“The IT department only functions as a team. One person alone has no chance.”
When Jörg Walter started working at HUGO BOSS he was one of six IT staff in the company. “We worked with two MB main memories. This was when information technology was in its infancy,” he says. That was in 1983. Today, more than 35 years later, he is the IT Director and in charge of around 380 employees worldwide, 280 of which are at the Metzingen headquarters.
IT, which is made up of nine divisions in total, has grown into a key player at the center of the business. The digital transformation is taking place across the whole organization. It involves product development and the supply chain alike. Connecting with, and emotionalizing customers plays a big part, as digital solutions like the MOCCA app become available in stores. These provide support for the store employees during the consultation conversations, and directly connect offline sales with online sales.
From the visionary all the way to the technician
This calls for manpower and relevant skills - from the online store operators to the internal data center, from the visionary to the technician. “It is very diverse. The support and service staff are as important as the developers.” It is important to note how much know-how is built up and maintained internally as part of this. The advantage: “We want the technology to be firmly in our hands.”
