Author: Kloepfel
China is aiming to be the world leader: What is their secret to success What do German-speaking companies need to know about Chinese economic policy and entrepreneurs? In my opinion, a large part of China’s success, or the Chinese success gene, is that it is a “both/and” culture. This is not always understood by the West, but it is important for politics and business to understand this in order to work constructively with China and Chinese companies. Unlike China, we in the West have an either/or or black and white culture. This means that the Chinese government as well as…
HWWI Commodity Price Index again fell by double digits in February Index for energy commodities declines by 12.3 % (US dollar basis) Index for food, beverages and tobacco up 2.5 Index for industrial raw materials falls by 0.3 (Hamburg, March 3, 2023) The HWWI commodity price index again fell by double digits in February. It slipped by 10.2%, having already fallen by 19.7% in January, and was thus 20.7% lower than in February 2022. As in January, falling prices for energy commodities were the main reason for the drop in the overall index. The index for energy raw materials fell…
Senior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Junior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com
Investment to secure forecast copper demand Stellantis recently announced an investment in a copper mine project in Argentina. According to its press release, the automotive group intends to secure at least part of its future copper requirements in this way. To this end, Stellantis is acquiring a 14.2 percent stake in McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company McEwen Mining. The group owns the Los Azules mine project in Argentina and the Elder Creek mine project in Nevada (USA). In its press release, Stellantis mentions an investment sum of 155 million dollars. With this investment, the automotive group…
Price expectations decline Noticeably fewer companies are planning to raise prices in the next three months. This is shown by the latest survey conducted by the Ifo Institute. For the economy overall, Ifo price expectations fell to 29.1 points in February. In January, they were still at 35.2 points. “Companies have already passed on a large part of the increased costs to their customers, and at the same time demand is weakening in almost all sectors of the economy,” reports Timo Wollmershäuser, Ifo’s head of economic activity. Thus, according to Wollmershäuser, inflationary pressure should ease in the coming months. Price…
Reduction of CO2 emissions in the supply chain From 2024, the BMW Group will purchase so-called CO2-reduced aluminum from Rio Tinto in Canada. A memorandum of understanding was signed for this purpose, as the automaker reported last Tuesday. Process saves around 70 percent of C02 emissions According to BMW, the process used, which bears the name Elysis, saves around 70 percent of CO2 emissions compared to conventional aluminum production. Elysis revolutionizes the smelting process required for production, the company emphasizes. By using carbon-free anodes, the process eliminates all process-related CO2 emissions, it adds. It could be successfully tested at industrial…
Interview with Prof. Dr. Karl Pilny Why medium-sized companies should not turn their backs on China and Asia altogether Many companies are looking at China with concern. The Corona pandemic showed how fragile the supply chains are. In addition, there are other dependencies, for example in raw materials. Do you also see opportunities? The economic dovetailing between Germany and China has grown enormously in recent years. Well over a third of DAX companies make more than thirty percent of their global sales and/or profits in China. This shows their dependencies on China. The good news is that German companies were…
Interview with Prof. Dr. Karl Pilny RCEP free trade agreement: great opportunities for SMEs Southeast Asia is also a great opportunity for another reason, as we have had an important free trade zone here with 15 countries since 2022 in the form of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP). What advice would you like to give companies in this regard? Under RCEP, up to ninety, ninety-five percent of tariffs and import duties are to be eliminated in most industries. Or certificates of origin, or Letters of Origin are also easier to manage within RCEP. RECP is therefore a potentially…
At Kloepfel, interim purchasing managers bring broad experience, supplier contacts and expertise from various industries. This enables them to quickly identify problems and develop solutions. In doing so, the interim is more than just bridging a vacancy. Rather, as a temporary colleague and coach, he helps companies optimize processes, structures and costs, for example. To be successful, the client’s management, purchasing and HR should be involved in the decision and selection of the interim manager. Read in this article what opportunities the use of an interim manager offers and what challenges he has to face. Opportunities of using interim managers:…
