2022 was a year of transition to a certain normality after two years marked by the coronavirus. Pharmacists and their teams have done an enormous amount of work to meet the needs of the population in a professional and competent manner. As in other areas of healthcare, the volume of work in pharmacies is increasing, and fatigue is becoming noticeable among the teams, as well as a shortage of professionals.

After the pandemic - the time of scarcity

For several months, pharmacy teams have faced difficulties stemming from drug supply shortages. This week, according to www.drugshortage.ch 781 medicines (a total of almost 1000 different packages!) are not available in Switzerland. This affects more than 361 active ingredients. In hospital and public pharmacies, supply interruptions cause enormous logistical and safety problems and tie up considerable personnel resources. Costs estimated at ½ to 1 day per week for a public pharmacy are not covered. Fortunately, thanks to the expertise of pharmacists, major problems can be avoided when treatment needs to be changed. In some cases, they can even make medications themselves to cover shortages.

This situation, which pharmaSuisse, the umbrella organization of pharmacists, has been pointing out for several years, is visibly worsening. The authorities are reluctant to address the problem, the association writes. Therefore, pharmaSuisse will participate in the launch of the popular initiative "Yes to medical care security" this spring as part of a broad alliance of experts and partners in the healthcare sector.

Pharmacists - health care stakeholders whose full potential is not being realized

Pharmacists and their teams could provide much more valuable services in the healthcare system. However, this requires that the authorities integrate them into the system on a permanent basis and not just call them in when there is a major health crisis. 

The Federal Council has recognized the potential of pharmacies in its second package of measures for cost containment in the OKP (compulsory health care insurance), which is why it is proposing the amendment of Article 25 and a new paragraph in Article 26 KVG. This will (finally) create the possibility of providing services that are covered by the basic insurance, for example in the area of prevention (e.g. vaccinations) and pharmaceutical services, such as support in adherence to therapy or the analysis of complicated medications. The aforementioned services must be effective, appropriate and economical (WZW criteria) and have a demonstrable cost-reducing effect. Discussions on this second package have already begun in the National Council's Commission for Social Security and Health. 

With the amendment of the Medical Profession Act (MedBG) in 2015 and the Therapeutic Products Act (HMG) in 2016, the legislature has helped to consolidate the role of pharmacies within primary health care. "Nevertheless, the population is still not sufficiently aware that they can also seek medical advice in pharmacies. Pharmacists have the basic knowledge to diagnose and treat common health problems and diseases. In today's situation of overburdened emergency rooms, they are in a position to triage patients, offer them a solution, and thus relieve the burden on emergency rooms and primary care practices for simple cases. There is no question about it! " says Martine Ruggli, President of pharmaSuisse. 

The revision of the distribution share enjoys broad consensus

In a tense economic climate with healthcare costs continuing to rise, mainly for social reasons, medicines are regularly the number one target. In this context, the price and distribution of generic drugs as well as the distribution share come into focus. At the end of 2022, under the aegis of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), a consensus on the revision of the distribution share (Art. 38 KLV) was reached between the service providers (FMH, APA Association of Doctors with Patient Pharmacies, H+ The Hospitals of Switzerland, GSASA Swiss Association of Official and Hospital Pharmacists, Swiss Pharmacists Association pharmaSuisse) and curafutura, unfortunately without the support of santésuisse. This consensus will correct the negative incentives and increase the use of generics. Its immediate savings potential is estimated at 60 million Swiss francs and subsequently, through a higher proportion of generics, potentially 100 million. The ball is now in the EDI's court.

Outlook 2023

Pharmacists support the Federal Council's efforts to curb the increase in healthcare costs, pharmaSuisse said in its statement to the media. These savings would not be made by attacking the margins of inexpensive medicines, but the way forward is clearly to further expand the services pharmacies provide to patients, it said. In this sense, pharmaSuisse hopes that 2023 will be a key year for pharmacies with the relaxation of the KVG corset (Art. 25 and 26 of the second package of measures) and the revision of the distribution share.

In the area of digitization of the healthcare system, a national solution for a legally compliant, secure electronic prescription that can be used in all pharmacies is to be introduced in 2023 together with the FMH. The targeted solution will be user-friendly for patients, physicians and pharmacists. On the roadmap of the umbrella organization of pharmacists are several projects to improve the knowledge and perception of pharmacy services among the population. This with the aim to better distribute the current burden of the primary care system among the service providers, to continue the interprofessional cooperation as well as to promote the professions in pharmacy and to secure the next generation and to offer high-quality services to the population.

