Author: Kloepfel
Interview with Theo Drepper, Head of purchasing at wissner-bosserhoff What were the goals of the project? Covid-19 has greatly increased the demand for hospital beds. In some cases, we even redesigned nursing beds for use in hospitals. It was clear to us at the beginning of the pandemic that we would have to prepare for a very high demand for a longer period. That is why we brought the necessary expertise and required digital tools on board early on with Kloepfel Consulting. Since our colleagues were also aware that we had to react quickly to the surge in demand, we…
HWWI commodity price index continues to rise at the beginning of the year HWWI overall index increased by 10.6% (US dollar basis) Crude oil prices rose by 10.2% Iron ore prices increased by 12.4% (Hamburg, February 17, 2021) In January, most prices on the international commodity markets increased. The HWWI commodity price index rose by an average of 10.6% month-on-month, exceeding the average value of January 2020 by 2%. Global vaccinations continued to raise hopes for a recovery in the global economy in January, driving up prices in energy and industrial commodity markets. Crude oil prices were also supported by…
Local hero or Champions League? Where does your purchasing department stand? How is your purchasing department doing in the Corona pandemic? Purchasing has certainly been challenged and put in the spotlight during the crisis. Organizational strengths as well as weaknesses stand out much more. Where exactly does your purchasing department stand in comparison with similar companies? Is it a local hero, or is it already playing in the Champions League? Dr. Stephan Hofstetter explains in this interview how Kloepfel Consulting helps its customers to find out where they stand. Dr. Hofstetter, location assessment in purchasing – what does that mean?…
Kloepfel Consulting and Onventis enter sales partnership On the road to even greater connectivity, Onventis has agreed a strategic sales partnership with award-winning procurement consultancy Kloepfel Consulting. The partnership between Kloepfel Consulting and Onventis is intended to promote the penetration of e-procurement solutions in German-speaking SMEs. The sales partnership includes the set-up and operation of a procurement platform. Kloepfel Consulting will provide first-level support for customer-based processes, implementation of Onventis’ e-procurement solutions optimized for medium-sized businesses, and seamless content integration. Founder and Managing Director Marc Kloepfel emphasizes: “Together we are working on a closer integration of our established solutions for…
Thomas Wandler and Marc Röver Working from home has significantly increased the prices and, in some cases, delivery times of notebooks, webcams and other computer hardware. The authors describe the problems and what companies can do about them through smart purchasing, ingenuity and shift work while working from home. They also address the vulnerability of working from home to corporate cybersecurity. Rising prices and delivery times Particularly in the service industry, where working from home is increasingly used, the supply bottlenecks of hardware products are noticeable. For example, employees in accounting, purchasing or order processing have in most cases used…
Progress in transformation of pharmaceuticals business Bayer reported progress in transforming its pharmaceuticals business at a conference last week. The virtual event, called Pharma Media Day, was themed “Transforming Healthcare. Transforming Bayer.” During the conference, the company explained how it is driving its strategy in cell and gene therapy, digital health and its development portfolio. Regarding its current transformation, the company wrote in the headline of its press release, “Bayer transforms pharma business with breakthrough innovations.” According to the company, the focus will be on innovations in healthcare for patients suffering from diseases that are currently difficult to treat. To…
AI technology to optimize the supply chain Retailer Douglas has decided to digitize its entire supply chain management. According to the press release, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software from provider Relex Solutions will be used for this purpose. Broad field of application The digitization is to encompass the purchasing of all products from all suppliers. As a result, Douglas expects to improve merchandise availability and inventory in its online stores and stores. The company will also use AI to increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and optimize individual product placements in stores. Likewise, Douglas expects to use AI to improve workforce…
German economy shrinks by 5 percent in 2020 According to initial estimates by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany’s price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 5 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Regarding to this, the Federal Office writes: “After a ten-year growth phase, the German economy has thus fallen into a deep recession in the Corona crisis year 2020, similar to last time during the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009.” However, the press release notes that according to preliminary calculations, the economic slump in 2020 was less severe than in 2009, when there was a 5.7 percent…
At the beginning of 2021 Marc Kloepfel and Duran Sarikaya, Managing Directors of Kloepfel Consulting, again took the time to review 2020 and recall the highs and lows of this special year for many companies. In doing so, they also talked about their goals and resolutions for the new year and gave purchasers in the midmarket important tips that are particularly relevant this year. What factors made 2020 particularly special for the Kloepfel Group? And what conclusion did you draw from it as an entrepreneur? The most formative event in 2020 was of course the Corona pandemic, which hit us…
