Podcast

The German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) went into force on 01/01/2023. Matthias Führich, international business law attorney for the ICC Stuttgart, explains the most important basic points to which affected companies must now pay attention in conversation with Canan Jungel of Staufen AG.

Its definition implies that a supply chain is a system that can be managed and which, in the event of a disruption, can and should be restored to its original state as quickly as possible.

The pandemic has called many established structures of companies operating on an international scale into question. Supply chains in particular are suffering. So, quite a few employers and research-based companies are taking a look around to fine new locations within Europe. Stephan Albrecht of Staufen AG and Sebastian Metz, executive board member of the Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK) Romania, explain in an interview why Romania could be a good choice.

In the wake of the Corona crisis, global networks have had to make adjustments to increase their flexibility and respond to short-term fluctuations. But what challenges do innovative supply chains bring with them? With Thomas Spiess, member of the management board of Staufen.Inova AG, we discuss where companies have opportunities to connect and what proven solution strategies already exist.

To take full effect, a Lean Transformation must include all levels of a company. This is like running a marathon, explain Alexander Burgbacher and Stephan Filthuth in the podcast. Insta GmbH, which they lead, has not yet completed its first marathon, but it’s already clear: there will be a second one.

Lean transformation and digitalization go hand in hand. In the podcast, Tobias Kehrer and Falk Hieber explain how Carl Stahl Hebetechnik GmbH benefited during the pandemic.

You could call it a large medium-sized company: Kreissparkasse Göppingen has total assets of 6.3 billion euros, more than 60 branches and self-service locations, and more than 1,000 employees. The bank is a member of the BestPractice partner group of Staufen AG. It represents companies that have implemented BestPractice solutions in their organization and processes.

Especially for companies operating on an international scale, a lean structure can often improve many processes. In a dialog with Janice Köser, Academy Manager at Staufen AG, Esther Smart, Head of Lean Enterprise at RECARO Aircraft Seating GmbH & Co. KG, discusses her own experiences. The Lean Principles proved to be groundbreaking during the pandemic as well.

Johann Soder has been with SEW-EURODRIVE for more than five decades. He serves as COO for the drive technology manufacturer, which operates manufacturing plants in many different parts of the world. During this time, he has witnessed many changes, driven them himself and turned them into improvements. He speaks with Martin Haas, Founder and Supervisory Board Member of Staufen AG, about how much a company must learn in order to remain competitive.

Just a few years ago, clinics were closed due to cost pressure and inefficient processes. The current pandemic has temporarily pushed “clinic closure” as the sword of Damocles out of the media, but the topic will come up again sooner or later. ARCUS Clinics Pforzheim has been proactively addressing the issue of efficiency and quality for years by utilizing clinical pathway managers. Dr. med. Christian Sobau explains what this position is all about.

The pioneer of modern management, Peter Drucker, already knew this years ago. And not much about this has changed. For according to current studies, 70% of all strategic initiatives still come to nothing. An effective, sustainable strategic implementation is one of the biggest challenges for many companies, now as before. In our “Podcast of Change,” we spoke with Max Illies, the Vice President of the eponymous trading firm, about the reasons why so many strategic initiatives are not effective.  

Over the years, management at T+H were able to turn a blind eye to processes that were not really efficient or to weaknesses in a business unit. CEO Tobias Truckenmüller explains in an interview how the pandemic ruthlessly exposed all of the deficits. With executive training and a strategy process, the company is now taking successful countermeasures. 

The approach of inferring general ignorance from one’s own is undiplomatic. Everyone first decides for themselves what is beyond their horizon of knowledge.

The short answer is that there can be no general answer to this question as you need to balance interests to resolve conflicting requirements. For situations that are not so extreme, this consideration depends on too many parameters and no general formula can be applied to all situations. There is no static pattern for leadership behavior – which is what makes successful leadership so difficult to learn. It is much more important to face contradictions and accept them, otherwise any attempt to resolve them is doomed to fail.

The short answer is that there can be no general answer to this question as it is necessary to balance interests in order to resolve conflicting requirements. For situations that are not so extreme, this consideration depends on too many parameters and no general formula can be applied to all situations. There is no static pattern for leadership behavior – which is what makes successful leadership so difficult to learn. It is much more important to face contradictions and accept them, otherwise any attempt to resolve them is doomed to fail.

Contradictory demands are being placed on managers. And on the extreme end, they are told that leadership will be of little importance in the future world of work anyway. But before we rashly deny the necessity of leadership, let’s first ask ourselves: What causes leadership to fail? 

Agility can help companies keep pace in a highly volatile and complex world. Michael Metzger and Nicolas Romfeld explain how this works and what the benefits and challenges are in an interview with Lea Buchmüller.

