Porsche Consulting
The Magazine

Interview with Porsche Consulting Magazine: How Volkswagen Group Innovation Head Dr. Nikolai Ardey and his 500-strong team of specialists are fostering innovations and looking towards the future.

02/2025

On the job for Jaguar Land Rover: Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director of Industrial Operations, and Dr. Heiko Gierhardt, Director Material Fulfilment.

01/2025

This Chief Sustainability Officer is taking a different course: slow down the talking and speed up the action. His approach builds on a strong framework for the values that guide responsible ideas and actions.

12/2024

Located in the center of Europe, Germany needs a strong transport network — nationally and internationally, for both passengers and freight. Trains form the backbone of this network. Yet without stable support, the rail system cannot withstand the pressures it has long been facing. Is there a solution?

11/2024

What are customers really willing to pay for a new electric car? What services help to dispel reservations and smooth the way to the mobility of the future? Porsche Consulting investigated.

11/2024

Oliver Blume and Eberhard Weiblen: an interview.

06/2024

Lithium, cobalt, and nickel are three substances that make electromobility possible — and that also create dependencies. Porsche Consulting Magazine asked Thomas Schmall, the member of the Group Board of Management responsible for Technology, how Volkswagen seeks to ensure supply and sustainability over the long term.

 05/2024

Have fleet operators miscalculated their electric vehicle numbers? A drop in demand and a slump in used-car prices are putting pressure on the car-leasing, rental, and sharing sector. Added value, experts say, could enable the sector to recharge its business and encourage customers to join the energy transition.

05/2024

At home Hauke Stars writes programs with her children. For the fun of it. As a member of Volkswagen AG’s Management Board, she is advancing the Group’s digital transformation. “In agile cycles,” she says.

04/2024

Dr. Hagen Radowski, Senior Partner at the management consultancy Porsche Consulting, explains why software must come first in the electric car of the future. He is convinced that closer collaboration between carmakers and the semiconductor industry promises better end products.

12/2023

When shortages arise in the supply chain, a domino chain of delays is triggered that can bring the entire industry to a halt. The automotive industry has therefore been developing the Catena-X data ecosystem to better prepare itself for crises of this type. Catena-X is also expected to lower costs, improve quality, ensure greater sustainability, and lead to new business models. Here, in Porsche Consulting Magazine, three experts explain what Catena-X does and how the ecosystem will soon also be benefiting many smaller companies and other sectors.

12/2023

Instilling enthusiasm in customers and employees alike is Richard Enning’s recipe for success. Always attuned to the times, this head of a medium-sized German business reacts promptly and fosters innovation with a sharp eye for detail.

10/2023

The German airport operator Fraport and the Lufthansa Group are developing a shared vision for the future at Frankfurt Airport’s Terminal 1. Porsche Consulting’s support for the strategic transformation includes ideas and examples from other industries.

 07/2023

Solid-state batteries could reshuffle the deck on the market for electric vehicles. Whether this new generation of batteries can become a real game changer, however, depends on the success of its researchers and developers. Porsche Consulting analyzed the opportunities offered by the new technology.

07/2023

As the world gets back on track, many people in Germany and other countries take the train, especially on the commute to work and in metropolitan areas. One of the advantages is resource-saving, environmentally friendly mobility. The propulsion systems have an important part to play in this.

 04/2023

Interview with Dr. Arno Antlitz, Finance and Operations, Volkswagen AG Board of Management.

02/2023

The automotive industry is reinventing itself. As it must. And not only in terms of the drive. Customers want independence, more flexibility, and less capital commitment. Suppliers are responding.

12/2022

Volkswagen’s petrol cars remain very popular on the world’s largest automotive market. But the highest-grossing carmaker globally wants to rev up its sales of electric vehicles in China. Its third joint venture in the metropolis of Hefei is expected to play a key role in achieving this goal.

09/2022

The crisis in the semiconductor sector threw a wrench into the automotive industry’s plans for production and sales. How could this happen? And how can supplies be secured in the future?

08/2022

Product engineering processes are undergoing profound change. Companies are having to manage ever greater levels of complexity and strategically rethink established development principles. A focus on systemic processes has already been applied to cars, enabling them to be developed and produced more efficiently and brought onto markets more rapidly. The basic principle is universal, however — and therefore applicable to other industries as well.

06/2022

Volkswagen is redefining the car, counting on electric drive systems. Thomas Schmall, member of the Volkswagen AG Board of Management responsible for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, is leading the battery, charging infrastructure, and vehicle component activities and thereby mastering major parts of this challenge of the century — the strategic transformation of the world’s largest car manufacturer.

