Inside every
company
there is an even
better one.

Staufen, part of Accenture, has confirmed its leading position in the German consulting landscape and has been recognized for the twelfth time in a row in the renowned “Best Management Consultants” ranking by brand eins and Statista. Staufen is one of the top addresses in Germany in seven consulting fields and seven sectors – proof of its ability to translate strategic concepts into measurable success for clients.

Both the change of power in the USA and the current election campaign in Germany are dominated by the current economic situation. The “Shaping the future 2025” study therefore looks at how industrial companies on both sides of the Atlantic are approaching the all-important year 2025. One key finding: American industrial companies are much more confident about the future than their competitors in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Staufen magazine 2024 | no. 7 | This issue once again features many colorful benchmark stories from different industries and sectors. The practical field reports deal with unusual strategies and solutions on how companies react to acute challenges on the one hand and continuously work on improving their performance on the other.

For the third time in a row, the renowned business magazine Forbes named the Staufen one of the “World’s Best Management Consulting Firms”. The award confirms the outstanding expertise of the management consultancy, which trims both family-owned mid-sized companies and international corporations for sustainable performance. Especially in times of global crisis and uncertainties, Staufen’s global presence and focus on operational excellence make it a strong partner for quickly solving current problems and preparing companies for the challenges of the future.

Ostrich tactics have outlived their usefulness. The wheel of change is turning much too quickly in the age of digitalization for the new challenges to be sat out or put on the back burner.

Geopolitical upheavals, intensified international competition, innovation cycles that are becoming increasingly shorter – in a recent Staufen study, “Performance Drivers 2024” eighty-three percent of the organizations surveyed stated that they have rarely had to face such a wide range of challenges as the ones they face today. Nonetheless, organizations are still under pressure to push their strategic investments, even in times of immense cost pressure. Understanding how each decision affects the profit and loss statement (P&L) is, therefore, all that more important. 

“Every day things get a little bit better” may sound mundane at first. And yet, this fundamental attitude forms the basis for an organization’s sustainable success. Staufen AG has developed a multi-award-winning approach to establishing such a performance-enhancing culture of improvement within organizations while achieving significant improvements along the entire value chain.

According to the latest study “Digitalization 2024”, six out of ten industrial companies in the German-speaking region of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland lament the lack of professionals capable of fully exploiting the potential lying dormant in their data.

With the introduction of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has advanced onto the big stage to usher in the next round of digitalization – including in production. That is (still) a major challenge for a large number of medium-sized industrial companies. A vision and a strategy are needed. Staufen C-Day was encouraging in showing the applications in which AI makes sense and where the focus now lies. 

In today’s volatile world, the resilience and sustainability of supply chain networks are more critical than ever. At the BestPractice Day 2023 convention, industry experts discussed how digitalization and collaboration are key factors in achieving these goals.

Changes in technology and the shortage of skilled workers are both factors that are making continuing education an increasingly important issue for companies. The Staufen Academy’s diverse portfolio of courses will continue to provide the necessary tools for success in the coming year. 

Staufen.Inova and technology partner Shouldcosting assisted the SBB with the introduction of a new product group structure. With machine learning, it was possible to categorize the majority of the items very efficiently. A “stay clean” concept was developed for long-term assurance of data quality. Modified processes, goal-oriented tasks, and clearly defined skills and responsibilities will help SBB’s purchasers for the long term.

The automotive supplier DRÄXLMAIER has established a production line for 800 volt batteries that power the Porsche Taycan electric sports car. A key factor in the successful implementation of the production targets was data management.

At Kässbohrer, the world market leader for snow grooming vehicles, the product development was transformed to a value stream-oriented organization with clear roles and responsibilities. Complemented by the introduction of Shop Floor Management, the efficiency and punctuality of projects has been significantly increased. With this step, Kässbohrer is equipped to master industry trends such as sustainability, digitalization and the shortage of skilled workers and to expand its technological leadership.

Kiekert AG is the world market leader for automotive locking systems and a traditional company with a 167-year history. The company supplies over a hundred automotive brands with intelligent security locking systems and drives.

The family-owned company Wanzl is the market leader for shoppin g carts, shop fittings, and access controls. Until recently, it was still strongly influence d by craftsmanship, but with operational excellence and digitalization, it is now opening the next chapter in the company history.

Operational excellence is a key factor for every manufacturing company to ensure its future viability. The basis for this is a high level of enthusiasm for optimization and a permanent willingness to change throughout the entire organization. And here is the catch: change – especially in the context of increasing efficiency – is considered to be tough, resistant and therefore exhausting and expensive. But there is another way. The team at ABUS shows how it is possible to get an entire workforce to keep developing.