Author: Kloepfel
GFE Solutions: Recruit high-caliber interim engineers! What problems or challenges does GFE Solutions solve for its customers? GFE Solutions offers its customers in the DACH region, for example from the mechanical engineering, automotive and steel processing industries, top-class engineering services on a wide range of topics. We support our customers as needed by providing additional engineering personnel for seasonal peak periods as well as for one-off industrial projects. Our services include the design of their products, strength calculations, and PLC programming for equipment controls and CNC programming for their own CNC manufacturing machines. Engineers work both remotely (offsite) and on-site…
Customer interview with Stefan Blessing, Managing Partner How long did it take you to find the right interim manager? It went very quickly. After about two weeks, the interim manager from Kloepfel Consulting, Ludovic Montécot, started working for us. In which position was Mr. Montécot assigned to you? We have appointed him as interim procurement manager. What tasks did he have with you? Among other things, Mr. Montécot was responsible as main commodity group manager for the scheduling of our largest commodity groups wood, aluminum and steel. This involved a lot of operational tasks, such as triggering orders in the…
Interview: Interim Purchasing & Disposition Manager at Grundig Business Systems. Interview with Barbara Kuriczak, Managing Director Grundig Business Systems, and Daniel Frieg, Authorized Signatory Grundig Business Systems. How did you hear about interim management from Kloepfel Consulting? Through a shareholder. Approximately how long did it take to find the interim manager? It was very quick, within fourteen days. For which position was the interim manager assigned to you? Torsten Althaus from Kloepfel Consulting was our interim purchasing and scheduling manager for almost half a year. He was deployed on site at our company. Mr. Althaus managed the purchasing and scheduling…
Author: Stefan Meyer, Senior Consultant at Kloepfel Consulting Innovative thinking for sustainable mobility Technological progress and digital transformation offer companies many effective tools to optimize their fleet management – and do something good for the environment at the same time. In this article, we look at optimizing the cost of your vehicle fleet over its entire lifecycle. Under the term Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), we include, for example, the costs of purchasing or leasing, operating costs, maintenance costs, repairs, fuel costs, insurance and potential depreciation. This holistic view enables companies to assess the long-term financial impact of their vehicle…
More flexibility in the financial support of research and development (R&D) through subsidies has been demanded by many companies for years in order to increase the attractiveness of Germany as a location for research and innovation. In response, the research allowance was introduced on January 1, 2020. Its purpose is to relieve companies of the burden of financing R&D projects and thus to provide targeted incentives for more investment in R&D. The research allowance is intended to be used to finance R&D projects. The funding is generally open to all topics and sectors and supports projects along the entire development…
Overview of the follow-up reports Today we look back together on this year’s summer parties of our company. The locations in Düsseldorf and Austria each spent the hotly anticipated summer party on the water. Kloepfel sails across the water On June 16, the colleagues from Düsseldorf met on the deck of the ship RheinPoesie starting at 1 pm. There they were greeted with Aperol and champagne and shortly thereafter the trip started already at 2 p.m. heading south. A DJ, a saxophonist and a percussionist accompanied the Kloepfel team throughout the day and ensured a good atmosphere. At 6 p.m.…
HWWI Commodity Price Index decreases in May Index for Energy Raw Materials declines by 12,4% (US Dollar basis) Index for Industrial Raw Materials declines by 4,2% Index for Food and Beverages declines by 3,6% (Hamburg, June 14, 2023) In May, the downward trend of the HWWI Commodity Price Indexfrom the first quarter of 2023, except for April (+2.9%), continued (-10.9%). The index wasthus 41% lower in May than in the same month a year earlier. All three individual indices(energy raw materials, industrial raw materials, food and beverages) declined in May. TheIndex for Energy Raw Materials fell most sharply, by 12.4%.…
Senior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Junior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com
Strongest decrease since 2009 According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), import prices decreased by 9.1 percent in May 2023 compared with May 2022. This was the sharpest year-on-year price decline since September 2009, with import prices down 1.4 percent on the previous month of April. Significantly lower energy prices Energy prices are a major contributor to the decline in the overall index, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Prices of energy imports decreased by 37.6 percent in May 2023 compared to May 2022. Compared with April 2023, prices fell by 6.4 percent. Natural gas had the largest impact, decreasing…
