Author: Kloepfel

Corona virus and environmental factors are the reason The credit insurer Coface has published its current assessments of all countries. Of a total of 162 economies, 71 have been downgraded. Also 134 industries in 28 countries plummeted. Germany, too, had to accept a worse grade of A3. For more than 20 years, during which Germany has been part of the credit insurer, no other country has ever received such a bad rating. Germany did not lose its top mark of A1 until July 2019, as Coface economist Christiane von Berg explains: “At Coface, the A3 mark means that the risk…

Study of the Kühne Logistics University The Kühne Logistics University has conducted a major study on the rapid adaptation of supply chains for protective equipment during the Corona crisis. To this end, interviews were conducted with senior managers of around forty companies. The study was developed against the background that global supply chains for medical protective equipment established during the corona pandemic were unable to meet the increasing demand in Germany. As a result of this shortage, many companies decided to produce masks or disinfectants locally and very quickly set up a corresponding production facility. Prof. Dr. Kai Hoberg, who…

2020 Corporate Energy & Sustainability Progress Report With the 2020 Corporate Energy & Sustainability Progress Report, Schneider Electric has presented a new study on energy and sustainability in companies. The study aims to gain a better understanding of energy and resource management. It examines how energy management has developed into an indispensable component of integrated sustainability strategies. The study also focuses on the increased use of digital tools. Commenting on the report, Schneider Electric stated in a press release: “The Corporate Energy & Sustainability Progress Report has been developed to provide a better understanding of how companies purchase energy, manage…

What you need to do now The corona virus has literally turned the logistics of many companies upside down. Conventional rules such as predictability and delivery reliability are no longer valid. Nearly all logistics departments are currently running on sight and simultaneously managing in crisis mode. The following examples illustrate the extremely precarious situation in the supply chains: High demand for storage space from food, pharmaceutical and FMCG companies Warehouses of industrial companies are full because no goods are flowing out At the same time, space comes onto the market (trade fair and event logistics, initial consolidations/insolvencies) Demand collapses but…

Harald Bloemers talks about his experiences with Kloepfel Benelux B.V. Industry: Winter maintenance, Railway and Airport-vehicles Commodities: mechanical processing, grey- & modular cast iron, drivelines, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, cast aluminium and various other subjects. Turnover: 413 million euros (2018) Employees: 1.900 (worldwide – 2019) Objective: This project was part of an international project for the entire Aebi Group. Plants in Germany and Switzerland were part of this, as was the plant in Holten, the Netherlands. In addition to generating costs savings the goal was to provide Aebi Schmidt new insights regarding the established way of working with current suppliers and identify…

Handover of 30 million face masks to North Rhine-Westphalia On Wednesday, the Minister of Health, Karl-Josef Laumann, Thomas Wessel (Member of the Board of Management and Labor Director of Evonik Industries AG), Michael Kofler (Managing Director of PSG Procurement Services GmbH), Christian von Daniels (proprietor of van Laack), Werner Dornscheidt (Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe Düsseldorf), Frank Langer (head of the joint task force of the relief organisations Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, Johanniter, Malteser, Deutsche-Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft and Deutsches Rotes Kreuz in North Rhine-Westphalia) and Marc Kloepfel (Managing Director Kloepfel Group) visited the warehouse for protective equipment at Messe Düsseldorf. Since the…

5 signposts to rethink the future of purchasing The Corona crisis was also a shock for many purchasing departments, revealing weaknesses without mercy. Such as overlong supply chains, virtuously interwoven across the globe. Or overly administrative procurement processes – with media breaks that are extremely hindering for work from home. Or single sourcing suppliers in Italian restricted zones. This revelation can now be seen as an opportunity to turn weaknesses in purchasing into strengths. But how? To this end, we look at five guides to rethinking the future of purchasing. 1. Making purchasing more agile Everyone is talking about agility…

An Antonov An-124 landed at Düsseldorf Airport A rare spectacle at Düsseldorf Airport. On Friday 22.05.20 an Antonov An-124 with 6.6 million medical face masks on board landed in Düsseldorf at 11:10 am. The masks are needed for system-relevant professions, for example in the medical field. The Russian cargo plane with a length of 69 m and a wingspan of 73 m is one of the largest transport aircraft in the world. The airlift was organized by the purchasing experts of psg Procurement Services and the Kloepfel Group. Michael Kofler, Managing Director of psg Procurement Services, explains: “Currently, numerous companies…

