Both Wolfram Kobusch and Jochen Mahrenholtz are convinced of this. In this context, customer centricity has become even more central after two years of COVID-19 and explosive price increases for energy and raw materials, strongly changing markets, trends and consumer behavior. It is a challenging but welcome change for MENSHEN.

The strengthening of the supply chain through the integration of purchasing, combined with further optimizations make it possible to better design long-term contracts with partners and will contribute to more predictability. “A challenging but great task. I am looking forward to picking up on the dynamics of this time jointly with the team and in dialogue with our suppliers and customers”, Roman Schulte, Head of Supply Chain, confirms.

“In these turbulent times, we need to move closer together more than ever, not only internally but also with our customers and supply partners, to actively shape our common future and not just let it “happen”. We want to go on the offensive, because this is the only way to induce trust with our employees and customers. Even if the news come continuously and are not always good”, says Eric Dauer, Commercial Director at MENSHEN, when asked why MENSHEN communicates now more frequently than before.

Nevertheless, MENSHEN – like most companies – will not be able to absorb all short-term cost increases driven by the enormous rise in energy prices. Corresponding information to customers will be communicated transparently in September. In the medium term, however, interesting cost reductions should be possible from which MENSHEN’s partners will also benefit.

The process of integrating the production and technology department is already in full swing. This reduces process complexity in the interaction of assembly, injection moulding and energy systems as well as logistics in such a way that production can be throttled back and ramped up quickly depending on demand, thereby reducing energy requirements and the CO2 footprint. “We want to achieve climate-neutral growth by considering customer and employee needs” says Norbert Dick, at the helm of the new department.

To keep and extend its edge on agility in rapidly changing markets, MENSHEN has acquired a lot of knowledge and experience in the chemical, OTC pharmaceutical, coffee and pouch packaging sectors by interacting with laminate, bottle and filling machine manufacturers. These synergies will be used and further resourced to unlock the cost-saving potential in the interaction and coordination of different stakeholders in the packaging process as a value add for the customer.

More on the topics of Innovation & Sustainability will follow soon.