Process Mining and Product Mining at the AWK
Rothbaum will present a new process mining app and use cases for product mining at…
NEWS
Topic table at the INDUSTRY.forward SUMMIT
Theme table at the Future Conference: Through the recession with short-time working & Co. – Is our industry missing out on economic structural change?
Rothbaum is once again a topic table partner at the INDUSTRY.forward SUMMIT 2025. This year, the focus is on short-time working and its effects on a company’s own market position. Especially during short-time work, companies should act decisively to secure their competitiveness and actively adapt to economic changes. In the following, we take a closer look at the initial situation and the questions posed by our topic table.
Initial situation
Many industrial companies in the DACH region are currently on short-time work – around 70% more than in the period between 2012 and 2019. The mechanical engineering sector is particularly hard hit. Government support in the form of short-time working benefits is taking the economic pressure off companies. As a result, necessary structural changes, efficiency improvements or even the development of new business models are often postponed or not tackled at all.
Outside of Central and Western Europe, particularly in the USA and Asia, there are hardly any comparable labor market policy instruments. Companies in these regions have to adapt to new market conditions much faster and more consistently, as they have no or only limited state aid at their disposal. This situation forces the companies concerned to act accordingly in order not to lose their market position.
In contrast, many companies in the DACH region are faced with the bitter reality when short-time working ends after 12 to 24 months: market conditions have hardly changed and international competition is fierce. The key challenge for the industry is to use the period of short-time working to position itself for the future.
Short-time working cushions crises – but does it also slow down the necessary change? While international competitors are adapting, our industry is in danger of missing out on structural change. Now is the time to act!
Dr.-Ing. Kai Philipp Bauer, Senior Manager
Questions
- Is the industry in the DACH region falling behind its international competitors because government subsidies are delaying or preventing necessary structural and business model-related adjustments?
- What concrete steps would the industry have to take in order to adapt effectively to the changed market conditions without the supportive effect of short-time working?
- Should industrial companies actively work on their future viability despite short-time working in order to remain competitive in the long term?
About the INDUSTRY.forward SUMMIT
The INDUSTRY.forward SUMMIT is an annual future conference that brings together decision-makers and thought leaders from industry to discuss the key challenges and opportunities of industrial transformation. The event is organized by publish-industry and is aimed in particular at managers from medium-sized and family-run companies.
Dr.-Ing. Kai Philipp Bauer
Business Unit Manager Supply Chain
Would you like to discuss this topic?
Don’t use the period of short-time working to come to a standstill – we will support you in setting the course for sustainable competitiveness now. Send me a short message and I will get back to you with suggested dates.
You might also be interested in
Topic table at the INDUSTRY.forward SUMMIT 2025
Rothbaum is once again a partner of the INDUSTRY.forward SUMMIT 2025, where we will be…
The Rothbaum Sustainability Operations Cockpit
The “Rothbaum Sustainaibility Operations Cockpit” makes it possible to calculate the emissions caused in production…