Our sister company Kloepfel Engineering takes care of its customers during the crisis. It is possible to create contactless calculations for you with our online tool “Cost Control” and thus determine your cost drivers from a distance. We are happy to offer free webinars and test calculations for our tool, so that you can get a feeling for the possibilities and solutions our software offers. We are also happy to provide support in the following areas: Production optimization Product optimization Plant design and much more In corporation with their customers Kloepfel Engineering finds out which services make sense in the…

HWWI commodity price index rises for the first time since the beginning of the year HWWI overall index increases by 21.7 % (US dollar basis) Crude oil prices rise by 39.9 Slight decrease in prices for food and beverages by 1.8 (Hamburg, 10 June 2020) The decline in the HWWI commodity price index caused by the corona crisis did not continue in May. The HWWI commodity price index rose by an average of 21.7 % (euro basis: +21.2 %) compared with the previous month and stood at 65.3 points (euro basis: 66.5 points). The increase in the HWWI overall index…

“We must redouble our efforts” Because of the difficult to assess situation – caused by the corona virus – China’s leadership has announced that for the first time since 1990 no growth target can be set. Hong Kong has also introduced a new law. At present, the annual meeting is held in the National Congress rounds. About 3,000 delegates from all over China travelled to the capital for the event. Because of the circumstances this year, many things were handled differently than usual. This year, for example, the annual meeting will take place in May and not in March and…

67 percent lower registration figures in April In April this year, the market for commercial vehicles in the EU collapsed drastically due to the corona pandemic. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), 61,369 new vehicles were registered in the month. This is 67 percent less than in April last year. The effects of the corona crisis hit all 27 EU markets and every commercial vehicle segment during this period. In April, the drop in registrations was particularly strong in Spain (minus 87.8 percent compared to last year), Italy (minus 85.5 percent) and France (minus 82.4 percent). In Germany,…

Commercial giant leases twelve converted cargo aircraft Amazon will lease twelve additional converted Boeing 767-300 freighter aircraft, increasing its fleet to over 80 planes as part of its dedicated air cargo network. The company announced this in a press release on Wednesday. Amazon is continuing to adapt to the changing needs of its customers and is investing in ways to offer fast and free delivery. The twelve additional aircraft are leased from the Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). The aircraft will join Amazon’s existing fleet of 70 aircraft and expand the company’s total network to over 80 aircraft. One of…

HWWI commodity price index continued to record strong price losses HWWI overall index fell by 22.9 % (US dollar basis) Crude oil prices have fallen by 31.6 7.2 % decline in prices on the markets for industrial raw materials (Hamburg, May 12, 2020) The HWWI commodity price index fell in April by an average of 22.9% (euro basis: -21.3%) compared to the previous month and stood at 53.7 points (euro basis: 54.9 points). The ongoing corona crisis continued to have a significant impact on developments on the global commodity markets in April, causing sharp price losses. The global curfews imposed…

The Kloepfel-Academy supports with free webinars Even before the Corona crisis it was already obvious that “smart sourcing is sustainable”. Purchasing expertise is currently critical for many companies – there is hardly any medium-sized company that does not have to deal with supply bottlenecks and production lockdowns in international supply chains. The result is: A high pressure for buyers. Now it is essential to build up expertise quickly and effectively to identify and master supply chain issues. This is where the Kloepfel Academy steps in: Purchasing expert Stephan Hofstetter outlines in online seminars what really matters now and how buyers…

Last week, our mascot Kloepfi accepted several million protective masks at Frankfurt Airport for one of our customers. He is a real saviour in the crisis. If you are also looking for respirator masks for your company, please contact our Kloepfel Mask Force! We procure tested masks for you and screen suppliers all over the world. No way is too far for our customers! You can reach us via our hotline Hotline +49 211 875 453 23 or by email to corona.taskforce@kloepfel-services.com. Stay healthy!

German industry is being ramped up Production significantly limited 56 percent rate the future of their company as critical 81 percent struggle with supplier failures 75 percent have logistical problems Supply situation with mouthguards etc. limited Compliance with safety distances often difficult Companies join forces How well can Germany’s industry produce again? What is slowing down its production? And to what extent can companies contain the spread of the coronavirus internally? To find out, the procurement consultants of Kloepfel Group have interviewed 268 specialists and executives of the German industry in an online quick survey. The random sample survey was…

Analysis. Measures. Implementation