1 October 2026  · Local Industry Event

Zug 2026 – Winning Strategies: Our Takeaways from the 12th Annual Zug Conference

Yesterday evening, the Telecom26 team joined a sold-out room at GIBZ in Zug for the 12th Annual Zug Conference, "Winning Strategies". For us it was a true home game: Telecom26 is based right here in Canton Zug, on Baarerstrasse.

Hosted by Economic Promotion Canton of Zug, CIPS Switzerland and CSCMP Roundtable Switzerland, the conference has become a fixture for Procurement and Supply Chain professionals across Switzerland. This year's edition delivered exactly what the community has come to expect: one focused evening of honest, expert-led insight, followed by an apéro where the conversations kept going long after the panels ended.

A line-up built by the industry, for the industry 

The evening opened with keynotes from Barbara Stolle-Amedick (Hitachi Energy) and Frederik Schleier (Roche), followed by Executive Panels featuring:

• •      Alexandra Eberhard (Biogen)
• •      Nicole Egger (Fresh Food & Beverage Group)
• •      Paul Scholten (Hologic)
• •      Brian White (IBM)
• •      Raj Kumar (Novo Nordisk)
• •      Armando Stagno (Novocure)
• •      Ulrich Horstmann and Stephen Prsa (SHL Medical)

What makes Zug different is how the agenda comes together. It is co-created with executives from companies such as AB InBev, Axpo, Coca-Cola, Galderma, Johnson & Johnson, Migros, Roche, Sanofi, Siemens, Straumann and Takeda. The result is a genuinely multi-industry view spanning Pharma, Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Retail, Energy and Tech.

The two guiding themes were Value Chain Configuration (geography, resilience, proximity, decision-making, simplification, speed and digital) and Workforce Development (people, roles, skills, change management and AI adoption).

Part one: AI moves from buzzword to working tool

The first half focused on how AI is reshaping supply chain management, contract management and the wider business. The tone was practical: AI is already speeding up analysis, surfacing risk earlier and taking repetitive work off procurement teams, while in contract management it can review and monitor agreements at scale. The panelists were equally clear that adoption is a people challenge, calling for new skills, new roles and strong change management.

Part two: tariffs, uncertainty and the resilient supply chain

The second half turned to the impact of US tariffs under the Trump administration and how supply chain management is adapting. Tariffs are pushing companies to rethink where they source, produce and store goods, making geography, proximity and fast decision-making real competitive advantages. AI was seen as a bridge, helping teams model tariff scenarios and re-plan networks quickly, but only when reliable data flows from every site and shipment worldwide.

Where connectivity fits in

This is where the conversation came closest to home for us. Every resilience strategy and every AI use case discussed in Zug depends on one thing: dependable, real-time and reliable data from across the value chain. When supply chains are reconfigured across new regions and partners, connectivity has to follow seamlessly.

Telecom26 helps Pharma, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Retail, Energy and Tech companies close that gap with:

• •      Global coverage – one connectivity partner across countries and networks, so assets and teams stay connected as supply chains shift
• •      Reliable, resilient M2M and IoT connectivity – for tracking shipments, monitoring cold chains and feeding the data that AI and planning tools rely on
• •      Enterprise Mobility – keeping a mobile, international workforce connected securely and cost-effectively
• •      5G Private Networks – secure, high-performance connectivity for factories, warehouses and logistics hubs

In a world of tariffs and constant change, the companies that win will be the ones that can see their supply chain clearly and react quickly. Connectivity is what makes that visibility possible.

Thank you, Zug

A big thank you to Economic Promotion Canton of Zug, CIPS Switzerland and CSCMP Roundtable Switzerland for hosting another outstanding edition, to all the speakers and panelists for sharing their experience so openly, and to this year's sponsors Archlet, Coupa, EMEA Recruitment, Exiger, KPMG and HELIBLICK GmbH.

To everyone we met over the apéro: thank you for the great conversations. If you'd like to continue the discussion on how connectivity can make your supply chain more resilient and AI-ready, get in touch with the Telecom26 team. We're already looking forward to Zug 2027.