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Digitalization continues to drive the German economy forward. A cause for concern are not so much the technical challenges but the incredible speed and scope of changes that employees have to face. At this year’s BestPractice Day by the Staufen consultancy, the more than 350 participants thus agreed: Only companies with a serious focus on leadership and employee development, implementing both as the core of their strategy will actually realize the potentials of digital transformation.

German industry continues to aim for strong growth in China. Companies which are already active in the Chinese market are looking to expand even further; in just a decade, more than a quarter of them are hoping to generate up to half of their total turnover in China. This is shown by the results of the ‘Northeast China Location Study’, conducted by the business consultancy Staufen. More than 400 executives from German industrial enterprises were surveyed about this.

Also in this year, in the renowned branch study of brand eins and Statista, Staufen management consultancy has been voted as one of the best consulting companies nationwide. As in the previous year, the company from Köngen near Stuttgart once again attained an absolute top position in six industries and sectors. Staufen can thus count itself among the top consultants, among others in the automotive and supplier industry as well as in machinery and plant engineering.

With the financial year of 2015, Staufen AG continued its ongoing progress along the path to growth. For the first time in the company’s history, revenue climbed to around 50 million euros. Meanwhile, behind this success, there are 220 employees across three continents – an impressive 10 percent increase in the past year alone.

Despite all the excitement about smartphones and the euphoria over digitalisation, China still needs to catch up in matters relating to Industry 4.0. The local industrial managers are convinced that Industry 4.0 will noticeably change business models, product portfolios and R&D activities in China, too, and that it will, in doing so, promote economic success. However, the Chinese companies are still in the observation period. These are the key results of the current “China– Industry 4.0 Index” for which Staufen business consultancy has recently surveyed 100 industrial companies in China.

Schuler Service already offers a wide range of possibilities to get the most out of press lines with measures for raising output, process reliability, part quality and energy efficiency. This is achieved by retrofitting innovative components, and not least by providing targeted training for machine operators and maintenance staff.

German manufacturers are now focussing on their supply chains in China. Supplier development programmes, which are common in Germany, are becoming more prominent in the Chinese market. Companies react to increasing production costs, greater competitive pressure and price cuts, which are demanded from the Chinese government. German industry sees tremendous scope for improvement at their suppliers: Productivity in Chinese factories can be increased by more than a third, whilst scrap and lead times can be halved – which will allow to achieve high cost savings. This is the outcome of a market analysis by Staufen, a consultancy company.

The “Year of Innovation 2015” proclaimed by Germany and China is in danger of failing. 62 per cent of German business representatives still lack confidence to undertake future development work with Chinese partners. By way of comparison: Not even one in ten cite such a lack of confidence with respect to partners from the European Union. That was revealed by a study conducted by management consultancy firm Staufen and Chinaforum Bayern e.V. For the “China Poll”, 150 companies in Germany were interviewed.

While World Cup euphoria is likely to drown international criticism of Brazil in the weeks to come, industrial companies in the country itself are not given any respite. Subsidiaries of Western parent companies also feel the pressure: the domestic economy, isolated by politics, is limping, investments in machine parks are delayed, personnel costs are going through the roof. As a consequence, companies’ productivity is on a sharp decline.