HKL BAUMASCHINEN GmbH

What was your starting point?

The regional divisions, followed in due course by the individual profit centres, were each to be given self-service access to their figures. After all, our four-person central management team cannot examine every profit centre from all angles. We wanted to create some entrepreneurial spirit, which was why we gave the profit centre managers a tool for them to keep track of their own figures. They had previously always received them from their heads of department.

What were the highlights?

The solution has created transparency and brought us to the point where the staff with P&L responsibility can obtain the necessary information themselves at the touch of a button. We now have a much faster flow of information, so the profit centre managers can take countermeasures sooner. They have also developed greater cost awareness, as it’s already clear at the operational stage what’s going to cost how much.

What lessons have you learned?

The involvement of staff with P&L responsibility in the operational management of a decentralised business is a form of information policy that needs to be supported by top management. For the software to be well accepted among the staff, training is essential, in particular to sensitise them to how the corporate structure is depicted in the software. After all, we’re dealing with salespeople and not financial controllers.

About HKL BAUMASCHINEN GmbH

The owner-managed construction machinery sale and leasing business based in Hamburg, with its 150 profit centres and over 80,000 machines for hire, is the largest construction machinery supplier in Germany, Austria and Poland.