The economic challenges facing the Mechanical Engineering sector

Here is an insight into our findings - download our study below! 

The most important challenges in the supply chain area are the difficulty of planning and fluctuations in supply. In the area of human resources, the companies surveyed consider the lack of qualified personnel to be the No. 1 problem. In sales, the main burdens are the difficulty of planning and the volatility of demand.

The respondents named five areas as the most important opportunities and fields of action: 

• digitization of processes and workflows to increase efficiency 
• innovation in the form of new, innovative products and services
• sustainable value creation 
• optimization through greater cost efficiency and quality enhancement 
• greater employee attractiveness through new, hybrid work models. 

For greater resilience in the supply chain, the vast majority of companies are striving for stronger partnerships and closer collaboration with suppliers as well as changes to their supplier structure. In the field of action of digitalization, most machine builders are focusing on improved data availability, data integration and data transparency in order to make their business processes more efficient. The issue of sustainability is often still underestimated and not sufficiently perceived as an indispensable future and image issue. Only companies with clear sustainability positioning and structures can use the topic as a competitive advantage and exploit its potential. 

We have determined, that mechanical engineering companies should critically examine their current strategy and positioning and consistently adapt to the new framework conditions. This is the only way to secure or improve their competitive position in the long term.