04/2022

Start-ups seeking to launch aerial taxis have been attracting investors, and some are already on the stock market. Now the entire sector has to follow through — what is needed for these business models to fly?

03/2022

Smaller airports offering short flights and sustainable mobility for business travelers could soon be the winners in the aviation sector. As could small short-haul aircraft.

11/2021

Companies from different sectors are rushing to send satellites into space. Disruption and dynamism are the order of the day. “Space data as a service” is a key market trend that drives verticalization in the industry.

10/2021

Interview: How Volkswagen Board Member Klaus Zellmer expects to fulfill drivers’ wishes in the future. 

06/2021

Electric cars are only as good as their batteries — one of the most essential and expensive components. The producers of these batteries need to master the technologies and offer competitive prices if they are to succeed. The battery experts at Porsche Consulting know the means by which large numbers of the coveted energy storage devices can be produced — at half the price.

06/2021

The last passengers have hardly disembarked before nightly maintenance work on the fleet of ICE trains begins. A precise timetable is important here too, as shown by a visit to Deutsche Bahn’s newest maintenance depot.

09/2020

Audi has completely reorganized its production work. One of the largest restructuring projects in Germany’s automotive industry was completed within a single year — and is already paying off.

09/2020

Empty airports and train stations and the suspension of car production — the Covid-19 pandemic brought mobility to a halt in many parts of the world. The CEOs of leading mobility companies look to the future.

09/2020

Expectations are high and the technologies are proven — is the hydrogen economy about to take off? The players still need to network and to establish their business models.

09/2020

The battery market for electric vehicles is going from strength to strength. But it is still characterized by a high level of uncertainty with significant swings in demand. LG Chem is managing this volatility at its giant plant in Poland.

09/2020

Few industries have been hit as hard by the coronavirus as aviation. Now is the time to develop ideas that will facilitate a rapid return when the crisis is over. Digitalization and sustainability will play an important role.

09/2020

Interview: Dr. Tanja Becker, an entrepreneur and airline pilot, applies aviation methods to business — to enhance safety and decision-making.

09/2020

Interview: Porsche CEO Oliver Blume on social responsibility, focusing on essentials, and optimism.

09/2020

Industry, services, and trade have been seeing a continuous rise in the use of robots for years now. The trend shows no sign of abating, for the simple reason that robotics makers like ABB keep finding new jobs for their products.

11/2022

Jenoptik, a German photonics specialist, is charting a new course with an astute strategy of transformation. CEO Dr. Stefan Traeger fosters all innovation in close connection with customer needs. As a leading global specialist in high-tech optics, Jenoptik is using strong worldwide demand in its industry to boost its earning power. And to invest in a successful future.

02/2022

If it were up to Kleusberg, many schoolchildren could soon be attending their classes in modern buildings. This medium-sized company produces completely equipped modules that only need to be placed onto their construction sites by cranes and then connected with each other. Builders and clients can plan them individually with a configurator. The result: “class over mass.”

05/2024

Affordable housing is in short supply, and we also need more schools and preschools. These are typical jobs for project developers in collaboration with construction trades. But contracts in the sector have abruptly fallen off. The economy is weak, and bankruptcies loom. “To survive in the construction industry, you’ll now have to restructure — regardless of what role you play,” says our author Roland Sitzberger. He is a civil engineer, an experienced industry expert, and Partner at Porsche Consulting.

04/2024

A construction company successful throughout Europe unites the values it lives by and its tradition with innovation.

05/2023

The construction industry has seen little change in recent decades. It still mainly uses the traditional approach of manual on-site labor with multiple trade representatives, with largely unpredictable risks. That could soon change. In the future, hospitality, healthcare, and residential buildings will be manufactured like cars in factories. One of the pioneers in this form of industrialization is a company from Finland.

03/2022

The BAUER Group produces the sophisticated machinery for its own ground- and groundwater-related work. And for its direct competitors. The company has embarked upon a transformation designed to continue its extraordinary tradition of world championship performance in this highly specialized field.

10/2021

Goldbeck GmbH, a family-run construction and real estate company based in Bielefeld, offers everything from a single source. It designs, builds, and operates commercial properties such as hall buildings, office complexes, and multi-level car parks. It also manufactures the component parts of these structures. With the courage to pursue an individual course yet also to think in systems, it has become one of Germany’s most successful medium-sized enterprises.

07/2021

The construction industry cannot keep up with the demand for housing. This is largely because construction sites are not efficient enough. New technologies and business models could succeed in cutting this Gordian knot.