Source: pharmaSuisse

The year 2023 should be a priority for every company to improve business productivity. Regardless of the size of the company, productivity is the fuel for growth and thriving. High productivity means the company is using its resources as effectively as possible. The most productive companies have realized that they can leverage innovative technologies and software, such as no-code platforms, to collect, source and analyze data to solve complex business challenges. With No-Code's simple building block approach, complex tasks can be completed in weeks instead of months or years. However, this advantage can only be realized if critical data is shared across the enterprise and across all teams. This is where No-Code database software comes in. 

Efficiency and adaptability are in the foreground

As data increasingly becomes a commodity, its use is also changing. Free-flowing data benefits companies in the technology and digital sectors as well as those in traditional industries such as manufacturing, banking, retail, healthcare and the public sector. Nearly all industries rely on the ability to share data across teams or analyze it in real time as a fundamental requirement for their daily operations. "Given the tight economic climate in 2023, productivity has become even more important for companies with tight budgets and resources. In this economic environment, companies need to prioritize efficiency and adaptability to increase productivity and unlock new cost-saving opportunities, while remaining innovative to stay ahead of the competition," said Olivier Maes, co-founder and CRO of Baserow, an open source no-code database and platform startup based in Amsterdam.

Data optimization and more

So how can companies democratize data and innovation across the enterprise and improve productivity in 2023? To this end, the following three points can be considered:

1. Include all teams: A true culture of data sharing is still rare in companies. This is especially true for sharing data and information outside of a specific department, and even more so for collaboration with external partners. However, modern companies need to think differently about data and collaboration.
   The most innovative companies in 2023 recognize that creating an open data culture for all company employees and participating external partners will lead to more valuable insights to drive performance and productivity. No-code and low-code applications enable data sharing that allows enterprises, partners, and non-technical employees to create customizable workflows and database capabilities that meet all business needs.
   Of course, there are good reasons for companies to protect their data and intellectual property. No-code platforms offer enterprise-grade security options for managing user access permissions and self-hosting capabilities. These security options allow easy access to data while protecting information. Administrators can restrict who can view which data-specific role records. Data sets can be created for specific workgroups without having to access multiple database platforms and sources. "Essentially, the combination of open data cultures and no-code database solutions is a fast, effective way to drive innovation and improve productivity across all departments," Olivier Maes, quoted at the outset, continued. 
2. Put a stop to the rampant SaaS proliferation: Since the pandemic, the average number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications used by enterprises worldwide has increased dramatically. Statista found that organizations will use an average of 110 SaaS solutions in 2021. This represents a 38 percent increase over the past year and a 1,275 percent increase since 2015. This increase in SaaS creates a big blind spot for many organizations, especially the IT team. Too often, SaaS tools are used in isolation, without integrating processes or data. Different business units or departments use different applications for their specific needs. This creates data silos that other departments cannot access.
   The ongoing adoption of SaaS solutions is threatening to spiral out of control. Many teams are regularly overwhelmed by the hundreds of applications and tools they need to do their jobs. Many organizations have multiple applications and options for sharing files, communicating, collaborating and managing productivity. This leads to different departments in the organization working with incomplete or inconsistent data. "SaaS proliferation leads to bloated budgets, not to mention the impact on file store management, passwords, versions, workflows, and roles and responsibilities created by the ad hoc addition of dozens or even hundreds of applications to a company's IT," Olivier Maes explains in more detail. 
3. Deploy no-code platforms: A no-code database platform combined with existing software products provides users with a single source of information on the front end. Using a customized database solution helps departments bring together linked data sets from across the enterprise - from sales, operations, marketing, R&D, product development, and human resources - on a central platform to significantly improve efficiency and performance. This gives all company departments the flexibility to feed data to other software applications and business processes. This reduces the cost of managing multiple vendors and eliminates the need for manual data validation and retrieval. Most importantly, these platforms can be developed quickly and efficiently to meet any business and its complex requirements.
   "Preventing the creation of data silos must be a priority for businesses in 2023. With the free flow of data and insights, it is easier to successfully implement digital transformation initiatives in modern organizations and take businesses to the next level. With a no-code database, the focus is on enabling non-technical users to create their own database to structure information and collaborate effectively," concludes Olivier Maes. 

