Artificial intelligence (AI) is deemed to become one of the century's main drivers of economic competitiveness. In this field, startups – not multinational corporations – have become the most powerful drivers of innovation, developing technologies such as image recognition, natural language processing and automated driving.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Germany (AmCham Germany) and Roland Berger will present the results of the Transatlantic Business Barometer 2018 today. The survey shows that the fiscal year 2017 was successful for US companies in Germany. Three-quarters of the companies increased their sales revenue, more than half increased both investments and the number of employees.
Consultancy Roland Berger continues to expand its global Operations practice and brings procurement and supply chain management expert Sven T. Marlinghaus onboard as a Senior Partner.
The domestic appliances market is rapidly consolidating, with the top ten MDA suppliers dominating almost two thirds of the global market. While incumbents operating in saturated markets see their margins falling, Asian producers have been able to significantly expand their position worldwide. This represents a critical challenge especially for mid-sized players, whose R&D budgets are limited.
Institutions and oil-producing countries expect a moderate increase in oil prices from USD 51 in 2017 to USD 54 per barrel WTI (West Texas Intermediate) in 2018. While both demand and supply grew in 2017, the market experienced its first period of undersupply since 2013. This development and the resulting increase in prices can be attributed to OPEC's decision to reduce production in 2016.
Motor fleet insurance has traditionally been a difficult area for insurers to be involved in. Indeed, policies aimed at meeting car users' end needs, coupled with the sheer negotiating power of fleet owners, have combined to turn the business into a major loss-maker for insurers.
Utility companies are experiencing a rapid transformation. They are witnessing their industry shifting from a regulation-driven, reliable environment to a technology-driven, uncertain and altogether more sophisticated marketplace where real-time data on energy supply and demand and energy prices are increasingly crucial.
The aging of the population will give fresh impetus to the drive for autonomous vehicles – especially in the countryside. A system of driverless buses on fixed routes in combination with other self-driving vehicles providing flexible "last-mile" services can help people, especially the elderly, remain active members of their community.
Growing numbers of people are expressing a greater interest in getting around by robocab than in purchasing a car of their own. As many as 40 percent of US city dwellers fall into this camp, as do 26 percent of young Chinese citizens. The share of people using carsharing, ridesharing or taxis to get about is also rising, having doubled in Germany in the space of just one year.
The private equity industry anticipates more M&A transactions on the part of PE firms in 2018 than last year, confident that the favorable economic outlook will offset economic uncertainties such as the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
Finance functions have been transforming themselves in recent years with the aim of evolving from a "data producer" to a "strategic business partner" for their internal clients.
Half of all companies consider their own supply chain strategy to be outdated and unsuited to the demands of future business. Many firms therefore have no choice but to tackle process renewal, given that an inefficient supply chain organization can send costs rocketing and gnaw away at earnings.