Optimizing the product range involves far more than just updating the product and service offering. Rather, it is about drawing a sharp line between profitable and market-relevant products and those that tie up resources without generating corresponding returns. Anyone who dares to take this step should not shy away from complex processes, comprehensive data analyses and a structured examination of market dynamics.

Many SMEs are being forced to optimize their operational processes due to growing pressure on earnings. What is often overlooked is the overhead area. Experience shows that many medium-sized companies in particular are lugging around unnecessary ballast. Yet there is enormous potential for reducing costs in the overhead area: 15 to 18 percent is not uncommon.

According to official figures, the turnover of furniture manufacturers and retailers fell by 5 to 7 per cent last year, with a drop of almost 12 per cent for living room, dining room and bedroom furniture. enomyc industry expert Marc Fahrig spoke to Jan Kurth, Managing Director of the German Furniture Industry Association (VDM/VHK) and Markus Meyer, President of the German Furniture and Kitchens Trade Association, about the causes of the crisis, current priorities and new opportunities.

It’s a horror scenario for any company: losing one your highest-revenue customers. The management wants to know how the loss will affect the operating result. The consequences for turnover, inventory, material and personnel costs also need to be identified as quickly as possible. In theory, this is the time for management control. In practice, however, this is often hopelessly overwhelmed.

There is currently hardly a statement from company representatives that does not contain a complaint about the lack of skilled workers and managers. While politicians are endeavouring to make Germany more attractive to qualified people from all over the world, the consequences of the shortage are becoming increasingly noticeable. For experts and business representatives, it has long been one of the biggest obstacles to growth in our country. “Lamenting doesn’t help, we have to take matters into our own hands”, is the credo of enomyc author Wolfram W. Hackbarth. No sooner said than done. He has developed a training programme for his SME customers that prepares career changers for their tasks as specialists and managers in a short space of time.

New kitchen, new bed, new desk: during the pandemic, but also afterwards, Germans have invested heavily in their own four walls. The good mood has now evaporated. In this interview, Marc Fahrig, sector and retail expert at enomyc, explains the reasons behind the turnaround and how retailers and industry can meet the challenges.

Forecasts are difficult, especially when they concern the future. What sounds so flippant and easy is often a great burden in everyday business life, as most decisions have to be made under great uncertainty. Nobody knows what the future holds and which decision will turn out to be the right one in the end. In their article, our enomyc authors Stefan Frings and Mario Trapp show how modern business intelligence and business analytics solutions can also help SMEs to make better-informed and therefore sounder decisions.

enomyc has reason to celebrate: what began as a two-man operation in an office overlooking the River Elbe has developed into one of the leading management consultancies for SMEs over the past 20 years. What was the start like 20 years ago? What have the founders learnt in the years that followed and what are their plans for the future? A conversation with Martin Hammer and Uwe Köstens about difficult start-ups, the power of mindset and sweeping your own backyard.

Sustainable corporate governance, also known by the abbreviation ESG, at first seemed to be a topic that mainly concerned large corporations. However, it has been clear for some time that, beginning in 2025, many medium-sized companies will also have to report on sustainability in accordance with the requirements of the so-called Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD for short. What exactly will be expected of companies then? Can sustainability be measured at all, and if so, in what form?

Port of Hamburg, spy balloon, merger with Russia, conflict with Taiwan: China is fueling the scepticism of its economic partners all by itself, say some. The China bashing is exaggerated, say others. But one thing is certain: China's strategy is not leaving Germany unscathed. Can things continue as they are? Is decoupling the answer? And what would the "golden mean" look like? Three scenarios with Martin Hammer.

2022 was a difficult year for many companies. While the Corona pandemic in the form of fragile supply chains has not quite been overcome even after almost three years, galloping energy costs, rising interest rates and a threatening shortage of staff are creating new, additional risk factors. An interview with Martin Hammer and Uwe Köstens about the current situation, the outlook for 2023 and why restructuring experts are often "buzzkills".