Volker Pfirsching

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Partner

Head, Global Digital Competence Center

Germany

Volker is a pioneer in digital shift and has deep expertise in comprehensive and successful digital transformation.

Areas of Focus

Education

University of Regensburg

Diplom-Wirtschaftsinformatiker (Business Information Systems)

University of Regensburg

Graduate of Intercultural Negotiations

Volker A. Pfirsching is a Partner at Arthur D. Little based in Munich. He is a member of the Central European Management Board and heads the global Digital Competence Center.

As a thought leader in Digital Disruption, Volker is engaged in many large-scale transformation projects, touching business and technology alike. He is founder of the Arthur D. Little Digital Center of Excellence and organizer and facilitator of Arthur D. Little digital roundtables, bringing together top executives to exchange in digital challenges.

After his studies, Volker joined the company in 2002 and has been a Partner since 2012. He has led a large number of client projects in Europe and abroad, focusing on successful and holistic digital transformations covering all aspects from strategy, business, technology and the essential “human factor”.

Beyond systems

Digitalization has become embedded within large businesses, with recent advances in AI accelerating the process even further. While we still need more progress, the fusion of business and IT functions is ever present, as “softwarization” of companies proceeds apace. IT functions need to recognize this pace of change and evolve toward being true strategic advisers to the business, driving innovation. In this Viewpoint, we examine some practical approaches for CIOs to bring about change.

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Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)

The AI-amplified telco

AI represents a game changer for the telco industry. Although first movers have already embraced AI, separating hype from opportunity remains challenging. Becoming an AI-amplified telco calls for more than being fascinated by the technology’s potential and piloting use cases. This Viewpoint focuses on the necessary building blocks to exploit AI’s 5%-7% EBITDA potential and outlines how to achieve lasting success by analyzing the full picture, including technology, AI governance, and culture.

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11 technology trends for post-crisis success

Dr. Fabian Doemer, Michael Kolk, Volker Pfirsching, Philipp Mudersbach

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Financial Services

Achieving excellence in insurance claims management

Volker Pfirsching, Borja de la Cuesta

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE In today’s mature and hypercompetitive insurance market, insurance companies’ growth within their core business is often limited to winning customers from other insurers. Therefore, as this growth strategy results in high customer acquisition costs, it is critical for insurance companies to boost loyalty to ensure profitability.

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Unleashing innovation in IT

Michael Majster, Frédéric Rosès, Volker Pfirsching, Fabian Sempf, Rick Eagar

IT is still often seen as inflexible and costly Digitalization has been at the top of the strategic agenda for over a decade (see Figure 1). IT assets, and the function that manages them, are usually seen as the backbone of the digitalization effort.

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Healthcare & Life Sciences

Krankenhäuser im digitalen Zeitalter

Volker Pfirsching, Marius Romanescu

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RPA: Robotic Process Automation

Volker Pfirsching, Bernd Schreiber, Marius Romanescu

Executive Briefing Series An 8-part series to be updated weekly from July to September 2019 RPA is changing the way processes are automated. In the following guide we will give insights what RPA is, what can be expected by RPA – now and in future - and how to enable a fast operationalization and scaling of process automation by RPA.

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The flywheel concept – A powerful foundation for a successful digital shift

Philipp Mudersbach, Volker Pfirsching

Today’s corporate world requires companies to look for a clear purpose for their business ventures, other than solely maximizing profits. This purpose, or in other words, the “why”, is essential for future success in an ever-changing and more and more digital business environment – to convince not only customers of the company’s offerings, but also investors of opportunities and employees of the company’s strategy.

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Implementing a digital shift

Fabian Sempf, Dr. Fabian Doemer, Volker Pfirsching

Today, every company wants and needs to become digital. However, what this actually entails will be different depending on the industry, size of the company, and competitive environment. Businesses essentially need to find the right degree of digitalization – their digital “equilibrium”. By exploring some of the key problems traditional businesses face on their digital journeys, and how to overcome them, this article outlines how every business can realize the digital shift and create equilibrium.

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Volker A. Pfirsching is a Partner at Arthur D. Little based in Munich. He is a member of the Central European Management Board and heads the global Digital Competence Center.