BSH Chronology 2014-today: Setting a new course

"We have enjoyed a remarkable success story. Our task now is to seize the opportunities offered by the markets and continue to write this success story. Together, we will achieve the next level of success for BSH in the coming decade." These were the words of CEO Karsten Ottenberg in April 2014 as he opened the International Corporate Summit in Munich.

BSH/NextLevel

This management meeting also heralded the start of a strategic realignment of BSH. Attention was focused on six strategic priorities as well as a new interaction between regions, product divisions, brands and corporate functions.  This also meant major restructuring of the organizational structure. One of the main objectives was to focus systematically on the consumer. In the words of management, "We want to build a consistently customer-oriented organization." The company was also to be made ready for the pervasive digital transition, since "digitization plays a key role, not only in terms of purchasing but also in using products and services."

Consistent customer orientation also meant wanting to be able to respond even better to the different regional needs of customers in the future. From product development to sales and service, entrepreneurial responsibility was therefore handed over much more to the five newly structured regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, Greater China, North America, T-MEA-CIS. "We are thus moving closer to our customers, shortening decision-making paths and speeding up our processes," said Karsten Ottenberg.

One key reason for the restructuring was changing markets. The stagnating European market was dominated by aggressive cut-throat competition. BSH faced up successfully to this competition, but additional new markets had to be opened up to ensure further growth in the future. BSH saw suitable opportunities in particular in the regions of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

BSH Hausgeräte GmbH

A further drastic change followed at the beginning of 2015. On January 5, Siemens AG sold all its shares in the joint venture to Robert Bosch GmbH. From then on, the company's official name was BSH Hausgeräte GmbH. BSH now belonged exclusively to the Bosch Group as a largely independent company. For Siemens, the home appliance division was the last business unit with a direct link to the consumer. With its withdrawal from the joint venture, its focus was then fully on industrial business.

The new company strategy was promising for BSH: The company was able to increase revenue by a billion euros in the first year alone. Revenue of 12 billion euros was thus achieved in 2015. The number of employees grew to 56,500 in fiscal 2015. A remarkable achievement, which was even more significant considering the transformation of BSH's organizational structure taking place at the same time.

We are BSH

Inauguration of the BSH technology center on 21 November 2016 in Adugodi, India. (Source: Press fotos BSH Hausgeräte GmbH)

"We are BSH" was the new guiding principle since 2016. "What drives us: We want to be the first choice for consumers worldwide. We are growing responsibly and doing our part to protect our environment and its natural resources." The motivation and ambition described here gave deeper meaning to the strategy and added vision to the strengths and values of the globally operating company. With growth in revenue of around 11 percent to 12.6 billion euros, BSH even succeeded in surpassing the excellent growth figures of the previous year. 41 production plants in Europe, the U.S., Latin America and Asia, as well as a strong network of just under 80 sales, production and customer service companies in around 50 countries provided a strong basis for the customer-centric BSH business model.  Investment in research and development was one of the avenues pursued by BSH to ensure the continued success of the company going forward.  The year-on-year increase in share to 4 percent reflected the investment in connected home appliances as well as the global expansion of regional technology and innovation centers, such as the new technology center in Adugodi, India and the development center in the Home Appliance Park in Chuzhou, China.