How companies prepare for the next crisis

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hopmann heads the Institute of Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University and is Chairman of the VDI Society Materials Engineering (GME), which focuses on current issues in the field of materials engineering along the entire value chain. Christian Hopmann led the study on the resilience and adaptability of manufacturing companies in Germany.

Sandra Füllsack has been CEO of the Motan Group since 2016, Managing Director of Motan Holding GmbH in Constance and a member of the VDI-GME Plastics Technology Strategy Group. Sandra Füllsack was a member of the sounding board that accompanied the VDI study.

VDI: What was the reason for the study?

Christian Hopmann: A lot of things that worked well in companies for a long time no longer work today.  We are seeing a colorful mix of crises today: supply chains are faltering, pandemics require rethinking, there is a shortage of skilled workers. Large corporations have usually already developed strategies for this and are implementing them. Our compact study is therefore primarily aimed at medium-sized companies that produce in Germany and should now also clarify for themselves: Where do we stand? And what should we do to become more crisis-proof?

VDI: What are the most important findings of the study?

Christian Hopmann: One exciting finding was that corporate resilience really is a holistic task. There is virtually no area of a company that is not affected. The most helpful result for SMEs, to whom the study is primarily directed, is certainly the comprehensive VDI compendium. It contains 130 resilience concepts from a wide range of industries, systematically organized by topic. With this pragmatic approach, we make it easy for companies to access relevant and, above all, specific information.

Sandra Füllsack: Resilience means much more than simply restoring the old situation during and after a crisis. That alone is no longer enough in the many areas of tension that SMEs have to face today: Future viability and resilience always also mean a permanent ability to change within the company - and to see this not as a burden, but as an opportunity.

VDI: If a company is only now beginning to address the issue of resilience, where should it start?

Sandra Füllsack: One of the first questions that needs to be answered is certainly: What do I want as a company? What are the main risks that affect me? Is it more the supply chains or is it the necessary qualifications of my employees in a changing environment? The VDI study is very helpful for this, because after a short and easy-to-read theoretical section, companies can use a checklist to tick off the areas in which they want to set priorities and where they have an acute need for action or improvement. They also recognize where they are already well positioned and can draw inspiration for themselves from the best practice examples of other companies.

Christian Hopmann: Resilience is a very individual topic. There is no one right way because every company is set up differently. However, the first step towards greater crisis resilience is always a risk analysis: where does the company stand in the market and what are the most significant risk factors? The next step is to strengthen adaptability, flexibility and agility by implementing measures that are tailored to the company in question. It is also important to understand that resilience is a continuous process that never ends. And ultimately, resilience is not just an entrepreneurial issue, but one that affects society as a whole and one that trade unions and, of course, politicians, for example, should definitely be more involved with.

VDI: What are the most important measures for a high level of crisis resilience?

Christian Hopmann: As every company is different, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe that works for everyone. But one thing is clear: supply chains are always important. If these are optimized and ideally also diversified, i.e. broadly positioned, the company will not be hit so hard if one of them weakens or collapses completely. At best, the others will make up for the loss without affecting production. Good risk management should also ensure that risks are spread as widely as possible. Modern risk management, on the other hand, does not work without digitalization. It is important to stay up to date.

VDI: How can the field of materials engineering in particular become more resilient along the entire value chain?

Christian Hopmann: We are a country with relatively few raw materials. This makes it all the more important for companies to strive for an intelligent circular economy. This reduces dependence on fossil raw material sources and external sources in general. The current focus on procuring raw materials should give way to a long-term circular economy. However, it is also true that we are not yet far enough in terms of the quality of recycled products. There is still a lot we can do. There is also a lack of intensive networking between companies that manufacture other products from the same raw material. The recycling quotas set by the EU should therefore not only be considered from an environmental point of view, but also as an important factor for resilience and economic efficiency.

VDI: What are Motan Holding's priorities?

Sandra Füllsack: At Motan Holding, we are constantly questioning what our contribution to resource conservation is at the moment and what it could look like in the future. Where are we already good, where can we improve? Sustainability is part of our corporate culture. It is an ongoing process and “zero loss” is our declared goal. For example, we constantly check and evaluate what we can procure locally at competitive prices and which harmful ingredients we can avoid and replace with better ones.

We also always keep an eye on our CO2 footprint. Idea management is also very important to us. We have a global pool of ideas into which the creativity and knowledge of our employees constantly flows and which is promoted through regular workshops, among other things. It is also important for us to communicate our ideas clearly: at trade fairs, we show how value retention and the circular economy can work in concrete terms, for example by repeatedly recycling a plastic product for demonstration purposes.

Download the VDI study for free! (only available in german)