Dr. Nils Hafner, professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and expert in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), sits down with Janice Köser, Academy Manager at Staufen AG, to talk about his work in customer experience management.

Germany’s corporations need a new culture of learning, which can only be achieved with a changed leadership style, explains Niels Pfläging, business economist with a focus on organizational management, in a Staufen AG podcast.

Several years ago, when the figures at labeling specialist Logopak lagged well behind expectations, countermeasures had to be taken. In an interview with the principal at Staufen AG, Dr. Dirk Bayas-Linke, Managing Director Steffan Gold, reveals how he plans to get back on track with the “Logopak Go – Optimizing Together” project and where the company currently stands. 

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been meeting more and more people who say to me: “Mr. Krause, the concept of hierarchies is out of date – why are they still necessary? Now that we have a modern work environment.” Frank Krause, Senior Partner at Staufen AG, talks about the meaning of hierarchies.

The economy and the work world need to break new ground to ensure a prosperous life. In an interview with Janice Köser, business philosopher Anders Indset explains why this is necessary and describes how it can be done.

The pandemic has called many established structures of companies operating on an international scale into question. Supply chains in particular are suffering. So, quite a few employers and research-based companies are taking a look around to fine new locations within Europe. Stephan Albrecht of Staufen AG and Sebastian Metz, executive board member of the Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK) Romania, explain in an interview why Romania could be a good choice.

Cooperation within companies has been and will be suspended by Corona audits. With the Collaboration 2021 study, Staufen and its subsidiary ValueStreamer GmbH explore the questions of how serious these audits were and what insights entrepreneurs can take away for the future. Andreas Romberg, Managing Director of Staufen Value Streamer GmbH, summarizes the results.

Johann Soder has been with SEW-EURODRIVE for more than five decades. He serves as COO for the drive technology manufacturer, which operates manufacturing plants in many different parts of the world. During this time, he has witnessed many changes, driven them himself and turned them into improvements. He speaks with Martin Haas, Founder and Supervisory Board Member of Staufen AG, about how much a company must learn in order to remain competitive.

Anna Kopp has been Head of IT at Microsoft Germany since 2015 and is therefore responsible for the fusion of business processes and technology. Making the connection here is a challenge in normal business operations. The pandemic has intensified this even more, but it has also opened up new opportunities. Anna Kopp talked about this with Janice Köser, Manager of the Academy at Staufen AG.

Companies that undergo an agile transformation have the ability to respond to obstacles and requirements with greater flexibility and precision. In an interview with Nicolas Romfeld, Hatice Sen and Patrick Hofacker, who work as Agile Coaches at ING, explain why this is so and what challenges and opportunities this approach brings with it. He is a consultant and coach at Staufen AG.

Our Brazilian subsidiary Staufen Taktica, nowadays Staufen Brazil, was founded 20 years ago. We spoke with Dario Spinola, Managing Director of Staufen Brazil about the Brazilian economy 20 years ago when he founded Staufen Taktica, how he sees the economy today and where the economy is heading.

With well-organized and individually designed change management, companies can eradicate deep-seated problems and actively shape the future through targeted change. Dr. Dirk Bayas-Linke, expert for change management and organizational development and Partner at Staufen AG, explains what is important to ensure effective change brought about by management.

We want to answer this question and show why it is sometimes important to take on new perspectives and apply other ways of looking at things. If you are already familiar with Scrum, you should definitely keep reading…

What makes companies successful in the long term? Why do we need more courage? How can companies motivate their employees in the long term? We talk about this with Marc Gassert, communication scientist and martial arts master, also known as the “blond Shaolin”.

Prof. Peter Gentsch is an entrepreneur and a professor at Aalen University of Applied Sciences. In both fields of activity, his focus is on digital transformation. In this podcast, he joins Janice Köser, Academy Manager at Staufen AG, to talk about Germany’s failures and opportunities with respect to digitalization.

The future of businesses around the world is closely tied to artificial intelligence (AI). Verena Fink is an expert in this field and speaks with Janice Köser from Staufen AG about the opportunities and risks of the new technology.

Virtually all companies are now dealing with the topic of digitalization. It has been becoming increasingly important for years, and those who want to keep pace are focusing on it. Frank Krüger, Senior Partner at Staufen AG and Head of the Processes and Digitalization Unit, talks about the connection between operational excellence and digitalization.

To transform a company successfully, you must trace all of its processes, discover the problems and eliminate them. Celonis SE of Munich, the market leader in this area, offers the opportunity to do this and provides practical solutions that can be implemented. Bastian Nominacher, Co-Founder and CEO of Celonis, speaks to Janice Köser of Staufen AG about the company’s work.