Author: Kloepfel
BME survey: Too many companies are not preparing themselves As already known, global supply chains have been severely affected by the corona pandemic. Results of the recent BME Logistics Survey 2020 “Risk Management in Supply Chains” showed that out of five companies, four have supply problems. The reason for this poor rate is a lack of preparation for a pandemic situation. Not even 30 percent of all companies have planned a pandemic as an independent risk scenario. Of these, only one in four companies has worked out solutions for their own supply chains. Now the question remains whether the pandemic…
100 percent recyclability and reusability planned Nestlé aims to increase the use of recyclable or reusable packaging to 100% by 2025. To achieve this, the food company is stepping up its global commitment, as was announced in a company release. As an example, Nestlé mentions that the company has invested 30 million US dollars in the Closed Loop Leadership Fund in the United States. This is a private equity fund. It invests in companies to build circular supply chains. New projects include a refillable pet food system in Chile and a recyclable paper packaging for Maggi bouillon cubes in France.…
€1 billion per year to be saved The automotive supplier Continental must take cost-cutting measures because of the Corona crisis. The company has been struggling with bad news for a few years now. First it was announced that nine plants in the drive division would be closed and that the coolant plant in Oppenweiler would not be able to survive for long. Now the pandemic is forcing Continental to make even more drastic cost reductions. Previously, group president Elmar Degenhart spoke only of approximate figures such as “several hundred million euros” that must be saved. Continental recently announced that parts…
HWWI commodity price index continues to rise in July HWWI commodity price index increases by 5.8 % (US dollar base) Crude oil prices rise by 6.1 % Slight increase of 1.4 % in prices for food and beverages (Hamburg, August 14, 2020) Prices on the international commodity markets, which collapsed sharply in spring due to the corona pandemic, continued to recover in July. All sub-indices of the HWWI commodity price index rose on average compared with the previous month. However, the previous year’s figures are still far from being reached, which can be explained in particular by the sharp drop…
Interview with Robert Regge Business flights are currently in short supply – with catastrophic consequences for many companies: If mechanics cannot reach their machines in India, the result can be up to five-figure losses per day. Even personal business transactions in the Far East are impossible without a flight. Now Kloepfel Consulting offers its customers a mediation service for exclusive flights. Kloepfel manager Robert Regge explains in an interview how Kloepfel clears the airway. Many companies currently face the problem that their employees cannot book flights to their destination. Why? Flight operations have been shut down anyway due to Corona,…
Kloepfel is on the road to international success – and since 2019 also represented with a location in the Netherlands. From here, Kloepfel Benelux successfully advises European customers – also beyond the Benelux countries, as a project with the UK customer Thetford shows. Like every country, the Netherlands brings its own peculiarities with it. A conversation with Peter Smit and Martijn Heijmans about long-standing customer relationships, short distances and why it is better to ride a tandem. 1. Kloepfel Benelux is a joint venture of the German Kloepfel Consulting and the Dutch Procurement Services. How does the cooperation work? Peter…
A corona outbreak in a company not only affects the health of the employees but can also threaten the existence of the entire company. Through serious losses, exploding costs, the damage caused to the company’s reputation – and in the worst case, plant closures. Kloepfel HRS helps you with the right protection and hygiene measures and confirms these with certifications, explains doctor and infection protection expert Nadine Balzer. Ms Balzer, the media are currently reporting on companies that must close sites due to corona infections among their employees. What are these companies doing wrong? As a rule, it is usually…
Study of the BMÖ The Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics in Austria (BMÖ) announces: “Agility pays off”. This is the result of its study “Agility in purchasing 2020 – prerequisite for innovation?”. The study determined the understanding and characteristics of methods as well as drivers and blockades regarding agility. To this end, purchasing managers and experts from Europe, the USA and South America were interviewed. Of these, 34 percent work in the metal, mechanical engineering and automotive industries. Increasing efficiency, profitability and resilience The BMÖ describes agility as follows: “Agility is the ability of an organization to…
Better overview of one of VW’s most complex locations To keep a better overview of its stocks and make them ready to transport more quickly, Audi is now using a drone system developed in-house. Vehicles ready for dispatch are found more quickly and passed on for transport. The drone flies autonomously over the vehicle shipping area in Neckarslum. Meanwhile, GPS and RFID technology are used to identify and store all positions of the vehicles flown over. This is intended to support Audi’s employees in completing the shipping of the cars. Audi describes the site in Neckarslum as one of the…
