Second talk with Gerd Kerkhoff, Business Consultant

Founder and owner of Kerkhoff Consulting in Dusseldorf DW-TV: Well now Gerd Kerkhoff joins us again. He's a business consultant and the owner of Kerkhoff Consulting. In the engineering sector, do you agree that price decides how competitive a company can be? Gerd Kerkhoff: Yes, I would say it is completely true - because the products and machines that are produced are more or less very similar in one field of competition, and so you have only one possibility to get the contract to be the cheaper one. DW-TV: We've already established that it's just so crucial - especially right now - to cut costs. But how do you avoid compromsing quality at the same time? Gerd Kerkhoff: To cut costs and to optimize the purchasing department means keeping quality stable. You have the same quality as you had before, but by going into the process of professional purchasing you try to reduce the cost perhaps and even with the supplier you have had up to now. DW-TV: Is there one area where you would say you see the most "wasteful" spending - or the most potential to cut costs? Gerd Kerkhoff: No, I wouldn't say that there is one sector. It's different in every company. They did it very professionally in some material groups and in others they don't do it. But altogether you can say that there are more or less 10% of savings all around the purchasing group. DW-TV: Are German companies being forced to rethink their business strategies and global competition like they've never done before? Gerd Kerkhoff: I would say that they have to do it at the moment, because it's much more social to optimize purchasing than to take staff off the company. So you have to look for all possibilities which are in the market. DW-TV: We've talked about cutting costs. We've also talked about cutting staff. Would you say these are the main ways that a company can remain competittive? Gerd Kerkhoff: These are the main ways. You have the possibility to restructure, you can restructure your production field, you may have different ideas about your factories - but they all take a long time. Although purchasing and staff reduction are normally the shortest ways to cut costs and save money. DW-TV: For the private consumer, where would you find the best deals now? Do we all have to buy products from China where everything is cheaper? Gerd Kerkhoff: I would say you can make a deal everywhere at the moment - even in the high-class boutiques, because they have problems selling their goods. If you have a suit or whatever and you try to get it cheaper, you will. DW-TV: Alright, Gerd Kerkhoff, thank you very much for joining us here in the studio today. (Interview: Heather DeLisle)

DW-World | March 10, 2009

Tags:. .altogether. .dusseldorf. .cheaper. .gerd. .crucial