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04/06/2021

We will all become sustainable

We can now discuss whether sustainability should, or even must, be a corporate goal....

We can now discuss whether sustainability should, or even must, be a corporate goal. Or whether a company simply needs to make money for its shareholders, no matter what resources get lost along the way.

But this sort of a discussion doesn't really help, because sustainability is taught to entrepreneurs from another side: namely, the banks. Not yet from investors -- since there are »green« funds, however the majority of financiers want returns, and if they come from oil and cigarettes, well, money doesn't stink.

But sustainability will become part of the rating analysis and credit discussions -- so your business will have to become sustainable, too, whether you want it to or not.

Does your company publish its carbon footprint? No? That's not a good idea. It could have a bad effect on your interest rates next year.

Except for the fact that I personally have been producing solar energy for years, travel electrically and offset flights, Jarltech as a company needs to do more: get rid of plastic, use only recycled boxes, climate compensation for the trucks and, in particular, for parcel shipping. We may have to pass this on to the customer in the form of a few cents, but in the end its the right thing to do. It's our turn.

Our vendors will also have to explain what life cycle management for a product looks like. Fortunately, some of them are already moving in this direction.

It's funny though, that the same banks pushing this issue are the ones that wanted to explain digitalization to their customers five years ago but still insist on receiving confirmations by fax. Well, the main thing is to explain how the world works to others! :)

Quite honestly, I'm finally happy to be forced into it, because something is being initiated that ultimately requires everyones participation. And if everyone joins in, then it's clear that no one has a cost advantage, but rather, everyone has a climate advantage.

26/03/2021

An unpleasant delivery situation

For months now, Jarltech has been busy »pumping up« its inventory. Unfortunately, this effort is grinding to a halt....

For months now, Jarltech has been busy »pumping up« its inventory. Unfortunately, this effort is grinding to a halt. On the one hand, we are experiencing incredible growth, selling and shipping more than ever before. But on the other hand, the flow of shipments from our vendors is drying up. Very, very slowly, almost unnoticeable, but it's happening. The shortage of input materials in the Far East is now impacting our market. We are still partly missing goods that we ordered last September, and we are now partly getting goods we ordered confirmed for this coming September.

Sometimes vendors can still prioritize, because there is no real shortage yet. But those who need devices at a certain time this year should slowly start taking action, or be prepared to be flexible. You might not get exactly the variant you sold to the customer and will have to make do, but, as the saying goes: its better than nothing.

We also see a slight upward reaction in prices for project inquiries. If a vendor still has parts for 500,000 mobile devices this year, but requests for 750,000, why should they cave in on the price? Then sometimes an order goes to the competition, who can't deliver either. :-)

By the way, we do not want to conceal the fact that there are vendors who have handled this situation excellently, courageously and with foresight, and some who are now slowly starting to ask for forecasts of what the customers truly need.

This issue in the Suez Canal doesn't get us anywhere either. When I saw the first picture, it was clear to me that there are also containers for us on it. Thats just the way it is. Of course, there is also another MSC ship waiting a few ships further back in the canal. However, just because of this accident we should not allow the vendors too many extra excuses. First, the fees for the canal are more than urgently needed, so that the cross-laid ship will somehow be gone. Secondly, everyone else can detour around the canal, but that means three extra weeks. But its only three weeks and not five years, like some people are already suggesting. What is absolutely clear, however, is that in addition to the »piracy fee«, »covid charge« etc., the shipping companies will most certainly charge a »Suez rerouting« fee tomorrow.

17/02/2021

Good news, please!

Naturally, the corona crisis has negatively impacted many industries through no fault of their own. But is everything only bad?...

Naturally, the corona crisis has negatively impacted many industries through no fault of their own. But is everything only bad? When I turn on the TV, all I see is massive company bankruptcies and whining from all sides.

Boy, it would be refreshing to hear some good news - at least every now and then!

Besides, the slump in economic performance is apparently not so bad. Exports from the EU are doing well.