Source: Baserow

There have been some prominent examples of cyberattacks and data breaches in the last 12 months: Toyota suffered a data breach as a third party was able to gain access to a company server using credentials obtained from source code published on GitHub by a third-party vendor. Cisco also confirmed a cyberattack after an employee's credentials were compromised and the attacker was observed using machine accounts for privileged authentication and lateral movement in the environment. These breaches, facilitated by lateral strategies, mass phishing attacks, and sophisticated ransomware, significantly undermined network security. As we reflect on the past year, while it's important to acknowledge the many successes of security teams, it's also important to learn from the high-profile breaches, said Chad Skipper, global security technologist at VMware. He anticipates these five key challenges for enterprise cybersecurity teams in the coming year:

1. innovative instincts tackle evasion tactics

Threat response innovation was the standout growth area in the industry in 2022. VMware's Global Incident Response Threat Report (GIRTR) found that cybersecurity professionals are actively using new techniques such as virtual patching to respond to incidents and combat cybercriminal activity. Although today's threat actors have an impressive portfolio of evasion tactics, the research found that the majority of cybercriminals go undetected in the target environment for only hours (43 %) or minutes (26 %). Because threat response time is critical to network defense, meeting the savvy threat actors on their own terms is very important to protecting systems. Using innovative tactics to update response techniques is the first line of attack to stop malicious intent before it escalates - and one to focus on in 2023.

2. the new battlefield

You can't stop what you can't see, and lateral movement within an environment is an increasingly large area of attack for security teams, forming the basis of a quarter of all attacks reported in VMware's GIRTR. These infiltration techniques have often been overlooked and underestimated by enterprises this year. In April and May of this year alone, nearly half of the attacks contained a lateral movement event, with most involving the use of remote access tools (RATs) or the use of existing services such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or PsExec. It is likely that cybercriminals will continue to use the Remote Desktop Protocol to masquerade as system administrators in 2023. Looking ahead to the new year, CISOs must prioritize EDR and NDR integration to protect data centers, access points, and critical infrastructure that hackers can infect once they infiltrate external barriers.

3. unsupervised APIs

The next year will continue to see the evolution of first-party access tactics that cybercriminals use to try to gain a foothold in enterprises. A primary goal of such access is to conduct aggressive API attacks against modern infrastructures and exploit workload vulnerabilities within an environment. The majority of traffic within these modern applications is often unmonitored API traffic. This favors lateral movement, as cybercriminals, once they have penetrated the environment, continue to use evasion techniques to bypass detection of VDIs, VMs, and traditional applications. These initial access techniques become more attractive to malicious actors aware of enterprise monitoring limitations, and they will look for vulnerabilities.

4. deepfakes

This year has seen a sharp increase in deepfake attacks. Deepfakes have spread from the entertainment industry to business and enterprises. In fact, two-thirds (66 %) of businesses have reported experiencing a deepfake attack in the last 12 months. Because of this technology, security teams are struggling with false information and identity fraud designed to compromise a company's integrity and reputation. Deepfake attacks identified in emails, mobile messages, voice recordings and social media are flexible enough to become fraudsters' weapon of choice.

In the coming year, the number of deepfakes will continue to rise. Companies need to take proactive measures to mitigate the risk of falling victim to deepfake scams by investing in detection software and employee training to enable them to detect deepfakes.

5. the big red (digital) button

Critical infrastructure faces a year of vulnerability as cybercrime tools will undoubtedly evolve behind the lines. The majority (65 %) of respondents to VMware's GIRTR indicated that the increase in cyberattacks is related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's digital offensive has ushered in a new era of warfare aimed at undermining critical industrial services and crippling infrastructure such as power grids. Ukraine's readiness to respond to threats is critical to its defense, and cyber tactics will undoubtedly become a central component of modern military conflict. Cyber warfare therefore illustrates that vigilance is the be-all and end-all of an effective cybersecurity strategy.

Security boot camp for 2023

Chad Skipper concludes, "Even as we move into a new year, the primary goal of cybercriminals remains the same: obtain the key to the enterprise, steal credentials, move laterally, acquire data, and then monetize it. To improve defense effectiveness in the future, security teams must focus holistically on workloads, examine in-band traffic, integrate NDR with Endpoint Detection and Response EDR, adopt zero-trust principles, and conduct continuous threat hunting. Only with this comprehensive guide can organizations empower their security teams to meet the challenges ahead."

Source: VMware

Hindsight is always wiser - this saying also applies to some building materials that were very popular in the past - when people didn't know any better - but are now considered pollutants. The list of such materials includes some that are currently still installed in many older residential buildings. "As a rule of thumb, we can assume that delicate pollutants can be found in a good half of the buildings built before 1990," says Roger Achermann, owner of Achermann Bau und Sanierung AG in Winterthur. The company has been active in pollutant remediation since 1985. The year 1990 is considered the limit with regard to building pollutants, because from that point on the use of the particularly dangerous asbestos was banned in this country. In addition to asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are also among the sensitive materials that have been used in residential buildings. PCBs are found, for example, in joint sealants on facades, in paints for basement floors, and in fireproof painted surfaces. PAHs, on the other hand, are found in tar-containing products - for example, in old roofing felt or tar coatings in cork insulation in the window area. Asbestos is found, for example, in roofing and siding shingles, as a component of piping or in plasters, cement adhesives for ceramic tiles, electrical panels and on the underside of plastic flooring. "In fact, you can come across asbestos anywhere in a house," says expert Achermann. All three pollutants have one thing in common: As long as the materials in which they are contained are not worked on or damaged, they generally do not release any harmful substances.