09/2020

Sylvie Nicol is the Management Board member in charge of human resources, infrastructure, and sustainability worldwide at Henkel, a German industry and consumer goods company perhaps best known for its Persil laundry detergent. A native of France now in her third decade with the company, Nicol has come to stand for change and transformation.

10/2024

Anyone who leads one of Europe’s largest dairy enterprises will need to balance a trifecta of producer, retailer, and consumer interests. The company will require a strong structure in every respect. One based on quality. With no room for compromise.

01/2024

Plastic wraps, coatings, and single-use containers — the synthetic content in all these products could be replaced by a bio-based granulate called “Traceless.” It is a fully compostable natural substance with similar properties to plastic.

09/2022

Family-run companies with long-standing successful products prefer to stick to their traditions. Change can be difficult for them — unless the next generation brings an unusual degree of courage. Like at Edding.

09/2022

Digital solutions are central to Nestlé’s Covid-19 comeback. CIO Filippo Catalano on the consumer goods giant’s response to crisis, the importance of preparedness, and where big companies go from here.

09/2020

The coronavirus has also jolted the food industry. Four managers explain how this led them to focus on essentials — and how they even discovered some new opportunities.

09/2020

Top managers need to exemplify transformation themselves. This inspires employees to follow suit, says chief strategist Dr. Teresa Schlichting. She herself walks the talk. And insists that “your brain can’t do it alone — you need your arms as well.”

10/2023

Zurich is one of the world’s largest insurance groups and has ambitious goals: even more customer focus, growing margins, and a 20 percent return on equity. But how can this be done? The Swiss insurer’s German subsidiary presents a practical example. 

03/2023

Dramatic transformation: The workforce is expected to use its expertise to dismantle its workplace and sell the resulting materials as reusables or dispose of them as waste. Nikolaus Valerius, Chief Technology Officer of RWE Nuclear GmbH and Member of the Executive Board, Nuclear at RWE Power AG, is turning this into a formula for success.

05/2022

The mobility sector is in flux and the DKV Mobility Group is in the thick of things. Thanks to digital solutions and a focus on electric mobility, this long-standing company is developing into an innovative service provider for shipping companies and fleet operators throughout Europe. Expertise from Porsche Consulting helped DKV launch its process of transformation.

07/2021

Critical service providers like the RWE utility company need to be especially well prepared for emergencies. Precise and detailed planning ensure that they can respond rapidly to unexpected events.

09/2020

Which companies will survive the Covid-19 pandemic, and which will not? Banks play a key role in this question. How DZ Bank is moving quickly to the aid of its clients.

09/2020

An effortless way to shed pounds — this ideal has become a reality for many people worldwide thanks to weight-loss shots. There have even been shortages of the GLP-1 analogs (also known as incretin mimetics). Other sectors besides healthcare are closely following the success of these drugs.

10/2024

Siemens Healthineers is setting new standards in medical technology at a cutting-edge plant where a digital twin provides very high transparency for the greatest efficiency.

09/2024

A new age has dawned in the pharmaceutical sector. A large number of biological medical products are being developed to market readiness. They have the potential to treat nearly every illness, and offer hope to patients who have conditions previously considered non-treatable or ones that are very rare. For these innovations to benefit everyone, their development processes need to be improved and their remuneration models reassessed. That is the conclusion of our author, Dr. Roman Hipp, a Senior Partner at Porsche Consulting.

07/2024

The Boehringer Ingelheim research pharmaceutical company shows how a global corporation can be strongly committed to anchoring sustainability in a vibrant corporate culture — in all of its departments and for all of its 53,000 employees.

06/2023

The metaverse — a digital space that links the virtual and physical worlds — is coming. It enables people to gather and interact virtually with the sense that they are all in the same place. Many healthcare providers have already discovered its potential, and are generating considerable sales in it. Porsche Consulting The Magazine spoke with three experts about the opportunities and risks in the new healthcare metaverse.

03/2023

Healthcare is about to enter a new paradigm. Under the heading “personalized medicine,” experts in diseases, genetics, pharmaceuticals, and IT are focusing on individualized treatments and medications in targeted ways. Insiders expect the new technologies to trigger enormous changes that will affect all stakeholders in the sector. Porsche Consulting The Magazine asked leading experts for their thoughts on these developments.

10/2022

Pharmaceutical companies play an important role in world health, and bear an enormous amount of responsibility. Quality is of the highest priority — all the more so for groundbreaking innovations — as shown by the example of Boehringer Ingelheim.

