Fundamentals of the KION Group

Management and control

Anke Groth was appointed as a member of the Group’s Executive Board for a term of five years beginning 1 June 2018. She is responsible for finance, which encompasses corporate accounting & tax, financial services, corporate finance, corporate controlling and legal affairs. In addition, she has taken on the role of Labour Relations Director and is therefore in charge of corporate HR and health, safety & environment. She replaces Dr Thomas Toepfer, who left the Company at his own request on 31 March 2018. At its meeting on 26 June 2018, the Supervisory Board appointed Susanna Schneeberger as a member of the Group’s Executive Board for a term of five years starting 1 October 2018. The Executive Board will thus have a total of five members from this date. Ms Schneeberger will assume strategic responsibility for KION’s Supply Chain Solutions segment and, in the newly created role of Chief Digital Officer (CDO), will be in charge of further development of the IT systems and of groupwide activities aimed at the digitalisation and connectivity of products and processes.

Strategy of the KION Group

The KION 2027 strategy puts the emphasis on innovation, digitalisation, automation and efficient energy use, and on achieving improved performance with regard to KION products and the Company’s processes. There is now an even greater focus on a shared, customer-centric innovation, sales and brand strategy. Under this strategy, the KION Group aims to grow at a faster rate than the market, be the most profitable provider in its sector, ensure it is crisis-resistant and always offer shareholders an attractive return on their investment. The objectives of KION 2027 are set out in detail in the 2017 group management report.

The initiatives launched during the reporting period included the embedding of digital solutions and agile development processes. One of these initiatives was the establishment of a robotics centre of excellence in the Supply Chain Solutions segment, specialising in the development and engineering of robotic automation. This new unit is responsible for applying and implementing robotic solutions that make order fulfilment operations more efficient, productive and responsive to today’s on-demand omnichannel distribution environment.