What happens if your long-time logistics manager retires tomorrow?

Digital sovereignty doesn't start with software—it starts with knowledge

That is precisely why preserving knowledge within a company is becoming an increasingly important component of digital sovereignty. After all, business independence doesn’t just mean retaining control over software and data; it also means ensuring that critical process and experiential knowledge remains within the company.

In our last post “When Digitalization Becomes a One-Way Street—Digital Sovereignty in Logistics” we described how companies can unwittingly fall into digital dependencies. Not because they use software, but because their processes increasingly align with a system’s specifications, causing them to gradually lose their freedom of action. But there is a second form of dependency that is at least as critical. It doesn’t arise from software; it arises from people. More specifically: from the knowledge of individual employees. Many companies function exceptionally well for years—until the very person who seemingly “knows everything” leaves. Only then does it become clear how much corporate knowledge never became part of the organization.

A scenario that many companies underestimate

Imagine that your long-time dispatcher is retiring. That’s not unusual, really. After all, the retirement of experienced employees is now a common occurrence in many companies. But after just a few weeks, the first difficulties begin to surface. Some tasks (scheduling, route planning, trip duration, order processing) are taking longer than usual. Certain customers complain about changes in procedures. Special cases can no longer be handled as smoothly. And more and more often, people say, “Mr. Müller always knew that.” The real challenge here isn’t that an employee has left the company. The real challenge is that a significant portion of the company’s knowledge has gone with him.

Corporate knowledge is often invisible

Almost every company has work instructions, manuals, or process descriptions. That’s important. But they often reflect only part of reality. This is because many decisions are based on experience gained over years or even decades. An experienced scheduler knows, for example,

• which customer is particularly sensitive to schedule changes,
• which tour should be planned differently in case of bad weather,
• which driver gets along particularly well with certain customers,
• what specific issues regularly arise with individual orders.

This knowledge is rarely found in documentation or Excel spreadsheets. It resides in people’s minds. And that is precisely where it becomes a risk for companies. The Fraunhofer IAO also notes that implicit experiential knowledge, in particular, can be lost when experienced employees leave the company.

The shortage of skilled workers is exacerbating the problem

In the past, it was often possible to spend several months training a successor. Today, there is often not enough time for that. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified professionals. New employees must take on responsibilities more quickly and familiarize themselves with complex processes. If important practical knowledge is lost in the process, it leads to inefficiencies that can have a direct impact on productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.

Why Knowledge Can't Simply Be Documented

A common response is: “Well, then let’s just write down that knowledge.” Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. People with decades of experience often act intuitively. They make many decisions based on patterns, connections, and experiences that they themselves are no longer even aware of. If you ask an experienced employee about their approach, they usually describe only a fraction of what actually happens. That’s why many knowledge-preservation projects fail—not because documentation isn’t important, but because people try to capture experiential knowledge exclusively in documents.

Focus on securing processes, not people

The crucial question, therefore, is not: How do we preserve the knowledge of individual people?

Rather:

How can we make this knowledge permanently accessible to the entire company? The key lies in gradually translating knowledge into clear, traceable processes. This isn’t primarily about creating extensive manuals. It is much more important to make the actual workflows visible.

• What information is required?
• What decisions are being made?
• Why are they being targeted?
• What specific issues occur regularly?
• What experiences are taken into account in this process?

Research projects conducted by Fraunhofer IPA also show that the systematic translation of experiential knowledge into transparent processes is a key component of a company’s future viability. The more these processes are structured and supported in day-to-day operations, the less a company’s success depends on individual employees. This does not merely document knowledge; it makes it an integral part of daily work.

Digitization alone won't solve the problem

In the first post of this series, we explained that digitization alone does not create digital sovereignty. The same applies to knowledge preservation. Software stores data; however, it does not replace an understanding of processes. Those who simply digitize existing processes often end up inheriting their weaknesses as well. The real challenge, therefore, is to create transparency.

• What decisions are being made?
• Why are they being targeted?
• What information is needed for this?
• What experiences form the basis for them?

Only once these questions have been answered can digitalization realize its full potential.

• It makes knowledge visible.
• It makes processes transparent.
• And it reduces dependence on individual people.

The wave of retirements has already begun

Demographic change is no longer a challenge for the future. It is already happening today. In the coming years, many experienced employees will be leaving their companies. With each departure, the risk grows that valuable process knowledge—accumulated over many years—will be lost. The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) also points out that demographic change already poses a major challenge for companies today. Companies that address knowledge retention and the deliberate design of their processes early on are therefore laying the foundation for long-term stability and competitiveness.

Conclusion

Digital sovereignty means much more than simply remaining independent of a software provider. It also means becoming independent of the knowledge of individual people. Companies whose processes exist solely in the minds of experienced employees face a significant organizational risk. Every retirement, every job change, and every extended absence can lead to a loss of knowledge that directly impacts quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Sustainable digital transformation therefore does not begin with software. It begins with gradually transforming knowledge into traceable processes. Only when knowledge becomes part of daily operations does an organization emerge that can function independently of individual people. And this is precisely where a key building block of digital sovereignty lies.

From Real-World Experience

At MWA Solutions, digital transformation doesn’t begin with the implementation of software. It begins with a joint analysis of actual workflows. Our goal is not to force existing processes into a rigid system, but to work with our customers to make them transparent, traceable, and sustainable. Only on this basis does logistocat digitally map these processes. Decisions, specific details, and process knowledge thus gradually become an integral part of daily work—regardless of which employees are currently involved. This not only creates greater transparency and efficiency but also builds another pillar of digital sovereignty: knowledge remains within the company, processes remain traceable, and companies retain long-term control over their own ways of working.