There are plenty of entrepreneurs in Europe who are providing growth, who are making changes, and who are not running blindly into bankruptcy: such as airlines, which are profiting from the current criminally high freight rates. Freight forwarders, logistics companies, trades, construction, lawyers, tax consultants and online coaches. Suddenly, you can even have high-quality food delivered right to your home.

I was most worried about trade fair builders at the beginning of the crisis. Absolutely zero business. But I should have known better; I underestimated this industry. After all, I've always known trade fair builders to be the fittest, most resilient and most flexible craftsmen of them all. Of course, these people all have jobs now, but they arent building exhibition booths.

There are also great examples of what can now be done digitally. The entire digital industry is simply bursting with power. Nothing but corona could have driven digitalisation at this break-neck speed. So you see, theres some good to be found in the bad.

And the normally sluggish healthcare sector is moving as if its on steroids. There you have it!

By the way, these are all industries that actively pay taxes and »incidentally« also have the risk of losing everything. Administrative offices, schools, museums and theaters do not usually belong to this group.

And the wave of bankruptcies? If you ask the individual banks, you will hear that the wave of bankruptcies is coming - but not in their customer portfolio. You'll hear that every time, even if you ask ten banks in a row. Maybe the rescue programs are working and maybe many entrepreneurs are better than their reputation. There are plenty of job openings currently - and the stock markets don't really point to a global crisis.

I would really like it if the media would take into account from time to time (between all the justified suffering of many industries) that the majority of the private sector has found ways and means to move forward. Why not show a few good examples? That would also be good for everyones mood!

11/02/2021

What drives me – and benefits you

Currently, construction work on our Jarltech Event & Training Centre is in full swing....

Currently, construction work on our Jarltech Event & Training Centre is in full swing. An eight-meter-long timeline is being installed in the entrance, which shows Jarltechs development. Just over 30 years of history, and we have dug up quite a few pictures from earlier times. Some of the things we were particularly proud of back then seem rather funny today. :)

A long time in the making now Jarltech is the oldest pan-European Auto-ID distributor in Europe, with incredible growth. And we are the only remaining distributor in Europe where all the decisions are really made quickly. Our performance does not depend on whether someone on another continent likes the financial figures or not.

What do you get out of this? We believe: a great deal. Auto-ID/POS is our only core competence, from start to finish. For example, we would never think of outsourcing our logistics to a third-party company what's a distributor who doesn't distribute anything? Or taking away goods allocated to a customer just because someone else bids more on short notice. Or »auctioning« project information among customers.

We still seek a long-term relationship with our dealers, also on a personal level. With a lot of trust. We don't have to report quarterly figures on the stock exchange, we can also sometimes do things just because they make sense, and not because we have to hit a certain key figure. In the end, I'm the one who is liable for mistakes and can enjoy successes.

It should stay that way.

Being number one in a market is not an end in itself. Size must bring something to the customer, namely a strong partner in the background who means business. And that's exactly my job: to translate these values into tangible benefits and long-term relationships with both customers and vendors. Everyone here at Jarltech understands what that means. In the long run, we will only survive if our customers make more turnover by working with Jarltech because we take the burden off you. You can count on that!

31/12/2020

Jarltech growth in 2020: the high expectations were met!

When I set a growth target of 30% for our Sales department at our Sales Kick-off in January, I was able to look at many astonished faces....

When I set a growth target of 30% for our Sales department at our Sales Kick-off in January, I was able to look at many astonished faces. Even without knowing about corona, the target was quite ambitious.

When business thinned out a bit in April and May, I dreaded I was ultimately going to have to say goodbye to these goals.

But no, on the contrary - my people rocked it! In fact, incoming orders rose by a whopping 30.2% (more than a precision landing) to 418 million euros.

Not a single sales territory shrinks in 2020; everywhere things are on the rise.

Due to the great respect for a corona slump, our year-end stock levels were unfortunately not quite as good as usual - but a 60 million euro investment program to increase our stocks will start right away in January, so that we will finally have the largest and broadest inventory in our industry.

