Dr. Erik Bingel has joint the Baerlocher Group in 2013 as CFO. An immense responsibility that brings special demands due to the decentralised global matrix organisation, but also makes success possible. Dr. Bingel explains in this interview why it is helpful not to look too frequently in the rear-view mirror and instead face new horizons. A plea for more homogeneity and confidence.

Dr. Bingel, which company figures are particularly important to you as CFO?

EB I am now in my tenth year here, having joined in 2013. Since then, we have almost doubled the Group's turnover. That is certainly a considerable increase. However, the most relevant factors for controlling are the EBITDA development, the margin intensity and sales. It goes without saying that cost development must also be under control. If the development of the operating result is on track, the cash flow is usually also good. However, it is important to make sure that investments do not exceed a certain level. In total, this ensures a healthy equity ratio.

Let's turn back the clock once again. How was your experience at Baerlocher when you first started?

EB Right at the beginning, I had the opportunity to get to know the Managing Directors and the top management of our subsidiaries directly. So although I learned about budget ideas first hand, I didn't have a chance to familiarise myself beforehand and get to know the company, especially my team. I immediately prepared the Group budget. I guess that's what you call being thrown in at the deep end.

You were obviously able to hold your own ...

EB I had also previously worked in the management board as CFO. So the task itself was nothing new for me. However, my function now had a global and a local side. And it was exactly this mixture of international organisation, the spectrum of tasks and responsibilities and the people acting that impressed me. The ownership structure, the stability of the company and the long-term orientation were also important to me. Due to our strong internationality, there is hardly a day when new topics are not added. Right now for example, we are concerned about high inflation in Turkey, the increase in energy prices in Europe as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as rising interest rates in the USA and Europe.

How much does the international dimension of Baerlocher shape your tasks?

EB My tasks have definitely become more complex. Not because new locations have been added, for example, but because the world is turning faster. We have strong regulations and have to react to changes abroad. We live in a VUCA world - that doesn't leave us anymore. The term stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.

How do you co-ordinate within your international team?

EB I can't travel that much, it's just not possible that often due to time constraints. Due to the pandemic, international exchange has suffered somewhat - despite many video conferences. We have become even more decentralised as a result. My wish now is that we get together again more strongly and more often. I was recently in the USA. In the summer I will travel to Malaysia and in the autumn to India, which I am very much looking forward to. Nevertheless, I see difficulties in the fact that legal entities are developing in a very decentralised and independent way.

Why is that?

EB Especially in accounting it is necessary to have a bracket, otherwise I don’t see any economies of scale in the Group, no synergies. What I think is very good now, and what Dr. Rosenthal has brought into being with BAER360, is that we are creating a common platform again. We need the exchange. We will benefit greatly if we understand Baerlocher as a Group, with all the freedoms that the individual subsidiaries possess and which are of course deliberate and intentional, that is quite clear.

Nevertheless, what are the advantages of this decentralised structure?

EB We strengthen the responsibility in the companies, the entrepreneurial action, by deliberately giving a lot of freedom. And there are different economic influences where this decentralised structure helps us, of course, because we serve different local markets. But as a Group, we have to adhere to certain standards and set an example. If everyone does what he or she wants, it becomes difficult. We also cannot allow a company to make larger investments without any coordination. This means that we have to intervene in a controlling way, otherwise things will not go in the direction that we feel is healthy and sustainable for the Group as a whole. Because of course, what matters in the end is how the Group as a whole develops and not just what the individual companies do. These are issues that have to be reconciled. And we have strong Group functions such as Corporate Accounting and Reporting, Global IT, Global Purchasing, Group Controlling and Legal/Compliance that set standards and create synergies.

Where do you think uniform standards are still necessary?

EB There were qualitative, i.e. value-based compliance standards, but each company was left to shape these standards themselves. When I took over the Legal department in 2019, the issue was that we still had to set up a Group-wide Compliance Management System (CMS) because there were a lot of issues missing - for example, a Business Partner Policy or an Anti-Corruption Policy. There was something, but it was not up to the standard that can be expected today in such a size as we have. In October 2022, we officially adopted our expanded Code of Conduct and made it effective. Compliance now has a Group-wide function at our company that must be valid beyond national borders.

What do the 200 years that Baerlocher is celebrating this year mean to you?

EB From a very sober financial point of view, only the future counts. But I am happy to work in a company that has shown that it has been able to persist despite many crises. So we have obviously done a lot right. Nevertheless, I believe that we must not look in the rear-view mirror so often, even if we already have to justify what we have achieved, for example, at the annual financial statement: Why are the figures like this? Why do we have budget variances? In the end, what counts is what we want to achieve tomorrow and how we are positioned.

Do you dare to make a forecast?

EB We will probably have to think from one big challenge to the next and set ourselves up in such a way that we can deal with these things organisationally with our capacities, but also mentally. We must not despair before the next crisis, this must not lead to a permanent burden. And I also see it as one of my tasks to convey the whole thing as a positive challenge despite all the difficulties. Positive stress can release new strength. And it is our task here in management to shape the future positively. Baerlocher is a very healthy company. So I am very confident.