Testing before purchase

However, they become an issue during renovation and conversion work. And even when buying a house that is more than thirty years old, you should pay attention: Anyone who buys an old building is usually planning to make changes to it. If you come across pollutants in the process, it can quickly add up to a lot of money. "The professional asbestos removal of up to ten square meters of tiling in a bathroom, for example, quickly costs between 3,000 and 5,000 francs," says Roger Achermann. Costs that you then have to pay as a fresh homeowner in addition to the renovation. "When we advise clients before they buy an old building, we always recommend that a professional building pollutant analysis be carried out," says Veronika Harder, a building consultant from Zurich/Eglisau and a board member of the Chamber of Independent Building Consultants. Depending on the number of samples that have to be taken, this can quickly cost between a hundred and a thousand francs, but it creates budget security and may have another advantage: If there are only a few potential buyers for the property, the expected costs for the remediation of the pollutants can also be included in the purchase price negotiations.

Pollutants: testing before renovation

Anyone who owns a property built before 1990 may also be affected by pollutants. If conversion or renovation work is planned, a pollutant check is also a must. If you are unsure about the pollutants, you are gambling with the health of all the residents and that of the workmen, because released pollutants such as asbestos fibers are easily inhaled and can be distributed in all rooms. If a building permit is required for a remodeling project, the authorities also stipulate that the pollutants must be tested. If the construction work is carried out by professionals, they usually require preliminary clarifications for the relevant properties anyway, regardless of official requirements. "Reputable companies do not carry out work on old buildings without being sure that all pollutants have been removed. This is because contractors bear responsibility for the health of their employees and can also be sanctioned by SUVA in the event of violations," says pollutant remediator Roger Achermann. A specialist is not always needed to search for the pollutants. If, for example, you only want to tear out an old plastic floor covering, you can carry out the sampling yourself using special sampling kits that are available on the Internet. And the costs for professional removal do not always have to be so high, as in the example of the bathroom mentioned above. Components containing harmful substances that are only fastened with screws, for example, can often simply be removed by a craftsman with appropriate care and disposed of in accordance with the applicable guidelines. How to handle which material has also been defined by SUVA in instruction sheets, which craftsmen use as a guide. And even if more extensive remediation by specialists becomes necessary as a result of the test results, it is worth the price several times over - because ultimately it is about the health of everyone involved.

Further information

Information on the subject of asbestos at the Federal Office of Public Health: www.abestinfo.ch

Advice on all aspects of real estate construction: Chamber of Independent Building Consultants www.kub.ch

Limtronik, based in Limburg an der Lahn (Germany), is a Joint Development Manufacturing (JDM) partner and expert in Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). The company accompanies its customers from product development to the final product ready for series production. The company's focus is on the development and production of electronic assemblies as well as customized systems for customers. "Error prevention and quality assurance are top priorities for us as an electronics factory. In addition, we have to meet corresponding standards in some industries. We have therefore already been implementing traceability for several years. The fact that all production data is recorded, documented and evaluated in the course of this also creates the ideal data basis, for example, for developing automated control loops to avoid errors in the production process," explains Gerd Ohl, Managing Director of the company.

Limtronik ensures traceability with a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) from the manufacturer iTAC and two laser markers from SmartRep. These enable each PCB to be marked with an in-house serial number. The laser marker is connected to the MES. The production line only runs if all products have been lasered without errors by the laser and the codes have been assigned. In case of deviations, a complete process interlock of the line takes place.

3D inspection systems for defect detection and process optimization

In addition to the laser markers, inspection systems such as SPI and AOI systems from Koh Young also contribute to automation and quality assurance at Limtronik. The Koh Young solutions are offered and implemented by SmartRep as a service partner.

Koh Young's 3D inspection systems are aimed not only at pure defect detection, but also at controlling and optimizing the entire process. "The solder paste printing process is the most important process for us. If the print is not in order, we get immediate feedback from the Koh Young SPI and can stop and improve the process accordingly," explains Dieter Jung, Head of Technology at Limtronik.

Two Koh Young SPI systems have already been in use since 2011. A third system was added recently. In 2022, the electronics factory also implemented three Koh Young AOI solutions, moving from 2D to 3D inspection technology. The AOI ensures that the quality control of the complete line is displayed. It tracks inspection results across all PCBs and locks the process in the event of poor assembly - preventing serial defects. The AOI stores its data in the MES database. At the end of the process, all data can be retrieved via the database for a unique ID.

