Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Business economics - Supply, Production, Logistics, grade: 2,1, European Business School - International University Schloß Reichartshausen Oestrich-Winkel (SMI), language: English, abstract: Table of Contents



List of Abbreviations i

List of Figures and Tables ii



1 Introduction 1

1.1 Problem Formulation and Objectives 1

1.2 Course of the Investigation 2

2 Characteristics of Sourcing 3

2.1 The Global Sourcing Theory 3

2.2 The Sourcing Process 4

3 Emerging Markets - Risks and Opportunities of Global Sourcing 7

4 Case Study in Global Sourcing - The Jungheinrich AG 11

Concluding Remarks and Outlook 13



Reference List 15

List of Appendixes 19

Appendix 20

Honourable Declaration 22



1 Introduction



1.1 Problem Formulation and Objectives



Global sourcing or sourcing in emerging markets per se is becoming more and more influential, and is a crucial factor of success in many companies. Globalisation is certainly one of the most outstanding phenomena in our todays world.

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Especially German companies are facing a multitude of obstacles in their domestic market: High salaries and non-wage labour costs, market saturation and elevated production costs, associated with rising product prices, as well as increasing market dynamism and competi-tiveness forcing the companies to constantly adapt to those changes.

Many companies have thus seen an opportunity in global sourcing and moved to emerging market economies (EMEs) in the search for reducing their costs (Heakal, 2003).

The foremost reason why those companies move to aspiring markets like China, India, South-East Asia, Eastern Europe or Latin America are the lower wholesale prices in those countries (Kalkowsky, 2006). However, most firms have a different approach to the sourc-ing process and consequently varying success amongst them.

This study investigates the strategic challenges of German retail companies in conducting and balancing their sourcing activities in order to respond to the particularities and chal-lenges of specific emerging markets. At the same time an analysis on sourcing process op-erations and structures, together with risks and opportunities of different markets is carried out.