the digital transformation and upgrading of the main body of SMEs is China's seizing the opportunity to achieve the The key to kinetic energy conversion.
3.2 Problems in the digital transformation of SMEs in my country
From the perspective of cognition, corporate leaders and supervisors still have insufficient knowledge of digitalization, but they have only a preliminary understanding of the concept, and little is known about why and how to carry out digital transformation. Digital transformation is not so much a technical issue as a management issue. In addition to software and hardware deployment, it also involves multiple dimensions such as enterprise organization management, business processes, and corporate culture. Therefore, the action capabilities and team capabilities required for
digital transformation determine The effect of enterprises' digital transformation.
From the perspective of capability / digital foundation, the digital transformation capabilities and foundations of SMEs are different, and the development foundations of different industries, regions and enterprises are uneven. In view of the manufacturing industry with rapid digital transformation, most SMEs are currently in the industrial 2.0-3.0 stage, with weak foundations and coexistence of automation, informatization, and digitization. Compared with the high-end equipment industry fields such as machinery and automobile manufacturing, labor-intensive SMEs represented by consumer goods, food, clothing, etc. have strong industry characteristics such as family and regional limitations, and the impact of digitalization on them Relatively limited, how to avoid the impact and influence of digitalization and globalization competition is also a problem that needs continuous attention.
4 Lessons learned from the digital transformation of German SMEs
The digital transformation of German SMEs has contributed tremendously to the development of advanced manufacturing in Germany and German innovation. Its experience and practices have important implications for the digital transformation of SMEs in China. German SMEs account for 99.7% of the total number of German companies, and the company's net economic value added accounts for half of the country. It is an important force for German economic growth and has a prominent contribution to employment. Research shows that SMEs account for more than 60% of German employment.
At present, there are certain problems in
the digital transformation of German SMEs. A survey by the German Federal Information Economy, Communication and Media Association of 364 small and medium-sized business owners who are practicing digitization or embarking on a digital transformation shows that the top four factors hindering the digital transformation of German small and medium-sized enterprises are excessive investment, data protection requirements, and lack of Professional talents, data security needs. To promote the digital transformation of SMEs, the German Federal Government has adopted the following measures.
From the perspective of top-level design, in August 2014, Germany introduced the "New High-Tech Strategy-Innovation for Germany" strategy, which means that Germany has taken digitalization as an important strategic development direction and began to focus on digital transformation of SMEs. And from the policy level to provide financial support for this. In March 2016, the German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs released the "Digital Strategy 2025", which describes the objectives of the key areas of digitization and proposes to help SMEs actively participate in the digitalization process. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, as the competent government department of the German
SMEs digital transformation strategy, took the lead to build a relatively complete SME-digital framework, mainly including SME 4.0, e-commerce standards and other key areas. The German Federal Government has established 17 regional competition centers for SMEs 4.0 across the country, focusing on digital production and work processes, providing technical and testing services for SMEs. In addition, 6 professional centers have been set up to promote digitalization related policies for SMEs , Publicity, consulting and other services.
5 Policy recommendations for the digital transformation of China's SMEs
By analyzing the current status of China's SMEs 'digital transformation and drawing on Germany's relevant experience, the following suggestions can be made for the development of China's SMEs' digital transformation.
First, strengthen policy guidance and carry out precise measures. According to the type and characteristics of the industry, a guiding, supporting policy system with strong pertinence, strong operability, and precision is introduced, and innovative policy trials related to the digital transformation of enterprises are carried out. At the same time, further improve the application standards of the digital technology industry, regulate and manage
digital technology related industries, and provide a good and orderly external environment for the digital transformation of SMEs.
The second is to strengthen capital guarantees and reduce transformation concerns. Combined with national policy ideas and regional reality, set up special digital funds for SMEs, rationally formulate financial budgets, simplify and shorten the process for SMEs to declare and approve, and give full play to the leverage effect of financial funds. Strengthen the performance tracking and evaluation of digital special funds for small and medium-sized enterprises to ensure the efficiency of investment and use of funds and resources.
The third is to build an ecosystem and strengthen public services. Under the wave of digitization, many industrial alliances, industry associations or other forms of industrial organizations with leading enterprises as the core and active participation of scientific research institutions and colleges and universities have emerged in China. We should actively guide the alliance or association to build multi-party resource docking for SMEs, Achievement sharing and benefit sharing mechanisms encourage SMEs to actively integrate into the ecology. Actively build an industrial public service system that provides technology empowerment, organizational empowerment and management empowerment for SME groups, including open technology and technology service platforms, standards, inspection and testing platforms, resource docking and promotion service platforms, etc.
The fourth is to improve the awareness of transformation and strengthen talent protection. Increase the digital publicity, training and guidance of the responsible persons of SMEs, and improve the endogenous power and ability of enterprises to carry out digital transformation and upgrading. Give full play to the government's guiding role in recruiting talents, increase the strength and sustainability of talent introduction policies, and build a digital talent training base for small and medium-sized enterprises by government and enterprise schools to continuously enrich the digital talent reserve.
