EXPLAINING GERMAN EXPORT SUCCESS BEYOND THE WEAK EURO

Market leader in many fields of technology

1. Germany is dominating automation, revolutionizing robotics and leading the way in digital manufacturing.
2. It is also a force to be reckoned with in the future market of virtual systems and is continually offering new solutions for production systems that are highly complex yet ultra-efficient.
3. Germany also writes the software for high-precision process control, which saves costs, increases speed and raises standards in everything from the quality of the goods being made to the reliability with which they can be delivered. Indeed, software is the third pillar of Industry along with process definition and hardware.
4. In the field of transportation, while full electrification is still a long way off, in the current transition phase, more efficient hybrid models, optimised engines and the powertrain as a whole are becoming increasingly important. German companies are already at the forefront of delivering these technologies and are likely to remain there.
5. German companies are also focusing on the cutting-edge field of additive manufacturing. Germany already has a strong reputation when it comes to image processing and laser fabrication as well as the new technologies paving the way for industrial 3D printers. All this will potentially lead to major advances in industrial manufacturing in the future. According to consulting firm Roland Berger, 70% of industrial companies worldwide that require 3D printers for metalworking – for example to make prototypes of new car or machinery parts – are looking to buy in Germany. Laser microprocessing, with its high-volume markets, is a growth area in the electronics sector. A succession of laser innovations, laser technologies and laser applications are securing Germany’s future competitiveness in this industry.
6. For many decades mechanical engineering has been the driver of technology in industry.  According to statistics around a quarter of all engineering patents over the past decade have been registered to an address in Germany, which is more than any other country.
7. Germany is also an international force in plant engineering. BASF, known as the largest chemical company in the world, is demonstrating that major industry can be located in a metropolitan region without being particularly detrimental to the environment. The German plant engineering sector employs, directly and indirectly, around 160,000 people. Foreign orders account for 87% of production, which includes power stations, electrical and chemical plants and iron and steelworks. This in itself is a unique selling proposition.
8. German companies are the world’s first port of call when it comes to plant and machinery. They can even help entire countries to industrialise or modernise. Quality, reliability, service, efficiency and environmental compatibility are Germany’s key assets.

Export Champion in Mechanical Engineering (Nr1 in 18 of 31 sectors in 2014)

1. Power transmission engineering
2. Materials handling technology
3. Machine tools
4. Agricultural machinery
5. Food processing and packing machinery
6. Precision tools
7. Compressors, compressed air and vaccum technology
8. Process plant and equipment
9. Pumps
10. Fluid power equipment
11. Plastics and rubber machinery
12. Printing and paper equipment and supplies
13. Textile machinery (excluding dryers)
14. Measuring and testing technology
15. Industrial furnaces and burners
16. Woodworking machinery
17. Firefighting equipment
18. Cleaning systems

In 2014 Germany's biggest merchandise exports category was motor vehicles and parts at 18% followed by machinery at 15% and chemical products at 9%

Conclusion

1. Germany is a world champion in exporting because it is a world champion in organizing.
2. The export superstars of Germany base their export business model on quality by operating with a decentralized less hierarchical organization which empowers workers at lower levels of the firm hierarchy. 
3. 40% of German exporters sell top quality good exports. Decentralized management has been effective to increase the export market share of top quality goods in Germany which demonstrates that decentralizing the organization may actually work to improve the product quality of exporters.