Profitable growth strategies for engineered products companies
2007
- The right market positioning, product portfolio and operations strategy can triple the EBIT margin in engineered products manufacturing according to a survey among 250 leading German companies.
Leading engineered products manufacturers overcome traditional strategic and operational conflicts: They achieve technology and cost leadership, they successfully combine strong operations in their high-cost home countries and a growing global presence, they offer customer-specific products and use standard components and manufacturing processes, and they are extremely innovative and grounded in traditional values at the same time.
The joint survey by the CC OpS/EPHT, the German machinery manufacturers association VDMA and the Aachen University of Technology examines the success factors enabling EBIT margins and annual growth rates in the double digit range. Three success factors are key:
- The right market positioning:
For four types of engineered products companies – component manufacturers, machinery manufacturers, problem solvers and vertical integrators – we show in detail what positioning – innovation leader, operations champion, customer trend scout, decathlete – is required for profitable growth. - The right product portfolio:
Across all company types, successful firms develop 'lean products' that focus on 'WOW' features thrilling the customers. - The right operations strategy:
The best companies achieve operational excellence through 'lean manufacturing' based on flexible, synchronized and standardized processes as well as intelligent supplier integration.
Our experience from surveys and interviews with leading players shows, that the three success levers can be implemented in less than two years with the right change management in place – thus turning struggling companies around to healthy profits and growth rates.
To learn more, download the executive summary and full survey results or contact 