HWWI-Rohstoffpreisindex steigt weiter zum Ende des Jahres HWWI overall index increased by 11.3 % (US dollar basis) Crude oil prices rose by 13.7 % Iron ore prices increased by 23.6% (Hamburg, January 15, 2021) The HWWI commodity price index continued to rise in December by an average of 11.3 % compared to the previous month and was 10.8 % below the corresponding monthly value of the previous year. The global start of the Corona virus vaccinations raised hopes for an economic recovery in 2021 and led to significant price increases on almost all commodity markets. Crude oil prices continued to…
Project goals exceeded despite Corona In this interview, Andreas Riem, managing partner of Hengstler Zylinder GmbH, talks about the recent purchasing optimization project. In this project, the savings targets set during the potential analysis were exceeded. Mr. Riem also describes the corona-related focus on digital communication solutions. At the same time, he explains how the change from initial skepticism to great satisfaction among employees and suppliers was accomplished. What was the focus of the joint project with Kloepfel Consulting? The focus was on cost optimization around purchasing. Here it was not only about price reduction, but about holistic cost reduction.…
HWWI Commodity Price Index Continues to Rise in November HWWI overall index increased by 4.7% (US dollar basis) Crude oil prices increased 5.9% Cereal prices increased by 7% (Hamburg, December 9, 2020) The HWWI commodity price index increased by an average of 4.7% in November compared to the previous month and is 18% lower than the corresponding monthly value of the previous year. In November, prices on international commodity markets continued to be influenced by the ongoing Corona pandemic. In Europe in particular, infection figures rose and again prompted the introduction of strict lockdown measures in many European countries. However,…
Want to bet we’ll find savings in your purchasing, too? We bet you the fee for our workshop that we will also identify high time and cost guzzlers in your company. If we lose, we will donate the workshop fee of €6,500 to a good cause of your choice. If we win, you donate the €6,500 wager to your charity of choice. Either way, the money will be donated to a good cause. The price pressure on all industries is constantly increasing. We know that your buyers are doing their best. However, buyers often lack the time necessary to sustainably…
Kloepfel Corporate Finance opens Frankfurt office headed by Sven-Roger von Schilling Another important German location in addition to the company head office in Munich and Duesseldorf Sven-Roger von Schilling won as a partner KCF continues to grow and strengthen its consulting offering On 1st of December Kloepfel Corporate Finance GmbH (KCF) opened its third location with its Frankfurt office: Sven-Roger von Schilling will head the new office of the international M&A and corporate finance consultancy. KCF has chosen an economically attractive location for its new office: As a rapidly growing M&A and corporate finance boutique, it is now also located…
Interview with Dr. Heiko Frank, CEO of Kloepfel Corporate Finance There is movement in the financial market – and this also applies to Kloepfel Corporate Finance: by strategically expanding its team and locations, the M&A boutique is strengthening itself for international business deals. Dr. Heiko Frank, Managing Director of Kloepfel Corporate Finance, tells us what is important when selling companies, what impulses the new colleagues bring with them and how the Corona crisis is affecting the M&A business. Mr. Frank, what are the main focuses of Kloepfel Corporate Finance? We are an M&A boutique and focus on the purchase and…
The year 2020 was turbulent and put us to the test with difficult situations. To still keep the chaos under control we give you our best advice into the new year 2021 with and present you at the end of the year our top 10 articles from 2020. How Buyers ride the Corona Waves: Key Insights from Procurement For most companies corona came out of nowhere and was an unprecedented shock. At first far away, it started in China, then suddenly appeared in Italy, and after that spread across Europe and the entire globe. Soon it became clear that…
Innovative tooling helps us to find the best match In a tumultuous year for M&A, Kloepfel CF came into the spotlight with a number of high-profile transactions. The Munich-based boutique is a business unit of the international Kloepfel Group. It focuses on Mergers & Acquisitions in the SME segment and advises and supports national and international companies, family offices and private equity funds in their transaction matters, both on the buy- and sell- side. It also advises on related financing issues. The firm was founded by Heiko Frank in 2016. In August of this year, Kloepfel CF advised the shareholders…
For most companies corona came out of nowhere and was an unprecedented shock. At first far away, it started in China, then suddenly appeared in Italy, and after that spread across Europe and the entire globe. Soon it became clear that there would be a potential impact on entire value chains, which have been built up over the last 25 years in the drive for globalization. How buyers coped with the new challenge, and which measures Kloepfel Consulting advised, tells us Dr. Stephan Hofstetter, Partner and Head of the Kloepfel Academy. Taking Responsibility: The Right Advise at the Right Time…