Automotive group

The automotive group spent their corporate visits at three global players of the automotive industry. At all locations we had the chance to attend a guided tour through the plant there we were shown different steps of the assembly line including press shop, body in white assembly, engine production, final assembly and quality assurance. Besides this rather technical part of the visits employees of each of the three companies were interviewed. Great attention had to be given on different business topics such as strategy, marketing, operations management and human resources. Another much discussed topic was the current financial crisis and its impact on the automotive industry.

France - Peugeot Citroën

In France we visited the plant of Peugeot Citroën in Mulhouse. We were shown a film about the company history and were guided through the production plant. There we could see the vehicle production of the models Peugeot 206+, Peugeot 308 and Citroën C4. After the guided tour the group visited the museum “Cité de l’Automobile” which is home to one of the most prestigious car collections in the world, the Schlumpf Collection.

Germany - Porsche

The second visit took the automotive group to the Porsche plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. At this production site the models Porsche 911 and Porsche Boxter are built. Besides a guided tour though the engine production and the final assembly with quality assurance we were invited to a discussion with three members of the Porsche management. These Porsche employees were able to answer some questions about the future strategy of Porsche and the impact of the financial crisis to sales and production. Finally they showed us two videos about the company and its new model the Porsche Panamera.

Great Britain – Jaguar Land Rover

The destination of the corporate visit in Great Britain was the production plant of Jaguar Land Rover in Halewood. As in France and Germany, we took part at a guided tour. At this place we were able to see the press shop, body in white assembly and the final assembly of the models Jaguar X-Type and Land Rover Freelander 2. Subsequent to the tour some employees of Jaguar Land Rover answered our questions about different business topics.

Brewery group

France – Brasserie Uberach

At first we visited the Brasserie Uberach near Strasbourg. The company has only 2.5 employees. At first we got an instruction in the brewing process and what´s the differences between Uberach and other French breweries like Kronenbourg. After that we were able to taste some different kinds of beers f.e. Juliette, a beer with rose aroma or the beer with caramel and coffee taste. While tasting the beer the sales women answered our questions. After the visit we had a nice picnic in front of the brewery and took some group pictures.

Germany – Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu

Our second visit was the brewery Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu in Germany which is about 100 km away from Karlsruhe. At first we had a guided tour through the Alpirsbacher brewery museum where we learned something about the brewing process and the history of the Klosterbräu Brewery. After visiting the museum we had the possibility to taste two different beers of Alpirsbacher.

While drinking beer the CEO of Alpirsbacher answered our questions and showed us some interesting figures about the decreasing alcohol consumption in Germany. In the end we got a stein at the gift shop.

United Kingdom – Marble Brewery

The last brewery visit took place in Manchester at the Marble Brewery. It´s a microbrewery with 4 employees. First we asked our primed questions to the management of the Brewery. After the discussion the owner of the Marble Brewery showed us the different parts of the brewery (brewing area, fermentation area, the storage area and the pub). In the end we were allowed to taste all different kinds of beer they produce (f.e. gingerbeer).

IT group

The IT group had a great challenge to manage. The members had to compare three different IT companies from three different countries in France, Germany and UK. The difficulty was to handle the great differences in the IT branch between the companies. Among divers variants of products, the companies had big differences in marketing, customers, and in-firm organisation.

In the first day the IT group prepared a questionnaire about four business fields operations and processes, human resource, marketing and strategy.

France – BULL IT

The first company the IT group interviewed was BULL IT. The customer of BULL IT are mostly in the administrative sector of France like energy, defence, insurance, education, banking, etc. The BULL IT distributes hardware in combination with software solutions all over the world. Some of the hardware products BULL IT uses were produced from other firms. BULL IT is specialist in consulting and developing of software solutions and hardware systems. BULL IT is a famous company in the IT branch in France.

Germany – SAP

In Germany the IT group visited the world wide known company SAP. SAP produces ERP solutions for companies in all branches all over the world. With its products their customer can organise the processes and manage the resources easily. SAP is a great employer in Germany.

Great Britain – stationhouse brewery

Unfortunately the IT group got a short-term cancellation from their company in the IT branch. So the lecturers had to organise an alternative within a few weeks. Thanks to them the IT group could visit an one-man brewery in the middle of a natural landscape. To compare a little brewery with some bars as customers, one pc and a printer as IT-system with big companies like in France and Germany was a special challenge. The proud owner of this brewery was a friendly man and open for all questions of the IT group.

 

For the results of the questionnaires please check the final presentation in the download area.