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One in three top managers at medium-sized industrial companies in Germany considers their own company to be highly prone to crises. Above all, the high level of dependence on individual regions or markets is a source of concern for many bosses in Germany. Only one in five business leaders considers their company to be absolutely crisis-resistant. These are the results of the “2018 Restructuring” study. Business consultancy Staufen surveyed 244 board members and managing directors of medium-sized industrial companies.

Predictive maintenance drives the industry like no other topic of digitization. Almost six out of ten companies now have experience with predictive maintenance. However, not even one in every ten companies rates the performance capability of current applications as high, and four out of ten companies also see a specific need for development. These are the results of the German Industry 4.0 Index, which was conducted for the fifth time. For the study, business consultancy Staufen together with experts from Staufen Digital Neonex surveyed around 450 industrial companies in Germany.

Entscheidungsträger aus dem Maschinen- und Anlagenbau präsentieren am 6. November 2018 in Bruchsal Benchmark-Beispiele aus ihren Organisationen mit Erfahrungsberichten, Lessons Learned und Success Stories.

Four years after its first survey, the German Industry 4.0 Index has passed an important milestone. At 52 percent, this year for the first time more than half of all companies have implemented Industry 4.0 either in individual projects or across their company. By comparison, this figure was only 15 percent in 2014. For the 2018 German Industry 4.0 Index, business consultancy Staufen together with experts from Staufen Digital Neonex surveyed around 450 industrial companies in Germany.

Despite digitization in the economy and society, face-to-face interactions are are still as important as they ever were. This was clearly evident at BestPractice Day 2018, which was organized by corporate consultant Staufen. Held in to Darmstadt, Germany in early July, Europe’s leading lean-management conference set new records in terms of participation: some 400 decision makers from the business world and the industry were on site.

In these days of technological disruption, a willingness to change is vital to companies’ survival. This can be seen among Germany’s global market leaders, who attribute their success in part to their adaptability: 84% of these businesses have undergone a major change process within the past three years. Staufen, the corporate consultant, demonstrated this fact after surveying a total of 210 German companies that are global market leaders either in their industry or in their segment.

The automotive sector is facing a number of challenges, ranging from self-driving cars to e-mobility. Nevertheless, business is still booming among German automotive manufacturers (OEMs) and their major suppliers (Tier 1). According to a recent survey which the corporate consultants at Staufen conducted among global market leaders in Germany, 58% of these companies generate profits at a rate above the market average. The situation is not the same for mid-sized and smaller automotive suppliers, however. only one in three of these companies come in above the market average in terms of their profits.

Despite the fact that the culture of innovation is still enjoying great successes, the topic is gradually becoming an issue of concern within the German industry. Even among major companies, half of the 210 German global market leaders surveyed consider their own innovation process to be rather unprofessional, according to current research conducted by the corporate consultants at Staufen. Whereas larger companies are generally able to take matters into their own hands, smaller and mid-sized enterprises often simply lack the necessary resources to take action. The alternative? “Innovation as a service” (IaaS).

Successful global market leaders in Germany owe their standing in no small part to their corporate culture. 75% of leading companies with above-average profits see it as a crucial success factor. Global market leaders with only average profits draw upon this asset on a far less frequent basis: corporate culture plays a decisive role in only 56% of these companies. And in companies which perform below average, 47% prioritize corporate culture, according to the findings of the current study entitled “Best Strategy 2018.” Staufen, the corporate consultant, surveyed a total of 210 German companies that are global market leaders either in their industry or in their segment.