Comeback champions 2022

The German construction industry is under great pressure to change, driven by a number of fundamental developments, including decarbonisation, a shortage of skilled workers, digitalisation and automation, to name but a few. Added to this are the current increases in material and labour costs triggered by supply shocks and rising interest rates. Under these challenging conditions, it is of central importance for construction suppliers and construction companies to analyse the effects of these developments on their own business model, derive strategic implications and proactively initiate the necessary changes in order to secure their competitiveness in the long term.

In order to highlight the potential that lies in a targeted adjustment of the business model and internal organisation, S&B Strategy has examined around 3,500 companies in the German construction industry in this study and identified those players that have achieved a successful turnaround after a phase of stagnating or declining sales while maintaining or improving their margins. The top 3 ‘comeback champions’ were then analysed in more detail and critical success factors were identified.

Even if the starting position of each company is individual and there are therefore no exact blueprints for change processes to be introduced, we believe that the successful comeback stories are nevertheless insightful, both with regard to the basic formulation of the target image definition and the comparison with the company's own skills profile, as well as with regard to the identification and implementation of individual measures that are critical to success. They also allow companies that are currently successful in operational terms to draw helpful conclusions as to how they can proactively translate the challenges outlined above into strategic change processes.

PLEASE NOTE: The study is currently only available in German.