I can only thank all my employees for a great business year, the challenges were great across all our departments. Many corona regulations did the rest.

We will present our business figures in April and already expect a further increase in our equity ratio. By the way, since our 2019 figures, the Jarltech group now achieved »investment-grade bond rating« according to the Deutsche Bundesbank's audit opinion. What strong praise for the stability of the company.

I'll keep the goals for 2021 to myself for now, because why ruin the fun. :) There is still a little time until our virtual Kick-off at the end of January.

18/12/2020

Getting fat without having fun

Lets be honest, weight gain is a dirty word - it only happens to undisciplined, weak people. Well - maybe they have a disease, but isn't that more of an excuse?...

Lets be honest, weight gain is a dirty word - it only happens to undisciplined, weak people. Well - maybe they have a disease, but isn't that more of an excuse? Let's think about it.

What comes to our subconscious mind on the subject of »weight gain«? Exactly: feasting! Not abnormal »taking in food«. On the contrary: indulgence!! Gingerbread, raclette, fondue, heavy sauces, French fries, pralines, chocolate - if you could now merely think away your guilty conscience, wouldn't that be nice? Doesn't the wisdom that no matter how much you eat, you can never gain more than 300 grams a day help? So if I've already eaten 30 domino sweets and 25 marzipan potatoes, have I eaten my way into the »who cares« range? Do I then have a free pass for a few hours to take in a few more kilos without the risk of gaining any more weight?

Unfortunately, I quit smoking four weeks ago. Unfortunately. My brand of cigarettes was banned in the EU. Ok, I only smoked for a very short time. But still, it was actually very nice. Even though I knew all the time that smoking is about the stupidest thing that a person can do.

But now I no longer smoke, I simply compensate for it. On the one hand, I annoy my fellow man (preferably my family), with the resulting lightning depression or simply a (clinically irrelevant) bad mood. And: I eat. Everything. All the time. When I'm not hungry, I have an appetite. And when the appetite is gone, then at least I want to: eat!

Please, dear readers, send me menthol cigarettes. Right away! But inconspicuously packed. Alternatively, gummy bears or licorice. I would also love some fine cheese, though please not from the supermarket. I am suffering. Thank you.

10/12/2020

Finally, a new blog post

Again, someone has asked me why it's been so many weeks since my last blog post. Folks, it's just difficult. Let me explain....

Again, someone has asked me why it's been so many weeks since my last blog post. Folks, it's just difficult. Let me explain. It's not the writing that's difficult. Finding topics? Thats easy, I come up with at least five every day. But no matter what I come up with, Im not allowed to hurt anyone. And I can't damage our business. So only very rarely does a topic come into consideration.

Here's a list of the things that came across my desk this week alone, but which I can't talk about publicly - in parenthesis youll find the reason why I have to keep my opinion to myself.

- Corona cases at Jarltech and what vocational schools have to do with it (data protection and threats of punishment by the schools)

- The German government screwed up the vaccine distribution for purely political reasons (I don't comment politically)

- We screwed up a delivery to a super important customer (I certainly can't admit that publicly)

- My wife now has a horse and so I have slipped to seventh place in the family ranking (self-pity)

- We asked a mean question in the analyst meeting of a listed competitor today (you don't do that)

- Weve heard rumors that a competitor is greatly driving down its inventories because the new cowboy investors want to free up »working capital« (you don't rub salt in a wound)

- Another competitor wanted to poach our entire sales team in a particular country. The end result was that no one changed from us, but the country manager of the competitor changed over to us (that was a really great victory, but gloating is also not possible)

- Some vendors want to pep up their figures again by having the distribution quickly buy nonsensical inventories this year (relevant for the stock exchange)

And there are still a few more things. So you see, I stay calm because I have to stay calm. But inside me it bubbles up, and one day I start a blog under a pseudonym. :)

And for those of you who are bored in your home office, here is a video contribution from our restaurant on how to make eggnog (unfortunately its only in German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibyuWgWGOJY&ab_channel=essWebers_official

Stay peaceful and healthy in the Advent season!