Interim forwarding agents on call The shortage of skilled workers is also putting a strain on the logistics sector. The situation can quickly become even more acute in companies. At any time, an employee in the scheduling department may be absent due to illness or for other reasons. Then the need is great if a replacement is not found quickly. The need for a quick solution A quick solution is necessary in such a situation. Important work must not be left undone. If individual shipments are not organized, for example, entire supply chains can quickly break down. Solution from Kloepfel…
The Allianz Risk Barometer 2023 For the 12th time, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) surveyed around 2,700 participants regarding their most important business risks worldwide. It is particularly noticeable that natural catastrophes and climate change are falling down the rankings. Currently, high inflation, a feared recession and the energy crisis are more in the focus of various companies. Besides, business interruptions and cyber incidents are on the top positions for the 2nd year in a row. All details can be found in the following graphs of the Allianz Risk Barometer 2023. Source: www.allianz.com
Senior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Junior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com
Strengthening the value chain of electric vehicle battery production Automotive group Stellantis and Finnish raw material supplier Terrafame have agreed a supply deal for low-carbon nickel sulfate. The agreement has a term of five years and is valid from 2025. For the automotive group, the cooperation is part of its electrification strategy, according to the company. It said the collaboration will cover a significant portion of its demand for sustainable, regionally sourced nickel. Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis said, “This agreement is part of the procurement of key raw materials and is in line with our need for battery packs…
17th Hermes Barometer Numerous companies are focusing on cooperation. This is the finding of the 17th Hermes Barometer. The current edition of the study series is entitled “Collaboration in the supply chain”. In this regard, Hermes Germany writes that cooperative collaboration and data exchange within the supply chain are a decisive factor in increasing the efficiency of procurement processes. This opinion is shared by two-thirds of the 150 logistics and supply chain management executives surveyed. The survey was conducted in November 2022. Better overview within the supply chain The factors that promise a better overview within the supply chain, a…
Falling prices compared with November In December 2022, producer prices of industrial products increased by 21.6 percent compared to the same month last year. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this was the third consecutive month in which producer price increases slowed. In November, the year-on-year rate of change was 28.2 percent. Compared to the previous month, there was a 0.4 percent decrease in producer prices in December. The main reason for this was the development in energy prices. Price development for energy Compared with the previous year, energy prices rose by an average of 41.9 percent in…
Year kick-off interview with Marc Kloepfel and Duran Sarikaya Marc Kloepfel and Duran Sarikaya talk about what shaped the Kloepfel Group last year, what they plan for 2023, and what measures are important for purchasing in 2023. How did 2022 shape the Kloepfel Group? 2022 was a very difficult year for the entire German and European economy. The invasion of Ukraine brought exploding energy prices, generally high inflation and supply bottlenecks in a wide variety of areas. At times, there were very sharp increases in raw material costs, which then fell again just as quickly in some cases. It also…
How purchasing achieves its annual targets in 2023 The challenge of a shortage of skilled workers Identifying cost drivers Energy price risks Reduce number of suppliers Reduce inventory levels Risk management through nearshoring, insourcing and outsourcing Risk management through product clinic Examine alternative sourcing markets Purchasing pools and cooperations Align supplier roadmap with own Supply chain law By Thomas Wandler Managing Director Kloepfel Consulting Austria The cross-industry challenges of medium-sized buyers for the year 2023 are cost reduction, supply risks, risk management as well as digitalization or process optimization, supply chain law and shortage of skilled labor. Read this article…
Due to its growth, the Austrian purchasing consultancy Kloepfel Consulting is expanding its management. This is intended to accelerate the innovation and thus the growth course of the consulting company in order to optimally benefit Austrian purchasing. 2023 Thomas Wandler, former Senior Partner, expands the management of Kloepfel Consulting in Vienna. From now on, the previous Managing Director Marc Kloepfel will increasingly take care of the strategic orientation of the consultancy such as product development, cooperations and internationalization. In this way, the newly formed team aims to better strengthen Austrian purchasing in these troubled times. Marc Kloepfel says: “We have…