Press Reports

How companies can handle exorbitantly fluctuating raw material costs even without additional financing.

Purchasing consultant Gerd Kerkhoff about markets going crazy, the right procurement strategy, China's unpredictability, and what the German humorist, comedian, art director and writer Loriot had to do with single sourcing.

Business in the consulting industry is cooling off. Consulting contracts are only awarded after tough reviews of bids, costs and benefits

Unbeatable in mass production – but is China already on the brink of instability?

Interview: Christian Michalak, Managing Director Projects at Kerkhoff Consulting, on how small and medium enterprises optimize their steel purchases

One in five businesses needs outside capital

Can Web platforms displace the classical purchasing consultant? The debate is getting under way

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)—A crucial risk for the food industry is the availability of agricultural commodities in adequate quantities, at reasonable prices, as well as in the required quality. In a talk with Dow Jones, Jürgen Pahl,...

In German companies, the topic of compliance certainly rates highly; especially their purchasing departments are under close scrutiny. However, far from all companies have already set up a compliance guideline and only a minority...

Gerald Boess

Managing Director for the locations China, India and Turkey, Kerkhoff Consulting

To have as much liquidity as possible, companies collect receivables earlier and pay bills later. But most of their capital is tied up in warehouses – excessively high inventories considerably burden finances.

Purchasing departments not sufficiently tied into internal decision-making processes

In a company's own organization, profits are hidden in purchasing

Risk control. To protect against new dangers, companies need to do some rethinking – brains and intuition are required instead of checklists.

PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT. Modern supply chains are spinning ever more tightly around our planet. But the more intertwined the net becomes, the more fragile it will also be: Natural disasters, crop failures or political upheavals...

Presents and favors are out. Transparency and digital sales portals have ended nepotism in purchasing. Those will be successful today who know their customers better than the competition.

For decades, industrial buyers lived in the shadows as procurement people. Due to increasing complexities, internationalization and strategic tasks, buyers can move up the career ladder all the way to the management board in some...

Suppliers are increasingly taken up on their promises in terms of quality management and responsibility for products after their installation. Suppliers will take over maintenance work and accompany machines over their entire...

Environmental protection is expensive. Thus, many buyers find themselves in a catch-22 situation because the lower the value of the goods, the faster the cost benefit will be neutralized. Companies nonetheless doing their...

Germany's companies are heavily investing again and mostly have good access to bank loans as well. Nonetheless, many companies could still optimize their capital procurement even in times of the economic high.

INDIAN TOP MANAGERS. Indians conquer the executive floors – not only at Deutsche Bank. What drives them; where do they get their competence from?

PRODUCT COST ANALYSIS: Quite legally obtained external data allow buyers to gather their suppliers' internal production and unit costs. That kind of knowledge will strengthen a buyer's position in price negotiations. Using such...

More than ever before, the food industry is currently facing difficulties threatening its existence – whether due to food scandals, natural disasters, or economic crises. It's important to economize to be able to safeguard...

Credit crash, Lehman failure, explosion of BP offshore oil platform, the Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents in Japan – companies are facing bad surprises ever faster. Small wonder that there is a growing need for stability...

Risk management should be part of procurement

To improve their financial maneuvering room, many German enterprises keep up all efforts to improve their liquidity. A survey is now shedding light on how they go about it.

Bottlenecks in components supply had jeopardized Baumüller's supply capabilities. To minimize this external risk, the automation specialist decided on a special project to secure supplies. Now, Baumüller can guarantee...

Specialists help enterprises to acquire goods and services at the most favorable terms

During the crisis, small and medium-sized companies learnt to dig out liquidity – that also helps them now to grow during the upswing

When Comex, the commodities exchange, recently increased security deposits for speculative traders, many investors had to liquidate their leveraged positions. The consequence: The biggest exchange rate plunge in years. This won't...

It's true that ever more companies are aware of the importance of travel management.

Yet, there's still great potential going to waste.

E-procurement lowers costs for the procurement process

Chris Löwer talked to Gerd Kerkhoff, Managing Director of Kerkhoff Consulting, about the obligation of risk management in purchasing and new challenges for supply chain management.

After the earthquake in Japan, production bottlenecks are threatening especially the German automotive industry because vital vendor parts are missing – Yet, companies ignore the risk

In selecting their suppliers, enterprises should also take into account such factors as the qualification of personnel, logistics, flexibility and sustainability.

More liquidity through working capital management

Just about every car has Japanese vendor parts; 40 percent of the worldwide required technology components come from Japan. Consultant Gerd Kerkhoff explains how the German economy is affected by the disasters in Japan.

It's considered taboo to talk about business in times of human tragedies. That's why nothing much leaks out to the public concerning the other side of Japan's disasters – while many thousands of Japanese are still fleeing from...

Due to changing framework conditions in many areas, Germany's automotive supplier industry is facing numerous challenges. Since material costs are, at 45%, by far the largest cost item for automotive suppliers, purchasing is of...

What do small enterprises excel in; what are the strengths of corporate groups? A study has shown: The big ones are champions in savings. The small ones are especially innovative – and they also don't complain about a lack of...

The crisis is over; the battle continues. German automotive vendors are again in the OEMs stranglehold. During the economic crisis, the industry's power structure shifted at the expense of vendors once and for all.

After years of transparency, consultancies are now clamming up. Business developments are kept secret and new company strategies are disclosed with delays only. What's more: The new generation of consultancy managers is shunning...

Although the much-invoked credit squeeze has not come about, especially small and medium-sized companies still need assistance in getting outside capital. Alternative ways of financing are more in demand than ever before....

Cooperation with sustainable suppliers and the rigorous optimization of supply chain management under CO2 aspects provides companies with important leverage to save costs.

Until last year, Jürgen Pahl served in the function of managing director of Metro Group Buying as head buyer of the Düsseldorf-based retail giant. Since the beginning of the month, Pahl is Senior Partner of the consultancy...

Compliance is the conformity in fulfilling all statutorily prescribed as well as voluntarily imposed regulations in an enterprise. In a talk with Mathias Renz from VentureCapital magazine, Sabrina Keese, partner at Kerkhoff...

Medium and small sized businesses have one permanent objective: Increasing liquidity and becoming as independent as possible from lenders. A lot of additional funds can be generated through interdepartmental working capital...