News

Staufen AG ranks amongst the top class of German employers. This has been confirmed by an employee survey as part of the “Great Place to Work 2013” contest. The greatest plus in business consultancy: contented employees. Nine of ten consultants emphasised team spirit and a pleasant atmosphere at work.

How to conquer China’s markets? German medium-sized companies face new challenges in further expanding into the fast-growing Chinese sales market. Market presence and customer engagement in the Middle Kingdom frequently remain under-developed: For example, 84 per cent of Chinese require better service performance from German suppliers in future – one in two customers is critical of their ‘latent arrogance’.

In March, Xi Jinping has taken office as President of the People’s Republic of China. Under his leadership, China will spend massively on promoting innovations in order to generate growth – thus the official announcement. In your view, what does this line taken by China’s new government mean for the country as a manufacturing location?

The positive image of German companies in China is getting tainted: Chinese customers attest to the strong quality awareness of German companies (97 percent). However, at the same time, one in two Chinese perceive their presence on the Chinese markets as arrogant (51 percent). The large majority of those questioned also hold the view that German manufacturers should respond more to the wishes of Chinese customers (94 percent). This is the result of a representative survey conducted by Staufen AG in the People’s Republic of China.

At the end of 2010, the Spezial-Transformatoren-Stockach GmbH, in brief: STS, found itself faced with a significant increase in demand on capacities.  The solution: a comprehensive process and plant optimisation.

A rise in the minimum wage by 2015 strengthens domestic consumption but also increases costs The new Chinese government plans to raise minimum wages in the cities and the majority of rural regions to at least 40 percent of the average wage. The aim is an 80 million reduction of the number of people living in poverty. China’s primary intention is to prevent social unrest – but also specifically to boost domestic consumption as a cornerstone for economic growth.

Germany’s aeronautical supply industry faces a further wave of consolidations: a 30% fall in the number of companies is expected by 2020. The most important reason: increasing numbers of suppliers find themselves unable to cope with the increasing speed and complexity of tasks. The Boeing “Dreamliner debacle” furthers hastens this process of concentration, as market analyses by Staufen AG show.

On September 10th more than 200 international and Chinese sourcing and supply chain professionals and experts met at the 7th BME China Sourcing Conference in Shanghai. This year’s conference under the topic “adjust to new circumstances, manage long distances, discover new strategies” offered the ideal framework for discussions and workshops to expand knowledge about the current trends and challenges in Greater China and network with suppliers, professionals and advisers.

The German Chamber of Commerce in China (Shanghai) has been providing workshops / working groups for interested managers with a special background for many years. Those workshops usually take place 4-6 times a year. Now the new working group “Production & Logistics” has been established.