In view of data-driven and customer-centric user experiences becoming ever more important, BNP Paribas Fortis developed ‘James’, an online and personal investment advice service that is both human and digital. Since the launch in 2009, the James’ customer base expanded from 20,000 to 100,000. This case study analyses the implications of using digital technologies for customer interactions in retail banking.

The financial services sector is facing its most radical change in decades. At the origin we find increased regulation, changing customer behaviour and technological innovation. Moreover, both small start-ups as well as large established tech companies are challenging incumbent organisations. If you want to prepare for the future you need to master four capabilities: design superior customer experiences, set-up data-driven experiments, build multi-party collaborations and provide platform-based solutions.

Microloans are currently regarded as one of the most promising ways of encouraging entrepreneurship and combating poverty. Statistics show that the majority of the loans are repaid. We can therefore conclude that the system works. But is this actually the case?

The main priorities of Belgian human resources departments are still leadership development, recruitment & selection and talent management. This is evident from the third successive annual HR Barometer study by the HR consultancy firm Hudson and Vlerick Business school. This year, the HR Barometer study examined the impact of Belgian personnel policy on the organisation in greater depth.

What point are the largest Dutch companies at in their digital transformation? To find out the answer, the Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad and Vlerick Business School conducted a survey called Transformers 200 among the managers with final responsibility for digital transformation at the 200 largest companies in the Netherlands, across all sectors.

A new partnership has recently been created within the Vlerick Healthcare Management Centre. As Prime Foundation Partner, Medtronic wants to support innovative research into value-based healthcare over the next three years. This will be focused on the care pathway for scoliosis surgery. “Medtronic wants to come up with solutions to the challenges faced in healthcare. Our aim is to do this through partnerships with experts in their field”, Olivia Natens, Country Director at Medtronic Belgium explains.

One of the new financing models that is exciting considerable interest in the healthcare sector is value-based healthcare. In order to obtain a better overview of the value created by and the costs of a treatment, you no longer look at each individual contribution, but at the patient’s entire care pathway, from diagnosis to follow-up. The care pathway that Vlerick, KU Leuven, UZ Leuven and Medtronic are subjecting to a ‘value scan’ is scoliosis surgery.

In contrast to a decreasing trend on the international mergers and acquisitions market in 2016, the Belgian M&A market has experienced further growth, particularly with regard to medium-sized and smaller deals. The demand exceeds the supply. Although transaction prices are rising, they are still acceptable. Anyone wishing to sell a profitable business these days can easily find a buyer. This can be explained by the fact that bank financing has become easier, as well as increased interest by foreign players in Belgian companies.

Digital technologies have become indispensable in the healthcare sector. They help to achieve better and cheaper healthcare. Policymakers are focusing strongly on eHealth and collaboration between the various players in the healthcare ecosystem. Belgian hospitals have already spent too long using IT purely as a support tool, however, with all the associated consequences. It is essential for them not to miss the boat. Professor Brecht Cardoen and professor Bjorn Cumps explain how a tool which was developed in collaboration with hospitals and their stakeholders can help.

The recent globalisation and digitalisation wave has brought numerous business enterprises into persistently turbulent waters, shaking them to their very foundations. One thing is clear: things have to change, and soon, too. But if a new course is to be charted, where should it point? To provide an effective answer to this question, PwC recently concluded a Prime Foundation Partnership focusing on ‘strategy in times of turbulence’. In the next few months, Vlerick will be asking six PwC customers ‘in full turbulence’ about their strategy. Read on for an interview with Axel Smits, Chairman of PwC Belgium, and Dean Marion Debruyne.