April - June

Porsche Consulting opens new subsidiary in BrazilBietigheim based consultancy expands international business in South America

Stuttgart/São Paulo. With the founding of a second international subsidiary, Porsche Consulting GmbH, which is based in Bietigheim-
Bissingen, Germany, and is in its 16th year of operation, has consistently remained true to its international growth course. After opening a branch office in Italy, Porsche Consulting is now following up with its first base for overseas corporate consulting with Porsche Consulting Brasil. “Thanks to this new location, we are now closer to our South American clients and can better develop very interesting markets on site. As an experienced specialist for process optimization, we are seeing an enormous demand for consulting services in this rapidly growing and developing economy,” said Eberhard Weiblen, Chairman of the Management Board, during today’s grand opening of the office in Sao Paulo.

The Bietigheim based consultancy, a subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has implemented lean management methods, which have been used very successfully in the production of premium sports cars for many years, in various other business segments and even in public administrations. The company focuses on increasing efficiency by avoiding all types of waste, such as redundant tasks, superfluous stock-keeping, unnecessary waiting times. At the same time, with the introduction of proven methods, such as “just in time” and “just in sequence”, cycle and flow principles are employed, thereby making possible reliable, continuous processes, reproducible at any time, which increase operating efficiency.

“Brazilian companies are frequently very well positioned when it comes to strategy and financial management. But I see potential for improving processes in administration, increasing quality, and, above all, in interacting with suppliers. In these areas, there is often a great deal of capital not being utilized,” according to Weiblen, who now intends to analyze local requirements more intensively.

Clients from Brazil have relied on the German experts for lean processes since 2006 and clients from Argentina have been benefiting from their services since 2008. The 12-member founding team in Sao Paulo is made up of Brazilian and German employees who have, on the average, eight years of experience working in a wide variety of industries. Heading up the founding team is Jürgen Lochner (44). He has been with Porsche Consulting since 1998 and more recently as a partner with the consultancy in Bietigheim.

Lochner would like to increase the success of South American companies by making them “leaner, more flexible, and efficient.” The company will initially focus on manufacturing companies, but its target groups also include the construction industry, hospitals, as well as the transport and logistics sector.

Worldwide, a total of 222 employees from Porsche Consulting handle about 250 projects for 150 clients annually. Revenues posted for the 2008/2009 fiscal year were €61.4 million. In the meantime, one-third of the company’s activities are overseas. The goal of each consultation is to introduce a continuous improvement process that all employees actively take part in and develop themselves over the long term. “Our contribution is to help them help themselves,” said Weiblen.

GO

29.04.2010