Recommendations of the International Federation of Robotics The International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the world’s leading robotics association, sees great importance for robotics in future developments in production. For this reason, the association is in favor of promoting the corresponding training and further education programs. The IFR expects that by 2022, approximately four million industrial robots will be in use in factories worldwide. According to the association, they will play a key role in the further automation of production. It should be noted that the demand for qualified workers in this area will then also increase. Milton Guerry, president of…
Restart purchasing in mechanical and plant engineering after Corona The crisis shock paralysed parts of the mechanical and plant engineering industry for a long time and turned the purchasing departments upside down. Important specialists landed on the sidings without replacement. In the meantime, the industry is looking for ways to boost purchasing again in terms of personnel – but what happens in the case of a second corona wave? Outsourcing providers such as Kloepfel Services help companies to restart flexibly and immunize them against upcoming crises. Effects of the corona crisis on the purchasing personnel market in mechanical and plant…
How to protect yourself and your company sustainably Over the past weeks and months, the Kloepfel Group has been intensively engaged in the procurement of respiratory masks and protective material. In addition to numerous industrial customers, we supplied the Federal Ministry of Health, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and other federal states with urgently needed protective materials. In the meantime, the procurement markets have nearly returned to normal and most authorities and companies have replenished their stocks. If your company currently has a specific need in this area, the Kloepfel Group can offer its support based on the following points:…
New opportunities through a change of supplier Since Corona, global procurement development has been in fast motion – and it is worthwhile to continuously review purchasing relationships. A change of supplier can offer great opportunities for returns. In this article you will learn about the advantages of a change and the challenges that need to be considered. Situation on the procurement market: New scope for buyers The virus has shaken up the world economy. In some cases, goods from suppliers are no longer accepted at all. The uncertainty often leads to lower orders with effects far into the next year…
Interview with Nikolas Diedrich, CFO of Dermatologikum Hamburg At Dermatologikum Hamburg, more than 40 specialists ensure that people feel comfortable in their skin. Whether through classical, operative and aesthetic dermatology, vascular surgery or dermatological laboratory diagnostics. Together with the experts from Kloepfel Consulting, the private clinic has recently optimized its purchasing. This required a sure instinct in dealing with suppliers and surgical precision in data analysis, as Nikolas Diedrich, CFO of Dermatologikum, explains in our interview. Mr. Diedrich, what was the reason for optimizing your purchasing department? What were the goals? We are now a clinic with 200 employees and…
Darius Zamani-Achtiani is the new partner at the medium-sized purchasing consultancy Kloepfel Consulting. With this move, the owner-managed consultancy is reacting to the increased challenges and project demands in the retail and non-food consumer goods sectors, which e.g. include fashion manufacturers and producers of electrical goods. Darius Zamani-Achtiani explains: “Due to the corona virus, the consumer mood in the DACH region has clearly flattened out. Therefore it is particularly important for retailers and the consumer goods industry in the non-food sector to optimize their purchasing conditions, but also their purchasing strategies and processes. The markets for suppliers and buyers are…
About the partnership with Kloepfel, social commitment and passion for FC Schalke 04 Georg Delker is already part of the second generation of the Delker GmbH & Co. KG. The medium-sized wholesale company has been supplying high-quality electric tools, warehouse and factory equipment, occupational safety equipment, precision technology and machine tools for over 50 years. It has customers in all sectors of trade and industry. In our interview, Georg Delker tells us about the recently concluded cooperation with Kloepfel Consulting, where the focus of the cooperation will be, what makes DELKER stand out and why the company sponsors FC Schalke…
Raise investment treasures with product group profiles Even today, purchasing in many medium-sized companies is not strategic enough, so that return on investment treasures are hidden. A proven approach to uncover these is to develop procurement strategies for relevant product groups and then implement them with concrete measures. A product group is characterized by the fact that the requirements can be procured from a portfolio of similarly oriented suppliers. The essence of this commodity group strategy should be presentable on a One Pager – a commodity group profile that serves as a treasure map. With around 20 to 30 WG…
HWWI commodity price index continues to rise HHWWI overall index increases by 18.7% (US dollar basis) Crude oil price rises by 27.3% Slight increase of 1.3% in the price of food and beverages (Hamburg, 15 July 2020) The recovery of the HWWI commodity price index after the decline caused by the corona crisis continued in July. The HWWI commodity price index rose by an average of 18.7 % (euro basis: +14.9 %) compared with the previous month and stood at 77.5 points (euro basis: 76.4 points). Crude oil prices rose sharply. The sub-index for energy commodities rose in June by…