TOMATO CATCH-UP - Newsletter Issue 228 - July 2020
Your monthly resource on working capital, process optimization and issues relating to the world of corporate treasurers, IT professionals and bankers!
This newsletter is bilingual, English or German, depending to the source.
Introduction:
Wir präsentieren Ihnen heute den Tomato Sommer-Newsletter für die kommenden Wochen. Viele von uns werden die Ferien wahrscheinlich vermehrt lokal verbringen. Auf Fernreisen verzichten wir leider weiterhin.
Dass Thema Corona beschäftigt uns alle wohl noch weiter. Auch mich in Tomato beschäftigt es, wie ich den Tag nutze und für welche Aufgaben ich Energie einsetze. Doch nun weiter in Englisch.
Have you managed to return to the workplace or are you still in your home office? For some of us, it might be extremely challenging. Returning to work implies going through many processes, using different tools, and undergoing certain procedures, which up until January were just simple and normal activities. Now, they seem to take an eternity!
On the other hand, for those of us who are still in the home office, we might be quite tired of having to write meeting minutes after every video conference. Also, some of us may notice that now it takes more time than before to have a small talk with a colleague or to simply share a piece of information. Of course, you can ask for a call, but more time is wasted. Some of us may even want to avoid all the complications and just remain quiet.
How is it for you? Are you struggling with similar issues?
Have a look at the Pt 3, where you can find a complete list of questions to ask yourself when returning to work.
This month’s Catch-Up includes the date the QR Zahlschein goes into effect, supply chain resilience and financial performance, the de-globalization threat to the world economy and COVID-19 related topics.
Remember that for any challenge related to your financial issues, you can ask Martin Schneider for a discussion that will clarify it. Contact Martin via email or call +41 44 814 2001.
- Ende Juni 2020 wird die Schweizer QR Rechnung produktiv
- Swiss Would Work From Home Even After Corona Pandemic
- Returning to Work in the Time of Coronavirus – Implications
- Lampenfieber / Stage Fright: 10 Tipps
- The New “Empty” Argument Against Trade
- Supply Chain Resilience and Financial Performance
- The De-globalization Threat to the World Economy
- Book tip: Great at Work by Morten Hansen
- Termine & Events
- From the Desk of Tomato Covid Apps: A Matter of Health and Risk Management
1. Ende Juni 2020 wird die Schweizer QR Rechnung produktiv
Nun ist es soweit, der neue Schweizer Zahlschein mit QR-Cost ist produktiv. In den Tomato Catchup News Juli 2019 berichteten wir über Hintergründe der Entstehung des Neuen:
Am 10. Juni 2020 war die Schweizer Presse Ohr und Auge bei SIX. Für unsere internationalen Zahlungsverkehr-Leser hier die Zusammenfassung:
Am 30. Juni ist es so weit - In der Schweiz wird die QR-Rechnung eingeführt, die neue Version des Einzahlungsscheins für Schweizer Rechnungsempfänger. Neben dem bisherigen lesbaren Zahldaten ist ein Strichcode (QR) zum Handy-scannen aufgedruckt, schreibt der Zahlungsdienstleister. Das manuelle Abtippen von Konto- und Referenznummer sei nicht mehr erforderlich.
Weiter:
- Der Zahlschein ist weiss und hat ein einheitliches Format (nicht mehr orange oder rot, er wird auf weissem Papier gedruckt).
- QR-Rechnungen wird man mit handelsüblichen Druckern selbst erstellen können.
- Ein Beleg anstatt bisher sieben verschiedener Einzahlungsscheine.
- Die Varianten, Rechnungen zu begleichen, Six zählt vier verschiedene Wege auf:
a) via e-banking
b) via Smartphone / Mobile App einer Bank
c) via Postschalter und am Bank-Bezahl-Automat
d) für Firmen mittels Business Software
Das Benutzen des QR-Codes ist freiwillig. Das Abtippen der Referenznummer ist möglich. Die bisherigen Zahlscheine und die QR-Rechnung werden vorläufig parallel verwendet.
So sieht die neue QR-Rechnung aus: links der Empfangsschein, rechts der Zahlteil. (Source: Six)
Links zur Presse
Netzwoche NZZ 20Minuten Blick (mit Video 2.50 Min)
2. Swiss Would Work From Home Even After Corona Pandemic
Homeoffice ist für viele Schweizer zum neuen Alltag geworden. Und die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung findet Gefallen daran, wie eine Umfrage des Forschungsinstituts gfs.bern im Auftrag der Gewerkschaft Syndicom zeigt. Den Ergebnissen zufolge wünschen sich rund 80 Prozent der Schweizer, dass sie auch nach der Coronapandemie von zuhause aus arbeiten können. Knapp 90 Prozent der Befragten gaben an, Homeoffice solle von den Unternehmen zugelassen werden als Ergänzung zur Arbeit vor Ort. Nicht überraschend ist dass 49% finden die Arbeitsergonomie zuhause ist aktuell noch mangelhaft. Der Bericht zum Homeoffice-Barometer 2020 lesen Sie im Detail unter syndicom Gewerkschaft Medien und Kommunikation.