Massive reduction of pseudo errors

However, Koh Young's AOI solution goes far beyond fault detection and process interlocking. Trend analyses and histograms can be used to trace the origin of faults and preventive measures can be initiated. In addition, Limtronik can now perform real-time analyses through data evaluation with KSMART. Artificial intelligence is used for programming: Unknown components no longer have to be added to the component library by hand, but are taught by the system itself using Koh Young's auto-programming with the help of artificial intelligence.

"By switching to Koh Young 3D AOI technology, we have been able to reduce our pseudo defects by up to 70-80 percent. This saves us effort and resources that can be used for important tasks in other areas," says Dieter Jung and continues: "Koh Young's solutions have noticeably increased both employee satisfaction and production quality."

Source and further information: Limtronik GmbH

The war in Ukraine does not end on the ground, it continues digitally - cyberwar prevails at the same time. During this period, cyberattacks and the spread of false information increased rapidly. This has also led to an increased demand for IT security services. This suggests: The IT security industry is booming, and stock prices are rising. Shanna Strauss-Frank, Switzerland spokesperson for the investment company Freedom Finance Europe, explains which IT security companies and shares are significant, how they perform and why innovation dominates the industry. 

Accumulation of cyberattacks after the start of the war in Ukraine

Every company will fall victim to a cyber attack sooner or later, warns the German IT industry association Bitkom. While the resulting damage amounted to 103 billion euros in 2018/19, the sum almost doubled to 203 billion euros in 2022.[1] In the third quarter of 2022, global attacks increased by 28 percent year-on-year. On February 27, three days after the official start of the war in Ukraine, Check Point Research reported a 196 percent increase in cyberattacks on Ukraine's military and government sectors.[2] But it wasn't just war-related attacks that characterized the past year. According to an IBM report, companies that use artificial intelligence and automation to detect potential threats and breaches had a 74-day shorter data breach cycle and saved an average of $3 million more.[3] These developments suggest that the need for cyber defense will become increasingly central to enterprises in the coming years.

Cyber stocks affected by tech meltdown only in the short term

Like many other technology stocks, cybersecurity stocks saw strong demand as well as market growth in the early stages of the corona pandemic, as Strauss-Frank explains, "With the shift to digital work, concerns about the need for cybersecurity measures have increased." In recent months, however, the tide has turned: investor expectations have not been met, the Fed has hiked the federal funds rate, and companies in the technology sector have seen sales and share prices plummet. Will this development weaken IT security stocks? Says Strauss-Frank: "Cybersecurity stocks are part of the growth stock segment and these are the first to suffer from an interest rate hike. Despite the temporary downturn, they can be interesting from a long-term perspective, as the current weakness creates opportunities to build positions. And when equity markets recover in general, growth stocks can be among the top performers."

Increasing complexity could dampen flight of fancy

For example, Strauss-Frank says the global cybersecurity market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9 percent between 2022 and 2027 - reaching a value of $266 billion by then. But Strauss-Frank warns, "Cyberattacks can be expected to become more complex in the coming years. That presents new challenges for implementing security solutions and could hinder market growth." The future development of the market also depends heavily on political and social tensions. Examples of this include the hacking attacks during the 2020 U.S. elections and the serious increase in cyberattacks on healthcare in the wake of the pandemic.

Innovation as an elementary survival strategy

There is also the question of whether in the cyber market, as in the technology industry, individual big players will be able to dominate the market. "Certainly there are some well-established and large players, but a significant number of smaller, specialized companies can also be found that are successful by focusing on specific market areas with innovative products and services," Strauss-Frank says. In the industry, he says, it is essential to keep up with the latest trends, identify potential future threats and constantly innovate to stay ahead of the competition. For entrenched operations, this can be a challenge if their processes are outdated. Smaller, more agile cybersecurity providers might be able to respond more quickly to developments. That's why, for example, the big player in the cloud security market Palo Alto Networks acquired over a dozen young cloud developers in recent years.

Significant cybersecurity vendors and stocks

For both individuals and organizations, cybersecurity is a growing necessity and effective security measures are taking a high priority. "Accordingly, private individuals are increasingly using antivirus software or VPNs. Cloud-based services to protect their own devices, such as a password manager, are also popular here. Companies, on the other hand, often require more complex security measures," explains Strauss-Frank, pointing to other cybersecurity stocks worth mentioning: "In terms of revenue, software provider Fortinet is one of the most profitable IT security companies, along with Palo Alto Networks. Both companies are forecasting double-digit percentage revenue growth in the coming years." CrowdStrike Holding and Zscaler are also cloud providers with potential, according to Strauss-Frank. Finally, she adds, "Okta's identity management software could be in high demand in an increasingly mobile and cloud-based world."