02/2022

Many companies are currently undergoing restructuring processes. The measures they take are sometimes tough, especially for the people involved, their employees. A strong and suitable culture is needed as the foundation in order for the new superstructure to be stable and resilient.

11/2024

Companies and organizations should be developing their own approaches to ongoing education. Teams can develop the joy of learning — and good examples point the way.

08/2024

Personnel questions are high on the agendas of many executive board meetings. And top managers are considering how HR departments can be even more effective in shaping the future of their companies.

03/2024

Not everyone by a long shot has the chance to work largely from home. However, those who do get that chance — on a temporary basis — are then reluctant to give it up. This is a controversial topic. “Nonetheless, there are good ways of preventing conflicts between employers and employees from arising in the first place,” says Dr. Wolfgang Freibichler, the author of this article and a partner at the Porsche Consulting management consultancy.

02/2024

Sustainability is fueled by high levels of trustworthiness and solid implementation. This overview shows the very different ways in which companies from different industries need to prioritize their short-term projects and approaches.

11/2023

Companies need to measure themselves by standards above and beyond performance indicators, now perhaps more than ever. They need to facilitate this by employees, applicants, business partners, and society as a whole. By establishing values, and above all by adopting them as a way of life, companies can promote their own positive cultures.

11/2023

ChatGPT is coming to workplaces. But who commands sufficient knowledge of this language model’s functions, abilities, applications, and risks to make good decisions on whether and how to use it in professional settings?

09/2023

Artificial intelligence: How managers can clear the path faster for innovations.

 05/2023

Whether their data are stored in a cloud or lake, most companies have a respectable volume of digital information at their disposal. At first glance, that is. For all too often, their stockpiles turn out to be minimally structured and largely unprocessed masses of raw material, says AI expert Kevin Lin in the interview.

12/2022

Latin America’s economy is suffering. Yet it also has some bright lights. Porsche Consulting’s office in São Paulo supported two Brazilian corporations that posted record sales in 2020 — despite the pandemic. Or precisely on account of it.

01/2022

Everyday operations at many companies are determined by a constant pressure to change. Yesterday’s guidelines no longer apply to today’s world. The mere appeal to rational thought alone is not enough to bring everyone on board. Intuition plays a key role in successful change management. And it all begins in the minds of top managers.

01/2022

Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH has developed a technology that binds highly volatile hydrogen gas with oil. This achievement led to the company being nominated for a 2021 German Entrepreneurial Award (Deutscher Gründerpreis).
Porsche Consulting will be supporting Hydrogenious’s efforts to further scale up its activities.

09/2021

When—seemingly overnight—a pandemic changed the way the world worked, Porsche’s consultants had to come up with clever ways to complete projects without letting clients down.

09/2020

The Covid-19 crisis has not affected all parts of the economy equally. For some industries it has even brought more opportunities than challenges. We present crucial considerations for top managers in fields from mechanical engineering to financial services.

09/2020

The Covid-19 pandemic sent shock waves through businesses and the economy. In consequence, sustainability could fade into the background — or become an even more important factor for success.

09/2020

Early warning systems buy time and provide a basis for prompt action. They use data to gain insights into potential future scenarios. But they run up against limits, especially in connection with pandemics.

09/2020

Acting swiftly and authentically, ensuring transparency, building trust — the demands placed on communicating with stakeholders are especially high in a crisis. In such situations social media are both a blessing and a curse.

09/2020

Crises tend to hit people and organizations unprepared. Strong personalities are then needed, who can see the big picture and act calmly. What exactly are the qualities of outstanding crisis managers?

09/2020

The coronavirus has accelerated digital transformation in many sectors. It has revealed deficits, but also released new energy. We look at five industries and their digital futures.

09/2020

Interview: Lockdowns have deeply shaken global supply chains. Expert Edwin Keh from Hong Kong advises companies to gain deeper insights and make security a priority in their strategic considerations. 

09/2020

In this time of crisis, many companies are switching to manufacturing essential products, launching initiatives, and sending their employees to places they are needed. A look at their reasons.

09/2020

Digital innovations not only simplify the lives of doctors and patients but can protect them too. With that aim, GE Healthcare — a manufacturer of medical systems — wants to do away with waiting rooms.

09/2020

Interview: Swiss emergency medical director Aristomenis Exadaktylos urges better preparations for epidemics.

09/2020

Battling the coronavirus is part of everyday operations at Munich’s Rechts der Isar Hospital. Commercial director Dr. Elke Frank sees opportunities now to catch up on digitalization.

09/2020