09/10/2020

Praise for the new Jarltech Main Catalogue

We have just shipped the new Jarltech Main Catalogue. This time, it features a particularly elegantly designed cover....

We have just shipped the new Jarltech Main Catalogue. This time, it features a particularly elegantly designed cover. We are very proud of our product specialists' and our Marketing department's new piece.

This morning I also received an encouraging e-mail from Mr. Geiger, the owner of SCM, and I quote:

»What a pleasure: a real catalogue, printed on real paper in the best offset printing, with attractive product images, informative texts and a useful table of contents. No fluff, but rather, a solid and informative tool for daily (consultation) work, one which works without electricity and also serves to help the environment.

Such a »paper masterpiece« compensates for an entire trade fair in these current times, and it is a pleasure to manually turn each page and be reminded of IT times long since passed, in which catalogues were a cornerstone of retail. And suddenly it's obvious: digitalisation is good, but an intelligent mix makes all the difference. I salute all businesses who have recognised this and also produce a catalogue amongst their activities.

Again, my heartfelt thanks for this accomplished support of specialty retail.«

We are very glad to hear this, thank you, Mr. Geiger! We will continue to place importance on our annual main reference tool. We know that besides our customers, there is also a competitor or two who utilises our reference tool :) - also a compliment.

If you have not yet received the new catalogue then simply get in touch with our Sales team. Currently, the catalogue is available in English, French and German versions.

10/09/2020

How we stay in touch nowadays

Yesterday, Josef Schneider from Pyramid conducted a small LinkedIn live interview with me on the topic of how we stay in touch with our customers during the pandemic....

Yesterday, Josef Schneider from Pyramid conducted a small LinkedIn live interview with me on the topic of how we stay in touch with our customers during the pandemic. What are our plans?

Networking and customer visits were a focus topic for us for 2020. We had planned to have even more personal contact with our customers in Europe. We are even in the process of building our own Jarltech Event and Training Centre, with a large kitchen, stage technology, a beer garden, bar and lounge. Hopefully we are not building in vain, since nobody knows what the future holds. Thankfully, the centre is large enough that, in the worst case, work can be done while maintaining distance. Of course, when you look at it realistically, there will probably not be any gatherings of large groups of people before May or June, if vaccines are available everywhere.

We are inviting people to attend local events again at the end of the year, however, in small groups, without great travel distances and with more distance than we would prefer.

Many customers categorically turn down visits, yet we have more visitors to our campus again. For the record, it's not many though. Instead of 20 business meals a day throughout Europe, we currently only have 1 or 2, on average.

One reason for the visitors in Usingen is our own restaurant in the city centre, because we have 7 separate dining areas. This way, you can go out to eat without guests coming in contact with each other, and you can air out the rooms when you wish. That should be pretty safe.

Right at the very beginning we sent our customers care packages, with all kinds of Jarltech gimmicks, such as energy drinks, candy, sunglasses, and the like. With our Jarltech webcam cover we have also found a place for our logo on many of our customers' notebooks.

In additional to traditional video conferencing (which everyone has had more than their fill of), we have also conducted »remote launches« with some of our customers. Pizza delivered to the customers' office and then we ate together via video connection. Yes, it is (and remains) just a crutch. It was much more fun having a wine tasting or after-dinner drinks together.

Another important component was the virtualisation of our Showroom. This way, at least visitors are able to see the most important products in our industry during a virtual tour online.

We are also currently developing a format for structured web meetings with our customers, short presentations with figures about the particular customer relationship. But it needs to stay exciting, short and to the point. We will definitely not annoy anyone with a 20-page PowerPoint presentation.

The only thing left for us to say is that you are also cordially welcome to visit us in person. We will inform you (and pamper you) at a high level, with the required distance and freshly disinfected. :)