December 19, 2019
On 12.12. our Women Techmakers Community met in Hamburg at Avanade on the 14th floor in Accenture’s Future Camp Space with a great view over the Binnen- and Außenalster to discuss and learn about (business process) innovations driven by digital solutions.
Launched as a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft, Avanade offers IT consulting services that specialize in the Microsoft platform, including AI, business analysis, cloud, digital transformation.
Unleash the power of data with AI
As speakers we had invited Prachi Kumar (Lead for Data & AI for Avanade in Austria Switzerland and Germany) and Rabea Reitmeier (Executive, Head of Digital Sales, Services & Marketing Avanade DACH).
Prachi - management consultant with over 10 years of professional experience - reported on the real implementation of an AI-driven data platform that optimizes logistics and operations for a company.
Prachi’s personal passion for technology was clearly noticeable in her presentation. She reported on the importance of the digitalization of the supply chain and the chances and advantages it offers.
The more warehouses and the more customers a company has, the more complicated a smooth supply chain becomes. Where to store which products, how to transport the products to the customer by the shortest route, where is the optimal selling price for each product are questions that arise in this context.
The collection, cleansing and consolidation of all necessary data is one of the biggest challenges in this context, which is worthwhile, as Prachi emphasized. Transparency within the company increases and technologies such as analytics, AI and robotics can help to reduce transport and storage costs, optimize production planning, reduce the CO2 footprint and reduce bottlenecks.
Become an female executive in tech consulting
Rabea, who described herself as “non-techie”, described her work and her learning as a woman in a tech world and as a female executive in technical consulting.
Growing up in Wolfsburg, it was actually clear that a career at VW was Rabeas way. Rather by chance she started in the Tech World and at Avanade. Rabea spoke about it with a lot of passion. Looking back, self-doubt was the biggest obstacle for her to strive for her current position. Unfounded self-doubts, as Rabea now says, which had their origin in the fact that she was different from her environment. Her comparison with the professional field of educators was particularly memorable. These are the first executives in our lives - from them we can learn to treat each other with respect and to have a healthy relationship with each other. Both are factors that Rabea needs in her professional life today to be able to lead a team successfully. For Rabea otherness is the key to success, because it also means: trying out new approaches and thus creating new ideas. What makes her happy is what she deals with and what she puts her heart and soul into. Thus, one of her focuses is on the topic of women at Avanade. And that is only one point we have in common with her.
A lively exchange and networking rounded off the evening.
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If you would also like to get in touch with speakers or other like-minded people, then please join our next meetup!