Sources:

[1] https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/Wirtschaftsschutz-2022#item-16370-close

[2] https://blog.checkpoint.com/2022/10/26/third-quarter-of-2022-reveals-increase-in-cyberattacks/

[3] https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach

The Allianz Risk Barometer 2023 is all about continuity and change: cyber incidents and business interruptions are considered to be in the second year in a row as the biggest business risks worldwide (both with 34% of all responses). They are followed in third place by macroeconomic developments such as inflation, financial market volatility and the threat of recession. In Switzerland, the energy crisis in particular is increasingly causing headaches for companies, and the risk has moved straight into second place with 48% - ahead of business interruption, which topped the rankings for many years. In contrast, both natural disasters (from 3rd to 6th) and climate change risks (from 6th to 7th) have dropped in the rankings worldwide. The same is true for the outbreak of a pandemic (from 4th to 13th) - with the availability of vaccines, Covid 19 restrictions have largely been lifted in most countries. Political risk and violence has made it to 10th place, while shortage of skilled labor rises to 8th. Changes in legislation and regulation remains a relevant risk in 5th place, while fire/explosion drops two positions to 9th.

Cyber incidents in Switzerland again in first place

With regard to Switzerland, concerns about cyber incidents top the ranking, as in the previous year, with 57% of responses. But the discussions about the electricity shortage have not failed to have an impact either: energy risks, for example, have entered the Allianz Risk Barometer as a new category right away in second place with 48%. Business interruption - for many years the biggest concern for companies - has dropped to 3rd place with 41% of responses. Political risks and violence, also a new category, are already in 4th place (20%), followed by changes in legislation and regulation (18%) and natural disasters (18%). At the other end of the scale, fear of the consequences of climate change ranks 10th, while the outbreak of a pandemic no longer makes it into the top 10 of the biggest corporate risks in Switzerland.

Allianz Risk Barometer 2023 shows companies in permacrisis

Joachim Müller, CEO of AGCS, comments on the results: "For the second year in a row, the Allianz Risk Barometer shows that companies currently see themselves most at risk from cyber incidents and business interruptions. At the same time, they see inflation, an impending recession and the energy crisis as immediate threats to their business. Businesses - especially in Europe and the U.S. - are concerned about the ongoing 'perma-crisis' resulting from the aftermath of the pandemic and the economic and political impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The current situation is a stress test for any company. The positive news is that as an insurer, we are seeing continued improvements in resilience and risk management among many of our clients. Many companies have made their supply chains more resilient, are better equipped to withstand disruptions to their business operations, and have strengthened their cyber controls. Becoming more resilient and managing risk better has been a key task for many companies in recent years."

Digital and disruptive threats

Cyber incidents, such as IT outages, ransomware attacks or data breaches, are ranked as the most important risk - globally - for the second year in a row. Ranked #1 in 19 countries, including Canada, France, Japan, India, and the United Kingdom, this is the risk of greatest concern to small businesses (<250 million $ annual revenue).

"For many companies, the threat of cyberattacks remains greater than ever, and cyber insurance claims remain at a high level. Large companies are now used to being targeted, and those with adequate levels of cybersecurity are able to fend off most attacks. Increasingly, however, small and medium-sized businesses are also being affected. These tend to underestimate their exposure and should continually invest in strengthening their cyber defenses," emphasizes Shanil Williams, AGCS Board Member and Chief Underwriting Officer Corporate.

Macroeconomic malaise

Macroeconomic developments such as inflation or economic and financial market volatility rank as the third most important risk for companies worldwide in the Allianz Risk Barometer 2023 (25 % of responses), up from 10th place in 2022. It is the first time in a decade that this risk has "made it" into the top3. All three major economies - the United States (US), China and Europe - are in economic crisis at the same time, albeit for different reasons, according to the Allianz Research team, which forecasts a recession in Europe and the US in 2023. Inflation is of particular concern as it "eats away" at the price structure and margins of many companies. Like the real economy, financial markets face a difficult year ahead as central banks withdraw excess liquidity from the entire system and trading volumes decline even in historically liquid markets.

"2023 will be a challenging year; in purely economic terms, it is likely to be literally a year to forget for many households and businesses. Nevertheless, there is no reason to despair," says Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist at Allianz. "For one thing, the interest rate turnaround is helping, with millions of savers benefiting not least. The medium-term outlook is also much better, despite - or perhaps because of - the energy crisis. The consequences beyond the expected recession in 2023 are already emerging: a forced transformation of the economy toward decarbonization, as well as increased risk awareness in all parts of society, which strengthens social and economic resilience."

