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Dec 7, 2020 at 7:43 PMThe Federal Association of Logistics (BVL) shows that small and medium-sized enterprises also form the backbone of logistics. Sustainability, Corona, digitalization, or New Work: These trends are not only affecting corporations. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also directly impacted. And especially in such times, they struggle for international competitiveness.
(Bremen) SMEs are the backbone of the German economy. And in “times full of polemics, populism, and polarization,” the German economy needs a strong backbone, says Dr.-Ing. Christoph Beumer, CEO of the intralogistics company Beumer Group. The SMEs are aware of this role at the German Logistics Congress and are doing everything to emerge from the crisis stronger.
Corona: All Eyes on Logistics and SMEs?
“Corona focuses on logistics and SMEs,” noted Günther Jocher, board member of the logistics service provider Group7. He observes two trends that affect his company both as a logistics provider and as a medium-sized enterprise: “In the crime show on Sunday, the dead body is no longer found in the logistics hall. Logistics is finally being positively placed in the center.” A good trend, which Jocher also attributes to the increasing public interest in assessments from logistics service providers regarding Corona. SMEs, in particular, benefit from quick assistance from the government to get through the crisis. However, Group7 consciously refrained from short-time work: “We must use the crisis to develop new services and products and strengthen cohesion within the company.”
Sustainability: A Special Importance for SMEs
Promoting cohesion is also part of the sustainability strategy, which particularly considers the people in the companies, not only at Group7. The preservation of jobs is an important contribution to social responsibility, says Sebastian Windeck from the family-owned traditional company Metallbau Windeck. The importance of sustainability, especially for family businesses, was also emphasized by Prof. Kai Furmans from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Federal Association of Logistics (BVL) e.V. Family businesses inherently strive for the preservation of production factors and thus for economic viability for future generations. This also includes the preservation of natural resources, as Dr. Michael Faller from the packaging manufacturer August Faller GmbH & Co. KG is sure. His company therefore places value on sustainable products: “Packaging is indispensable and an important part of the supply chain.” Especially in the pharmaceutical sector, which the medium-sized company specializes in, folding boxes and other packaging materials also serve an informational, identification, and protective function. Therefore, if packaging is essential, it is natural for the entrepreneur to make it as sustainable as possible – for example, by using cardboard instead of plastic and switching to mono-material packaging that is easier to recycle.
Future-Proof and Long-Term Successful
All sustainability efforts aim to be successful in the long term. “Family businesses think in generations, not in quarters.” This is how Faller described the essence of this long-term thinking. “We are not concerned about accounts, but about preserving jobs,” emphasized Sebastian Windeck. Preserving these jobs and promoting their own employees is seen as an important part of the success strategy. Christoph Beumer also weighs profit greed against long-term security: “What good is it to optimize my profit if the supply chain breaks?” To secure jobs and make the company crisis-resilient for the future, SMEs invest – in people, in digital structures, or in alternative production sites. However, to invest unencumbered in a successful future, Beumer also sees the duty of politics to not put obstacles in the way of SMEs and, for example, to exclude company assets from inheritance tax. Because without reserves, Beumer says, there is no possibility to pass on companies to the next generation. His demand is therefore: “It is unwise to break the backbone of the German economy. Please rethink, the backbone starts in the head.”
Photo: © BVL
