| Mannheim May 2005 | |
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Dear Sir or Madam,
Welcome to our second newsletter this year. Once more, you can look forward to current topics relating to our consulting projects and information on new j&m customers. We have chosen two quite different examples from our current projects for you – firstly a logistics strategy project for Siemens A&D and secondly the successful realisation of handling unit management and mobile data collection at Behr. Our special “Accounting Standards according to IFRS” refers to the increasingly important role played by this topic for companies – even those which are not listed on the stock exchange. IFRS projects within the companies are driven not only by a need for transparency for investors but above all new regulations for the rewarding and pricing of credits. We would like to give you an overview of the experience we have gathered during our projects with customers. Our practice “j&m Business Strategy” is introduced in the second part of our special. Our approach concentrates on the all-round company focus. Starting by defining the strategic focus, the organisation and processes are determined and the means for measuring performance are established before this is then realised based on the underlying information and process technology. Finally, we are pleased to announce that thanks to our extensive experience we have now also become one of SAP’s special expertise partners in the area of consumer products. We hope the articles arouse your interest and are happy to answer any questions you may have. Best Regards, Dr. Andreas Müller Member of the management board, responsible for Marketing/PR |
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Siemens A&D – keeping ahead of the competition by going global with logistics
Siemens A&D is the market leader in a number of its product areas. High technological standards, an intensive focus on developing products orientated towards the customers’ requirements, numerous innovations, a global presence and high-performance logistics are all critical factors contributing to the success of the business. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, the success can be seen to stem from a high level of independence of each of the business divisions and the fact that the necessary structures are largely self-contained. Siemens A&D realised that if they wished to ensure cost and performance benefits in global competition they would have to operate logistics in a global framework to a greater extent than they have done to date. j&m assisted Siemens A&D in designing the structure for worldwide distribution logistics. The outcome: logistics and IT have taken on a new strategic direction. Mr. Franz-Paul Grasser, Head of Global Logistics, Siemens A&D, on working with j&m: “When deciding on the strategic features we wanted our logistics to have, j&m’s clear, structured methods allowed us to realise the aims for our initial project phase both quickly and reliably.”  Based on the worldwide flow of commodities and information, the first step was to develop a model to act as the foundation for global logistics. This emphasised the independence of the three global regions, whilst at the same time creating functionalities for coordinating logistics worldwide. Various basic options for IT solutions were developed for further analysis with this goal in mind. An extensive consultation process was now initiated, in which the strategic features for the logistics processes within each of the individual corporate divisions were systematically drawn up, resulting in logistics being segmented in order to cope with two different business systems. Each of these requires the logistics processes and IT to take a different form. Further information can be obtained from Nicola Birken, Corporate Communications, j&m Management Consulting AG by telephone on +49 (0) 621 12 47 69 - 0 or by e-mail at n.birken@jnm.de. _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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j&m assists Behr in realising handling unit management requirements within the framework of the GRIPS project
 The Stuttgart-based automotive supplier Behr GmbH & Co. KG, a system partner for the international automotive industry specialising in vehicle air conditioning and engine cooling, is currently standardising processes and systems on the technological basis of SAP within the framework of the GRIPS project initiative (“Get Ready for Integrated Processes in SAP”). Some SAP R/3 application components are already in use, supporting business processes in finance, controlling and purchasing. The next objective in the project is to successfully launch the SAP logistics modules in all Behr plants in Germany by 1st January 2006. The necessary preliminary integration test phase is to start on 1st July 2005. Special solution scenarios in the areas of handling unit management and mobile data collection (radio frequency) are needed in particular for logistics processes based on the packing units generally used in the automotive industry.  j&m Management Consulting AG is responsible for drawing up the detailed planning and implementing certain resulting developmental requirements in the relevant SAP modules HUM, MM and WM. During the preliminary selection process, j&m was able to win the upper hand over several reputable contenders from the consulting branch. According to Behr’s project management team, the reasons which finally led to j&m being given the job are as follows: "It was above all the following qualities which helped j&m win the upper hand over the competition:
We will keep you up to date on developments in this project in future. If you would like any further information of this project, Nicola Birken, Corporate Communications, j&m Management Consulting AG, will be happy to help. She can be reached at +49 (0) 621 12 47 69 - 0 or by e-mail n.birken@jnm.de. _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Special: Conversion from German Commercial Code (HGB) to IFRS for non-listed companies Since 1st January 2005, it is mandatory for companies listed on the stock exchange to prepare their annual consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). Transparency and comparability of annual financial statements are becoming increasingly important, and not merely in an international context. Basel II and the resulting increased requirement for information on the part of financial institutions increase the pressure on non-listed companies to convert to IFRS as well. The IFRS regulations differ considerably from those of the German Commercial Code (HGB):
 The conversion to IFRS still means that an entire comparison period has to be stated. The time, effort and costs entailed by conversion are often underestimated. A project aimed at analysing the need for adaptation and working out the need for conversion of processes and IT systems ought therefore to be commenced in sufficiently good time. As a rule, the conversion to IFRS goes hand in hand with the introduction of the cost of sales method, the standard international method used for representing the profit and loss account.  j&m can provide you with competent assistance when realising an IFRS conversion project:
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Special: New j&m Practice – Business Strategy
Ideally, the form taken by operational processes and the supporting IT infrastructure ought to follow or support the corporate strategy. In our projects, however, we often come across situations in which basic strategic requirements are missing, and the aim of the operational process design is to resolve urgent problems. There are also situations in which we are expected to optimise defined processes in order to achieve improved performance, whilst at the same time major problems in other areas of the business emerge, reducing awareness for the project work. Both cases result from strategic problems within the company, leading to a need to rethink the company’s strategic focus. Working from these premises, we have started to offer an additional service in the “Business Strategy” area. Initially, we will offer this in more detail for issues relating to the design of supply chains. This covers both the company’s product market strategy and working out relevant factors for success aimed at boosting the company’s performance. The main emphasis is on managing discontinuities, i.e. recognising measures necessary for altering the company’s focus. The concept we use is “S-bend management”. This describes the development of the company’s performance according to time elapsed and allows for the necessary measures to be derived and for the company’s position compared to the competition to be determined.  j&m’s approach concerns the focus of the company as a whole. Starting from defining the strategic direction, the organisation and processes are determined and means of measuring performance are established, building on the underlying information and process technology. Sustainability of the measures which are defined and introduced is ensured by using change management focussed on people, in order to fix the necessary alterations and new working methods both on the level of those involved directly in the processes and at management level. This method has already been put to the practice successfully in companies in the telecommunications, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries, as well as in companies dealing in consumer goods. We are happy to provide selected references upon request. Further details and information can be obtained from Nicola Birken, Corporate Communications, j&m Management Consulting AG by telephone +49 (0) 621 12 47 69 - 0 or at the e-mail address n.birken@jnm.de. |
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We would be very happy to welcome you to the following events. We are also available for individual meetings at each of the events – please feel free to make an appointment:
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