Successful digital transformation is operational redesign, not tool introduction. We analyse how the business actually runs today — the processes, the decision points, the data that moves between them — and define the target operating model before any system decision is made. Technology then implements a decision that has already been taken, rather than standing in for one.
Dreher Consulting approaches digital transformation by analysing current operating models, identifying improvement potential, and defining a clear roadmap for change. That roadmap is written against the enterprise architecture it has to run on — the applications, processes and data every function depends on.
We help organisations translate strategic goals into practical initiatives, ensuring that technology investments support efficiency, agility and sustainable growth rather than creating additional complexity. The redesign is carried into daily operations through structured process management, so the new operating model is the one people actually work in.
A quick read before you spend a meeting on it. If most of this matches your situation, a transformation engagement is worth scoping — if it doesn't, we will say so.
You are changing how the business operates, not replacing a single system
Several departments depend on the same data and disagree about it
Previous digitalisation initiatives stalled after the pilot
You need a defensible sequence, not a wish list
A decision-making person from the management team, present at the workshops
Access to the people who actually run the processes
Your current systems inventory, however incomplete
Agreement that the target operating model is decided before the technology
Digital transformation is not a marketing idea or a gimmick — it is part of how this firm has worked for over thirty years. We do not run it as a sequential phase plan, because the dependencies do not behave sequentially. We work ten key success factors in parallel and in sequence, adapted to what your industry actually requires, and we readjust as the economic benefit becomes measurable.
The Action Plan
Embarking on a digital transformation initiative can be a major challenge for both management and staff due to the changes that accompany the implementation of new technologies and the optimisation of business processes.
The focus of our work is therefore not the marketing term "digitalisation", but the implementation of a digital transformation. This is not a marketing idea or gimmick, but part of our company DNA. We are implementation consultants here to support our clients through our work and expert knowledge to ensure their companies remain competitive in a digital world.
Customer
Aftermarket Insights
Warranty Optimisation
Distributors
Telematics Predictive Maintenance
Telematics Ops. Optimisation
Logistics
Pricing & Quoting Optimisation
Order to Promise
Demand Forecasting & Stocking
Next-Generation CRM
Manufacturer
Manufacturing Predictive Maintenance
Profitable BOM
Defect Detection & Prevention
Supplies
Inventory Optimisation
Lowest-Cost Provider
Supply Network Optimisation
We measure digital maturity first, agree the target operating model second, and only then sequence the roadmap. Every stage produces a document a management team can decide on.
We score your current digital maturity across the dimensions of the Dreher Digitalisation Index, and compare it against competitors and the industry leaders in your sector.
DDI™ scoreWe define how the business should run — processes, decision rights, the data that moves between functions — and write it down before any system is discussed.
Model documentWe turn the gap between the two into a sequenced roadmap with dependencies, owners and an economic benefit case per step.
Sequenced roadmapWe assess the economic benefit as it lands, readjust the measures, and build the training roadmap that makes the change stick with the people doing the work.
Benefit reviewA named team that drives implementation rather than supervising it.
The target model, broken into steps that can be started and finished.
Benefit assessed per measure, then the measures readjusted on the evidence.
An individual training path so the people doing the work can adopt the change.
The written comparison, with the sector median and the leader practices named.
The scored starting point every later measurement is taken against.
Benchmarking
A review of how digital transformation is currently approached in your industry
Your capability ranked against competitors and comparable organisations
The practices and process models the market leaders actually use
A roadmap that measures how far implementation has progressed
What the benchmark settles
A capability that looks poor in isolation is sometimes standard for the sector, and a capability that looks adequate is sometimes two generations behind the leaders. The benchmark tells you which, so the roadmap spends money where the gap is real.
DDI™
Disruption
Another component of our digital transformation service is the assessment of your position in the context of disruptive factors that your industry or company has to reckon with. These can be not only known competitors, but also unexpected new competitors. They may well be competitors with a higher qualitative approach or low-cost newcomers or quite nimble digital natives.
Reputation management in a globalised digital world, PR issues and threats from IT security incidents are now more important than ever.
Together with you, we create a digital transformation roadmap, with concrete tasks and milestones. The development and implementation pace for advanced ERP software or AI elements for transformation depends on your digital transformation and its readiness, as well as on your budget.
Our experience shows that a relatively small team can get two large AI applications and digital technologies on the road to digital transformation in six months.
•Low-yield processes
•Underutilised or poorly allocated resources
•Highly routine processes
•Low customer understanding & slow learning
•Formulaic customer experience & value propositions
•Formulaic and inflated prices
•Intermediary traders
•Redefiners of the value chain
•Data and analytics platforms
Hagos eG · B2B wholesale
ProblemMaster data spread across systems that disagreed with each other, so every downstream process inherited the error.
EngagementDigital maturity assessment, target operating model for master-data ownership, then a sequenced roadmap.
73%
reduction in master-data error rate · calculated in the concept
No software licences. No implementation revenue.
Honest answers about scope, maturity and pace — the questions that come up in nearly every first conversation about digital transformation.
Answers by:
Dr. Harald Dreher
Founder · Dreher Consulting
Since 1992 he has guided Mittelstand companies through replacing in-house-built ERP systems. He advises vendor-neutrally, taking no commission from any software vendor.
Profile · Last updated: 20 August 2026
Digital transformation is the structured change of processes, operating models and technology to improve performance and long-term resilience. In practice it means analysing how the business runs today, defining the target operating model, and only then sequencing the technology and process changes that follow from it.
Digitalising an existing process transfers it from analogue to digital without changing how it works. Digital transformation redesigns how the organisation operates — processes, decision rights and technology together — so that measurable results follow. The focus of our work is not the marketing term “digitalisation”, but the implementation of that change.
Many digital transformation initiatives fail because goals are unclear, governance is weak, or technology decisions are disconnected from business reality. We address these risks by creating transparency around objectives, dependencies and trade-offs, so that initiatives are prioritised realistically and matched to what the organisation can actually absorb.
We score your current digital maturity across the dimensions of the Dreher Digitalisation Index, and compare your digital capabilities with those of your competitors and in the context of best-of-breed examples — where your industry stands overall in digital readiness, and who the leading players in its digitalisation are.
One piece to read, one to look up — the two entry points we send clients to most.
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An independent read of where your transformation stands — from a firm with no software revenue behind the advice. See how we helped companies in your industry:
The full first conversation, including an initial read of your digital maturity.
Arrange a meeting →Send us a short note about where you are — we'll reply with a clear next step, not a sales pitch.
Email us →A direct line to the Böblingen office — a short conversation, no obligation.
+4970317148790 →