Author: Kloepfel
Don’t let logistics prices overtake you now! The Corona Lockdown is over for the time being – and with it the most profound restrictions on the logistics industry. The immediate effects are shown by the “Logistics Indicator” of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (ifo). On behalf of the Bundesvereinigung Logistik e. V. (BVL), these surveys the economic development in the logistics sector: In May, the main indicator was above the pre-crisis level at 102.5 points. This also means that German SMEs should act now to secure the best price conditions in the upturn. Critical hurdle for SMEs: opaque logistics…
Maarten Erasmus is a partner at Kloepfel Benelux and specializes in direct sourcing for the industry Imagine this: You have a fantastic product and you know that a company could be very happy with it. In your mind’s eye, you can already hear the feedback, “If only we’d had this sooner…”, and in a good mood you contact the potential customer. You are connected to the purchasing department via the reception desk. Halfway through your introduction, you are told to send an email to the info@ address, and for the next few weeks there is radio silence. Why is this…
Interview with Patrick Esselborn, Kloepfel Services, the service center for purchasing processes What are the current challenges in purchasing? The challenges posed by the Corona pandemic in procurement and supply chain management are enormous. Repeatedly rising prices, supply bottlenecks, employees in quarantine but also advancing digitalization and increasing legal requirements require highly qualified purchasing and supply chain teams to lead their areas safely into the future. Most purchasing departments are currently working at the edge of their capacities and skilled employees are hard to find. On the other hand, external factors such as political framework conditions, economic developments and climate…
Lean management system and purchasing consulting hand in hand IFOX Systems GmbH creates resource transparency with its data analysis tool: every euro spent is classified as value added, waste or necessary waste. This also helps Kloepfel Consulting in its purchasing consulting: Achieved savings and optimizations are quickly illustrated and hidden potentials can be more easily identified to have them lifted by Kloepfel experts using proven methods. In an interview with Kloepfel senior partner Alexander Hornikel, Stefan J. Blöchl, Head of Operations at IFOX Systems GmbH, explains the advantages of the cooperation for medium-sized purchasing companies. Mr. Blöchl, with IFOX you…
RWI/ISL Container Throughput Index RWI (Leibniz Institute for Economic Research; formerly Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) reported higher container throughput a few days ago. The institute shared results of a quick estimate for the month of June. Growth in all world regions According to the report, the container throughput index of RWI and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) rose slightly in June compared to the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis – from 125.3 points (revised value) to 126.4 points. According to RWI, the increase was distributed relatively evenly among the world regions. In addition, the institute…
More deliveries than ever before Tesla continues its successful course. In the past quarter, the electric car manufacturer was able to increase its sales by 87 percent to a good 12 billion dollars despite raw material bottlenecks. Profits increased tenfold to 1.1 billion dollars. The last quarter was therefore the first in which the one billion mark was cracked. But Tesla did not only set new records in terms of money. The number of vehicles delivered has also never been as high as in the past quarter. A total of 206,421 vehicles were produced, of which 201,000 were delivered. In…
Chip manufacturers changed production to meet demand The automotive industry faces semiconductor shortages through 2022. Alan Priestley of the analysis firm Gartner forecasts an easing in the memory chip sector from 2023 to 2024. All other sectors will recover at different rates as the reasons vary. Only a few alternatives The reasons are the effects of the Corona virus on the one hand and digitization on the other. At the beginning of the pandemic, demand in the automotive industry shrank. Consequently, demand from chip manufacturers also declined, as companies in the automotive sector do not carry high inventories. Priestley explains,…
Paris/Düsseldorf/Brussels, June 2021 – The French EPSA Group has acquired four companies of the Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group as well as the Belgian Kronos Group. According to analyses by market research firm Lünendonk, the new alliance of EPSA, Kronos and Kloepfel is the largest consulting group specializing in procurement and supply chain management in the pan-European region, with more than 1,300 employees. In total, the merger comes to 1,600 employees. Strong manpower for difficult times The current structural crisis is forcing economic players to reorganize or even restructure and find new levers to deal with this unprecedented situation. This is where…
June 2021 Author Thanh Duy Tran, Senior Partner at Kloepfel Consulting The importance of purchasing for functioning companies is currently made clear to medium-sized entrepreneurs once again. A wide variety of manufacturing industries are complaining about supply bottlenecks and lunar prices. Steel, aluminum, copper, plastics, electronics, electrical components and even purchased parts are causing headaches for many SMEs. Security of supply is the number one issue in many companies. Purchasing develops from being the ordering department to being the savior of production, opening up both profit-taking and new opportunities for growth. Read in this article how buyers master the current…