Backlash against behavior of Western countries The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has decided to restrict the export of the industrial metals gallium and germanium from August. In the future, a license will be required for export abroad. This measure is said to protect national security and interests. Gallium and germanium are needed in the semiconductor, telecommunications and electric vehicle industries. China is the world’s largest producer of these metals. The new export requirement followed the decision by many Western countries to reduce their dependence on the Chinese market while still keeping China as a partner. In addition, there is the…
MEB Battery Logistics’ concept convinces the jury The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) presented Volkswagen AG with the VDA Logistics Award at the Forum Automobile Logistics (FAL) in Herzogenaurach. Volkswagen won over the jury with its ‘MEB Battery Logistics’ concept. Every year, the VDA Logistics Award honors innovative logistics solutions that are intended to serve as groundbreaking examples for other companies in the automotive industry. Due to the diverse participation of automotive production, logistics and supply chain management, the Forum Automotive Logistics offers the ideal platform for jointly developing solutions and laying the foundations for a promising future,…
Autoren: Dr. Stephan Hofstetter, Partner Kloepfel Consulting; Mario Schmidtgen, Senior Partner Kloepfel Consulting The German Supply Chain Sourcing Obligations Act (abbreviated as LkSG), which was passed by the Bundestag on April 22, 2021, will apply to German companies with more than 3,000 employees from 2023 and to companies with more than 1,000 employees from 2024. The EU is also working on an even stricter amendment to the law to make companies in high-risk industries liable for as few as 250 employees. In this series of articles, we explain how you can comply with the LkSG with much less effort than…
Authors: Dr. Stephan Hofstetter, Partner Kloepfel Consulting; Mario Schmidtgen, Senior Partner Kloepfel Consulting Corporate carbon footprint The goal of the corporate carbon footprint is to first quantify the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by their business activities in order to then reduce them with concrete measures and thus make their contribution to combating climate change. The carbon footprint is an important factor in applying ESG criteria when selecting investments, as it shows a company’s commitment to a more sustainable future and reducing environmental impacts. Emissions are broken down into Scope 1, 2 and 3 to quantify the direct and…
Author: Dr. Stephan Hofstetter, Partner at Kloepfel Consulting After the statement of principles, the journey towards a sustainable supply chain starts with the location assessment. What has already been implemented? What still needs to be implemented? How well prepared is the organization? Kloepfel Consulting’s Health Check examines precisely these questions. This analysis from an external perspective is highly valuable for companies as it provides expert knowledge from an independent standpoint. In addition to the internal requirements and measures for compliance with the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (abbreviated as LkSG), the examination of suppliers along the supply chain is crucial.…
Author: Miriam Jonas, Regional Sales Manager DACH at Prewave Prewave is a platform specializing in monitoring global supply chains to uncover potential sustainability risks. Prewave’s AI algorithm analyzes sources in over 50 languages and dialects, as well as over 140 risk categories, around the clock every day, ensuring that no disruptions go unnoticed. Sources include media reports, social media posts, and other public data sources (e.g., weather/earthquake data). This level of comprehensive coverage would be challenging for medium-sized companies to achieve on their own. Prewave provides a comprehensive view of a company’s supply chain and helps identify human rights violations,…
HWWI Commodity Price Index increases in April Index for Energy Raw Materials increases by 3.5% (US Dollar basis) Index for Industrial Raw Materials declines by 1.0% Index for Food and Beverages increases by 2.3% (Hamburg, May 5, 2023) The HWWI Commodity Price Index increased slightly in April,after falling sharply in the first quarter of 2023. It rose by 2.9% and was thus35.6% below the value for the same month last year. The individual indices developedmixed in April. The Index for Energy Raw Materials rose by 3.5% and the Index for Food andBeverages rose by 2.3 %. In contrast, the Index…
Senior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com Junior Procurement Consultant (f/m/d) www.kloepfel-karriere.com
SMEs shift investments abroad The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) conducted a survey of SMEs from May 15 to 23, 2023. 128 automotive suppliers and manufacturers of trailers, bodies and buses were surveyed. Based on these results, the VDA publishes statements on the current situation and prospects of the automotive industry in Germany. The survey shows that 27 percent of the companies surveyed are planning to relocate investments abroad. Of these, 43 percent would like to move to another EU country and 30 percent to North America. No company wants to increase its investments in Germany. VDA President…