Source and further information: http://www.agcs.allianz.com

Have you ever heard someone shout "whoopee!" when the term "quality management" is mentioned? Probably not. That's mainly because far too little is said about the benefits of QM. Because done well, it is neither boring, nor does it result in any additional effort. On the contrary, it forms the basis for the high quality of a product or service, which in turn ensures that customers are satisfied and companies are economically successful.

What those who perceive QM as a necessary to annoying evil fail to realize: The larger a company, the more important the structures. Only if the entire workforce has a common understanding of quality requirements can these also be uniformly represented to customers.

Want more reasons why every company needs quality management? Here are the five most important ones:

1. the workforce knows what to do at all times

Regardless of whether you're an old hand or a newbie - quality management in the company ensures that processes are clearly comprehensible to everyone. How does the filing structure work? Which departments or people interact with customers? And how do I submit a vacation request? All of this is defined as part of a holistic quality management system, which improves internal and external communication structures.

2. QM increases satisfaction in the company

That's right, because if you know at all times what is expected of you and what quality standards you want to be measured against, you can act accordingly. The overarching buzzwords are transparency and traceability. If you know in which direction the goal lies and how far away it is, you can plan the way to get there, not feel overwhelmed, but be able to celebrate successes again and again in stages. And comparability within the workforce also makes quality management fair.

3. risks become calculable

Of course, the ideal situation is one in which a company's business is on a steep upward trajectory - and well thought-out quality management can play a significant role in this. After all, one of the core tasks of QM is to keep an eye on risks and their probability of occurrence. And if management is aware of its risks at all times, not only can appropriate countermeasures be taken at an early stage, but these can also be communicated openly and transparently to the workforce. The result: see point 2.

4. arbitrariness was yesterday

Quality management is based primarily on key figures, facts and standards - and that is precisely why it is so transparent for the entire organization. Conversely, this also means that with a holistically viewed QM, decisions are comprehensible to everyone at all times. Every process that contributes to the creation of value in the company can thus be evaluated fairly - provided that key figures and standards with sufficient significance are selected.

5. everything is easier digitally

What makes QM so dull for many, namely the recurring processes, is one of its greatest strengths. Because what is standardized and repetitive is relatively easy to digitize and automate. With a modern software solution, the requirements of quality management are even easier to implement without having to forego the advantages already mentioned. No matter whether QM manual, the distribution of information, audits or certifications: With the support of well thought-out software, no company now has to fear the introduction of quality management as an additional expense.

Conclusion: As you can see, there are a number of advantages that a well thought-out and implemented quality management system creates. Some of them should also convince critics. In the future, you may even hear them shouting "whoopee!

Author:
Johannes Woithon is the managing director of orgavision GmbH, based in Berlin. www.orgavision.de

At the end of 2022, Helvetia Environnement Group obtained B Corp certification after a demanding process. Helvetia Environnement employs 560 people, mainly in western Switzerland, spread across its various subsidiaries. The company operates waste management services for municipalities, commerce and industry.

B Corp certification: key step in sustainable development strategy

Certified B Corps are companies that demonstrably meet the highest standards for social and environmental sustainability, legal corporate responsibility, and public transparency. The certification is awarded by the independent non-profit organization B Lab. Vincent Chapel, President of Helvetia Environnement Group, says: "This certification is a recognition of the commitments we have made over the last ten years. It also marks a new stage in our continuous improvement process, in terms of all CSR criteria. We are indeed convinced that waste recycling has its place at the heart of the circular economy, which is why we must remain committed to reducing our impact on the environment."

Reduce environmental impact and aim for CO2 neutrality by 2025

The CO2 neutrality target is set for 2025. It is part of Helvetia Environnement Group's strategy to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2 according to the SBTi (Science-based Targets) recommendations. This includes direct greenhouse gas emissions (generated by the company's activities) as well as indirect ones (generated through the consumption of energy purchased from third parties).

Ten years of commitment and action for sustainable development

This certification confirms the pioneering role of Helvetia Environnement Group, which has invested more than 150 million Swiss francs in its recycling activities in Switzerland over the past ten years. Divided into two five-year plans, these proactive measures included the opening of Sortera, the first high-performance waste sorting facility in the canton of Geneva, and consistent efforts in the area of mobility with the renewal of the vehicle fleet and the use of alternative energies such as biofuels and electric drives. In social terms, in particular, a specific action plan was introduced to significantly reduce the number of occupational accidents over the next five years. From a management perspective, the shareholders have made a sustainable commitment by anchoring the Group's mission in its legal form, which means that everyone at every level of the company is committed to the common good.