Die Zusammenfassung unter Netzwoche
According to a survey conducted by the gfs-berne-Research Institute on behalf of the Syndicom trade union, approximately 80% of the Swiss population would like to be able to work from home even after the Corona pandemic. Moreover, 90% of those surveyed believe that the home office should be approved by companies.
50% of the respondents find the ergonomics of their home working space as inadequate.
When it comes to home office productivity, the Swiss are divided, as a survey by Deloitte shows: 41% of respondents believe they are more productive at home, 25% think the opposite, while around 33% state that they see no difference.
I wonder how Home Office is accepted in other parts of the world. Read here the News York Times and BBC from the UK.
3. Returning to Work in the Time of Coronavirus – Implications
Adrian Tüscher, Partner at KPMG Switzerland, discusses the most important aspects to consider in order to ensure a smooth transition back to work within companies.
Some questions to ask yourself when preparing a return to work plan:
- Which employees/functions should return first to their workplace and which can maintain work from home?
- How should split teams work?
- To what risks are employees exposed when they return to the workplace?
- Can employees uphold social distancing in the workplace?
- Can employees be requested to attend internal and/or external meetings?
- How to respond if an employee or his closed one(s) test(s) positive for COVID-19?
- What controls should be put in place for employees, visitors, clients and others accessing the employer’s premises?
- What equipment and means should be put in place in order to meet the mandatory security and hygiene measures?
- Are employees sufficiently well equipped to continue working from home?
- What is the impact of the home office on the employee’s wellbeing (e.g. mental health)?
Read Details in the KPMG article
4. Lampenfieber / Stage Fright: 10 Tipps
«Wenn doch nur alles schon vorbei wäre!» – ein Stossseufzer, der allenthalben zu hören ist. Nicht nur im Zusammenhang mit Corona.
An den Hochschulen neigt sich das Semester dem Ende zu, die Prüfungszeit beginnt. Da gibt es die Jazzstudentin, die unter schrecklichem Lampenfieber leidet, den Informatikstudenten, der Panik vor einem Blackout hat und viele andere mit akuten Versagensängsten.
Gemeinsam mit der Psychologischen Beratungsstelle des Campus Luzern hat die HSLU zehn Tipps zusammengestellt, die gegen das Nervenflattern helfen.
5. The New “Empty” Argument Against Trade
Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, Professor of Economics at Yale University, discusses the new argument against global supply chains, according to which widely distributed production has made economies less self-sufficient, therefore less resilient.
Modern trade is characterized by a hyper-specialization of production and distribution, which can present complications when production needs to be ramped up quickly. Proponents of globalization view this challenge as evidence that global coordination is more valuable than ever. Having multiple sources spread across countries improves resilience, with a more robust global supply chain that can fix broken links by replacing a source in one country with an alternative from another one.
Trade skeptics might argue that coordination problems could be avoided if the supply chain is brought home. Goldberg believes that domestic supply chains are more robust when many other countries are simultaneously hit by a negative shock.
In the case of a pandemic, outbreaks tend to peak at different times. Ultimately, how we manage risk and build resilience is not a question of global versus domestic, diversification being a canonical principle of risk management. Distributing production globally not only maximizes efficiency; it is also good risk management.
Read Details in English in FUW (Finanz und Wirtschaft)
Ziehen Sie Deutsch vor? Derselbe Bericht ist in der FUW auch in Deutsch
…and also continue reading on Point 6 of our Newsletter
6. Supply Chain Resilience and Financial Performance
Achim Schwichtenberg, Director Strategy & Operations at KPMG Switzerland, presents most important 4 steps you can take to improve resilience and reinforce your financial performance to deliver lasting benefits.
- Develop a baseline, scenarios and identify internal and external data to enhance your demand and supply forecasts, aligning high-risk areas, and informing the scenarios to be triggered.
- Simulate scenarios with stress tests. Map and model supply and demand forecasts.
- Develop a management Cockpit, which should link clearly to financial implications and models.
- Implement the Cockpit action plan and determine a clear action plan per scenario.
The more detailed white paper can be downloaded too
Do you prefer audio? View and listen to the first one minute of this CNBC Video. Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) believes that supply chains shift from cost-optimization to building resilience. Companies should find new suppliers, to move away from “just in time“ towards “just in case“. Chosen production will be dislocated, thanks to automation, which will mean that lower labor costs will play a less important role in the economy. CNBC-Video 4:40 minutes and catchup the important information minute one.
7. The De-globalization Threat to the World Economy
Kenneth Rogoff, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University, discusses the de-globalized aspect of the post-pandemic world economy.
