Presentation by Dr. Karl-Heinz Sebastian

Dr. Karl-Heinz Sebastian discussed power shifts caused by the internet in his presentation entitled “The internet changes everything”, pointing out examples from the construction material industry. He concluded that -fighting for clients – one should “do one thing, while not neglecting the other”. Become the ‘spider in the web’, the central contact point for contractors and clients on-line, offering information and transaction support. Because one player needed to be in charge of the communication of values in order to anchor the process. The new possibilities of dynamic pricing needed to be harnessed systematically and consequently, he underlined. He recommended to focus on everything that might offer a competitive edge. “Create real value the client cannot obtain from the internet.”