The rise of Digital Challengers How digitization can become the next growth engine for Central and Eastern Europe Perspective on Poland The rise of Digital Challengers 1 The rise of Digital Challengers How digitization can become the next growth engine for Central and Eastern Europe Perspective on Poland Jurica Novak Marcin Purta Tomasz Marciniak Karol Ignatowicz Kacper Rozenbaum Kasper Yearwood About McKinsey & Company We are a global management consulting firm that serves a broad mix of About McKinsey private, public, and social sector institutions. We help our clients make significant and lasting improvements to their performance and realize & Company their most important goals. We have built on nearly a century of experience and added a wide range of new skills and capabilities in Poland to create a firm that is uniquely equipped to this task. For This year, McKinsey & Company’s Polish example, our colleagues in McKinsey Digital & Analytics office celebrates the 25th anniversary of its work together with clients to drive technology-enabled founding. Over the last quarter of a century, we transformations. By combining the latest innovations with have become the largest strategic consultancy deep industry, functional, and technological expertise, in Poland, and today employ more than 1,500 we help clients capture value from data and succeed people. We serve as a trusted adviser to Poland’s in the digital age. We are home to thousands of largest companies and key public institutions. We are the world’s most talented professionals across proud to have shared the transformation and growth the fields of digital, analytics, and design. Our journey with industry leaders in banking and insurance, cross-functional teams enable clients to consumer goods, energy, oil, telecommunications, mining, reinvent themselves through technology. and many other sectors. In total we have carried out more than From optimizing core technology and 850 projects for our Polish clients. automating operations to building entirely new digital businesses, we Three key dates changed the face of McKinsey in Poland. In 2010 work side-by-side with our clients we opened our Polish Knowledge Center in Wrocław, which now to prepare them to survive and employs more than 200 outstanding knowledge professionals. One thrive in a rapidly changing year later, we established the EMEA Shared Services Center in Poznań, world. where more than a thousand colleagues work today. For more information, visit Since 2017 the Warsaw office has been home to the McKinsey Digital Lab. mckinsey.com. Our developers, IT experts, and business consultants support companies undergoing comprehensive digital transformation. This includes making improvements in customer experience, the rapid implementation of business applications, Big Data solutions and analyses, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. We are able to support our clients at every stage of their digital transformation – from strategy development to full implementation. For more information, visit www.mckinsey.pl. About the Digital Challengers research This report is part of a wider research into the potential of the digi- tal economy in Central and Eastern Europe. In our November 2018 report, “The rise of Digital Challengers: How digitization can become the next growth engine for Central and Eastern Europe” we cover the regional perspective, joined by additional country reports for Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Czech Republic Hungary Poland Romania Slovakia The rise of Digital Challengers 1 Contents Preface KEY FINDINGS INTRODUCTION This report constitutes a perspective on Poland as In the final chapters of our study, we look at the part of a wider research analyzing the opportuni- vital role of collaboration in CEE, emphasizing the PAGE 4 PAGE 8 ties presented by the digital economy in Central importance of capturing regional scale effects, and Eastern Europe (CEE). Using new research tackling common challengers and sharing best of our own and an examination of published practices in matters related to stimulating digitiza- sources, we define the economic potential from tion across the region (Chapter 4), and examine CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 accelerated digitization in the country. We con- the implications for policy makers, companies and sider Poland, alongside nine other markets in the individuals (Chapter 5). This final section contains Digital economy in Impact on Poland’s region (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, a list of actions for these stakeholders to capture Poland labor market Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and the digital opportunity. Slovenia), as a “Digital Challenger” demonstrating PAGE 10 PAGE 16 strong potential for growth in the “digital economy”, The ideas we present build on those outlined emulating the group of relatively small, highly digi- in our previous reports Digital Europe: Pushing tized countries we refer to as “Digital Frontrunners”, the frontier, capturing the benefits; A future that namely Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, works: Automation, employment, and produc- CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway tivity; as well as Digital Poland and Shoulder to and Sweden. shoulder with robots: Tapping the potential of Key enablers of Collaboration with automation in Poland. We would like to take this digitization in Poland other CEE countries Discussion about the opportunities and chal- opportunity to thank the authors of these publi- is key lenges of digitization has been ongoing for many cations as well as the McKinsey Global Institute years. We aim to provide a unique perspective: – in particular Jacques Bughin, Senior Partner in PAGE 24 PAGE 34 a comprehensive, fact-based analysis that, for Brussels, and James Manyika, Senior Partner in the first time, attempts to quantify the size and San Francisco, for their expertise, insights, inspi- growth rates of digital economy in Poland as well ration and guidance. as the CEE region and provide realistic scenarios CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 for the economic impact of digitization through The work on this report was led by Jurica Novak, 2025. This approach enables us to understand McKinsey’s Managing Partner in Central Europe, Implications for policy Recap of key in a quantifiable and comparable way how the Marcin Purta, Managing Partner in Poland, Tomasz makers, business messages for CEE digital economy is evolving across countries and Marciniak, Partner, and Karol Ignatowicz, Local leaders, and individuals region against the most relevant benchmarks. We provide Partner. in Poland primary insights on the level of digitization in indi- vidual sectors across Poland and the CEE region These individuals worked together with a team PAGE 36 PAGE 46 (Chapter 1). Building on previous research con- comprising the Consultants Kasper Yearwood, ducted for Poland, a core part of the study is our Kacper Rozenbaum and Arkadiusz Żarowski, investigation of the impact of digital transformation Communications Experts Joanna Iszkowska and on the labor market (Chapter 2). Our discussion Milena Tkaczyk, the Graphic Designer Małgorzata APPENDIX here covers both the shifts in society caused by Leśniewska and many others. the new technology and the increasingly acces- Methodology sible nature of the labor market as a result of the At the same time, we would also like to thank the digital transformation. Following this, we turn to many area experts from the public, private, and PAGE 48 consider a comprehensive, yet prioritized list of dig- social sectors who provided insights, source data itization enablers for Poland, including the relative and helped advance our thinking. In particular, we strengths of the country and key areas on which would like to acknowledge the collaboration with to focus going forward (Chapter 3). Our insights in Google on this research, including contribution this chapter are based on quantitative analysis and of analytical inputs and insights leveraged in this discussions with numerous market experts. report. 2 The rise of Digital Challengers Digital Challengers 3 EN KEY FINDINGS Poland as a Digital Challenger For Poland, the potential economic and the country. Alternatively, a “business as usual” sce- 4 THE GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS LEADERS, workforce in the long term. Joint efforts across developmental benefits of digitization can nario forgoing this acceleration opportunity would AND INDIVIDUALS ALL NEED TO ACT FOR the region can help in finding and implementing reach up to €64 billion in additional gross see the digital economy in Poland expand by €22 A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION the most effective solutions. domestic product (GDP) by 2025. This billion to reach a 9 percent share of GDP by 2025. To achieve the aspirational digitization scenario, Poland • Similar starting points: Poland, like other CEE will have to count on all stakeholders. Companies will would lead to increased global competi- In this scenario, Poland would remain a long way markets, exhibits high levels of market openness from the “digital frontier” represented by countries need to understand and embrace the opportuni- tiveness and prosperity for the country’s and similar levels of digitization, besides cultural in Northern Europe. ties in digitization, increasing their adoption of digital 38 million people and allow Poland to join and historic commonalities. This adds relevance tools contributing to improved productivity, as well as the most digitally advanced economies in to their shared