The current wave of de-globalization began in 2016 between the US and China. The pandemic will likely have an even larger negative long-term impact. For smaller economies, a breakdown in trade would reverse many decades of growth.
Even though globalization has fueled economic inequalities, rising income and wealth inequalities can be seen as evidence that capitalism has failed. Rogoff believes that global capitalism has lifted billions of people out of poverty, therefore an overshoot in de-globalization would hurt far more people.
Moreover, he believes that the current model of globalization needs to be adjusted by strengthening the social safety net in advanced economies as well as in emerging ones. Building resilience should not imply tearing down the entire system and starting over again. Details in English
Ziehen Sie Deutsch vor? Der Bericht in FUW (Finanz und Wirtschaft)
8. Book tip: Great at Work by Morten Hansen
After a five-year study of more than 5,000 managers and employees, Morten Hansen reveals the answers to a very common question all of us us trying to answer: Why some people perform better at work than others? We sum up the most important tips from his book “Great at Work: How Top Performers Work Less, Work Better and Achieve More”:
- Do Less, Then Obsess: greatness in work, art and science requires obsession over quality and an extraordinary attention to detail.
- Redesign Your Work: focus on activities that maximize value; don’t see yourself as an employee, see yourself as an innovator of work.
- Don’t Just Learn, Loop: carve out the 15 minutes a day to learn; top performers don’t rest, they keep learning.
- Passion & Purpose: passion is “do what you love”, and purpose is “do what contributes”.
- Forceful Champions: smart grit entails persevering in the face of difficulty.
- Fight and Unite: don’t let a single person prevent the entire team from implementing a decision that has been well argued.
- Collaboration: the goal of collaboration is not collaboration; it’s better performance.
The author Morten Hansen was part of the team in my absolute favorite book from Jim Collins ‘From Good to Great’.
Warum nicht in Ihre Weiterbildung investieren?
In Frankfurt: Certified Corporate Treasurer VDT. Der Kurs mit 5 Modulen beginnt am 5. November 2020
https://vdtev.de/certified-corporate-treasurer-vdt
Dauer von November bis April
In Zug: Swiss Corporate Treasurer bei der der HSLU:
Die nächste Ausbildung für den Swiss Certified Treasurer beginnt am 28. August 2020
Dauer 12 Monate
in Frankfurt und Zug monatlich jeweils Donnerstag, Freitag und Samstagmorgen
In Frankfurt: VDT Basisqualifizierung Treasury Der Kurs mit 3 Modulen beginnt am 3 und 4. September 2020
https://vdtev.de/basisqualifizierung Dieser Kurs ist Onsite und Online.
Donnerstag 09.09.2021 Zug Swiss Treasury Summit 2021
Konferenz in Las Vegas 8.-21.Oktober 2020: Annual AFP 2020,
HSLU 21&28.10.2020, 4.11.2020: Aktuelle Herausforderungen im Corporate Treasury, Seminar in Zug
Mittwoch 4. November 2020 HSLU Zug 18:15 bis 20:30 Uhr Info-Veranstaltung aller Weiterbildungen
10. From the Desk of Tomato: Covid Apps: A Matter of Health and Risk Management
At Tomato we have been dealing with cash and risk management issues for more than a quarter of a century. COVID-19 is a health and an economic risk, so it is in a way related to our approach to risk management. In the May 2020 Newsletter, I wrote about Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, who in 1850 encouraged his fellow doctors to wash their hands and use soap. That is an early stage of health risk management.
With the current pandemic, the need for a system to help people take precautions when they are in public places has now become urgent. After all, flu epidemics and pandemics have a negative impact on health systems as well as the economy.
Covid-19 has driven the development of Aps that make influenza viruses visible while ensuring maximum privacy. The latest flu apps (known as Covid tracing apps) help to systematically reduce health risks. I strongly support the development and use of these apps.
Examples: StopCovid (France), NHS COVID-19 (UK), Smittestopp (Norway), Corona-Warn-App (Germany), COVIDSafe (Australia), and more.
So far, most of the Covid apps have had only a small number of downloads. However, according to MIT Technology Review, these apps do not need to be 60% accepted to be effective, as some previous studies have shown. Usage could increase if the so-called "tracing" feature, with all its privacy concerns, was not perceived negatively.
Forbes explains in an article the development of COVID-19 phone tracing apps, their effectiveness and risks.
Wired explains in an article How Covid-19 tracing apps work on your phone
Der NZZ-Artikel in deutscher Sprache beschreibt die Erfolgsgeschichte des ETH-Lausanne Teams
FAZ Bericht zu den Unterschieden zwischen der Französischen und deutschen APP
“Imagine yourself in a plane going through annoying bumps. It is impossible to foresee sudden turbulences. But a captain on a boat navigates easier through waves and ocean swells because these are mostly visible or, at least, they can be felt; however, viruses are not.”
However, Covid-Apps are a start and are not the final solution yet.
We wish you a happy and health summer.
Martin Schneider and the Tomato Team.
