‘Achieving digital excellence is our vision.’

How a company can bring technology, culture and employees together to successfully implement a digital transformation.

A success story from Früh Verpackungstechnik AG

Custom packaging solutions, contract packaging, engineering and laboratory services
Locations in Switzerland and the USA
650 employees

Früh Verpackungstechnik AG is creating a new, networked work culture with the SAIL initiative and Microsoft 365.
A five-step playbook guides the project team through the digital transformation.
The result of the transformation: greater agility, open knowledge sharing and a measurable gain in efficiency.

When everyone’s on board: how Früh Verpackungstechnik AG set a course to digital transformation

Früh Verpackungstechnik AG develops and manufactures sophisticated packaging solutions for the medical and pharmaceutical industries – sectors that demand the highest standards of quality and safety. The family-owned company takes both requirements very seriously. Precision is a must, and trust forms the basis. These values cannot be guaranteed by technology alone. In the digital world, a corporate culture in which cooperation and participation are a matter of course is just as crucial. With the digital transformation, Früh Verpackungstechnik was therefore faced with a key question: How can future work be sustainably anchored in everyday working life?

Five steps, one common goal

Future Work describes how new technologies, values and forms of collaboration are changing the world of work. As a guide for this multidimensional change, Früh Verpackungstechnik implemented the SAIL (Secure Agile Innovation & Information Platform) model, which aims to bring technology, culture and employees into sync. A playbook with five iterative steps serves as a guideline for digital transformation. Watch the video with Pirmin Steiner, Head of Digital Transformation at Früh Verpackungstechnik AG, to find out what steps the playbook outlines for implementing SAIL.

Step 1 – Strategic initiative & project management: Every project starts with a clear process. New ideas come not only from management, but above all from the specialist departments. Everyone is allowed to submit ideas.
Step 2 – Identify and prioritise use cases: New ideas are evaluated and prioritised by a steering committee. Stakeholders are involved in the project from the outset through stakeholder mapping. Responsibility remains with the initiator, but the project is supported by everyone.
Step 3 – Implement & integrate projects: Prioritised projects are implemented promptly, and the necessary resources are planned. New projects are implemented iteratively and agilely. Tools such as Microsoft DevOps help to combine regulatory requirements with project agility. New solutions start as a minimum viable product.
Step 4 – Standardise & reflect on best practice: The minimum viable product is shared with small test groups and feedback is gathered. If something does not work as planned, it is improved iteratively. The experiences gained are used to create training material that is made available to all employees.
Step 5 – Train and support employees: Change management or project managers actively support the transition. Resistance is addressed openly. The goal: actively share knowledge and tackle tasks together so that new ideas can emerge.

From guidelines to real change

To enable employees to actively experience and help shape SAIL, Früh Verpackungstechnik created a digital community – the Sailors' Club. Employees share their knowledge, newly gained experiences and ideas on the intranet, in brown bag sessions or at joint workshops. Microsoft Copilot helps to process and share content more quickly. Individual initiatives by the project team have grown into a movement. New tools such as Microsoft Power Platform are being used and expanded independently by the workforce. For example, employees jointly developed an app for occupational safety that can be used to digitally report accidents or illnesses. Digitalisation is no longer perceived as an abstract IT task, but as part of the company's corporate identity.

'Our employees no longer see digitalisation as just an IT project, but as part of their daily work. That makes us proud.'

Pirmin Steiner, Head of Digital Transformation, Früh Verpackungstechnik AG

Staying on course together

Change management means more than just introducing new processes. The trust that develops when everyone is on board is crucial. Together with Swisscom, the project team at Früh Verpackungstechnik AG supported the change process with practical training and close cooperation. Today, decisions are made more quickly, processes are more agile and knowledge flows freely throughout the company. Small milestones and major successes are celebrated with employees. What began as a project has developed into a sustainable movement and shows that involving employees is the key to successfully driving forward digital Transformation.

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