Interview with Arnd Bläsing, Purchasing Manager Sternenbäck In more than 170 Sternenbäck bakeries in 5 German federal states, fresh bread is baked every day. A total of over 1,400 people work there in the 3 baking factories. Arnd Bläsing is the purchasing manager of the company and reports in this interview about the purchasing optimization project with Kloepfel Consulting. What was the reason to optimize the purchasing? What were the goals? The management had decided to support the purchasing department and specifically me as the purchasing manager. This was very positively received, because we have a high workload due to…
Interview with Gerrit de Graaf from the SV group in The Netherlands SV group supplies machines and services to the agricultural sector and equipment that keeps roads passable during winter conditions. The company emerged two years ago by Schuitemaker and Veenhuis joining forces and has been strengthening its position since then. This includes the reshaping of procurement for which the professionals of Kloepfel Benelux have been deployed. What was the reason for optimising procurement? What were the goals? We are still at the early stages of resetting the SVgroup. After the merger two years ago, it was undoubtedly necessary. Upgrading…
HWWI Commodity Price Index continues to increase in June HWWI overall index rose by 6.7 % (US dollar basis) Crude oil prices increased by 8.3 % Sawn wood prices fell by 16.2%(Hamburg, July 16, 2021) The HWWI commodity price index rose by an average of 6.7% in June compared with the previous month and was thus 90.2% higher than the corresponding monthly figure for the previous year. The increase in the overall index in June was driven in particular by the rise in energy commodity prices. By contrast, the strong positive price trend in the index for industrial raw materials,…
European Union’s ESI business sentiment index rises sharply In June of this year, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) rose sharply compared with the previous month. This applies to both Europe and the euro zone. The value of this business sentiment indicator, published monthly by the EU, increased in June compared to May by 3.0 points to 117.0 points in Europe and by 3.4 points to 117.9 points in the euro zone. The EU reported that the ESI thus far exceeded its pre-Corona pandemic value. It is also at its highest level in 21 years. The increase in the ESI was…
Need for action in digitalization There is apparently a growing concern among German transport companies that they are losing out when it comes to digitalization. This is the key finding of the study “The networked truck” conducted by the Infas social research institute on behalf of Continental. Results of the study as a trend indicator With this study, Continental is examining the trends and developments in the transport industry for the second time since 2016. For this purpose, companies in the German logistics and transport industry were surveyed on topics such as digitalization, automation, vehicle technologies, and the general conditions…
Increased demand and supply bottlenecks for raw materials Producer prices for building materials such as wood, steel or insulation materials have risen significantly recently, announced the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Monday. The price of structural timber rose by 83.3 percent in May compared with the same month last year. Roof battens cost 45.7 percent and construction timber 38.4 percent more. Steel prices accounted for a large share of the sharply higher construction costs. Rebar was in May 2021 44.3 percent more expensive than the same month a year earlier, and reinforcing steel mesh was 30.4 percent more expensive. Producer…
Interview with Martin Ribbeheger, Head of Corporate Purchasing THIMM Group The family-owned company THIMM is a leading solution provider for packaging and distribution of goods. Have you conducted a potential analysis with Kloepfel in advance? We have been working with Kloepfel Consulting since 2017. The potential analysis at that time was the starting point for our project and resulted in high savings forecasts that quite surprised us. The potential assessment was based on the consideration of purchasing structures, the procurement markets as well as empirical values and benchmarks. To this end, the purchasing consultancy carefully analyzed our purchasing data and…
Keeping costs down with our battle plan! At present, more and more suppliers are approaching our customers to pass on rising material prices to them – a tense situation, because in some cases the livelihoods of both sides seem to be at stake. One thing is clear: Not every demand can be fully fended off. But it is possible to compromise on a common path through the crisis. Thomas Wandler, negotiation expert and senior partner of Kloepfel Consulting, explains how to mitigate price demands and maintain your position in the best way possible. Market prices are currently developing rapidly in…
Hit the brakes on transport prices now! The current Transport Market Monitor (TMM) shows it: Road transport capacity on the spot market is causing freight prices to swing to serious heights. The correlation is clear: In concrete terms, there is currently a 3-year low in transport capacity and a 3-year high in transport costs. Here’s how German SMEs are nevertheless securing capacity and the best possible terms. Economy on the upswing, transport prices unabated The reason is the economy, which is picking up again after Corona – in many sectors this is happening faster than expected. This is having an…