Source: Helvetia Environnement

With a trade volume of 900 billion Swiss francs, the USA is now Switzerland's most important trading partner. The United States is also a major export market for the Swiss pharmaceutical industry: 26 percent of drug exports now cross the Atlantic. Until now, however, trade has been associated with a number of administrative hurdles. For example, drugs must be produced in accordance with internationally agreed Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Compliance with these rules is checked twice: in Switzerland by Swissmedic and in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration FDA. 

Lower hurdles for drug approval

The agreement signed on January 12, 2023, now assures mutual recognition (Mutual Recognition Agreement MRA) of GMPs. This means that Swissmedic and the FDA will refrain from inspecting the production facilities of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the other country after an intensive review of the partner state's inspection practices. This is a win-win situation for both sides, because such inspections tie up resources and cost time and money - according to industry association Interpharma, "quickly more than a million Swiss francs." These resources can now be invested in innovation following the elimination of mutual inspections. 

The agreement removes a so-called non-tariff trade barrier. According to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), the GMP MRA also contributes to the diversification of trade relations, including Switzerland's cross-border production and supply chains. In this way, the MRA supports the security of supply and resilience of the Swiss economy, which is dependent on foreign trade, especially in view of the ongoing global upheavals with regard to international trade, according to the statement published on the subject.

Motion calls for similar MRA for medical devices

Comparable GMP MRAs already exist between the US and the EU, as well as the UK. Switzerland, for its part, has already concluded GMP MRAs with the EU, the UK, and South Korea. The agreement is intended to create a level playing field for Switzerland as a pharmaceutical location compared to the EU and the UK in the US market. However, medical products that do not fall into the pharmaceutical sector are still excluded. A motion by National Councilor Damian Müller wants to change this and calls for an MRA with the US and other countries for the approval of medical devices (e.g. insulin pumps, medical protective masks, prostheses, etc.). This is because after the EU's new Medical Devices Regulation comes into force in 2021, Switzerland will be considered a "third country" there because there is no framework agreement between Switzerland and the EU. For the approval of medical devices, this means a high administrative hurdle and may lead to certain products no longer being available in Switzerland in the medium to long term.

Sources: economiesuisse, WBF/Swissmedic, interpharma

The Swiss Safety Center Academy Wallisellen meets the high standards of the eduQua quality label and is now eduQua certified. This was announced by the institute in a short communiqué. By fulfilling the quality criteria, the academy now receives the Swiss quality label for continuing education providers.

eduQua is the only Swiss quality label tailored exclusively to providers of continuing education. It sets and checks minimum criteria for the quality of continuing education providers and promotes transparency, comparability and quality of the continuing education offered. An eduQua-certified continuing education institution is characterized by accredited courses and seminars, a high level of practical relevance in its offerings, recognition of titles and degrees, transparency and binding nature of program content, and concrete proof of quality. According to the Swiss Association for Continuing Education SVEB, more than 1100 schools, institutes and academies are eduQua-certified throughout Switzerland. eduQua can be combined with ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 29990 (quality management for educational institutions), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and IN-Qualis (certified quality of work integration).

The certification now also promotes the quality awareness of the Swiss Safety Center Academy, the commitment to continuously work on quality and to make this visible to the outside world to customers, according to the company.

Source and further information: https://akademie.safetycenter.ch/

In Switzerland, approximately four out of five buildings are planned with predefined fire protection measures and approved by the authorities. The currently valid fire protection regulations (BSV 2015) already take different user risks into account. This is evidenced by the fact that for various building types and their forms of use, tailor-made measures are required to achieve the protection goals. However, the prescriptive fire protection regulations also allow for completely different solutions - those that are not implemented according to the standard scheme - by means of verification and applied engineering methods.

How does standardized fire protection in combination with equivalent, deviating solutions already find application today? Cost pressure, a dynamic environment and many decisive criteria - for example, type of construction, location, use, occupancy, fire loads, building geometry and many more - make construction projects seem complex. Conflicts of objectives in fire protection are also not uncommon. In order to meet the objectives of the building owner, the protection goals and, in principle, the interests of all those involved in the construction and projects, holistic solutions in fire protection are required. Solutions that combine standard and performance-oriented methods.

Interested parties will receive detailed specialist knowledge on the subject of fire protection directly from the experts at a symposium on March 16, 2023 in Zurich. Various presentations on new possibilities, scientific findings, current methods and technologies as well as project examples from practice form the basis for this exciting knowledge transfer. The conference is organized by Save AG. This company specializes in the practical transfer of knowledge between security experts on the topics of risk management, corporate security, building security, safety and health protection (AS&GS), fire protection, information and infrastructure security, population protection as well as machine and process safety, incident prevention, natural and environmental hazards, guarding and integral security concepts.

Source and further information: Save Inc.