We had met Rutronik in one of our ‘Career Afterwork’ Sessions at Pforzheim University and were already looking forward to visiting them soon. Rutronik, a family owned Global Broadliner, is a pioneer in the distributions and supply of ‘Electronic Components’ worldwide! On our visit to Ispringen, we were warmly welcomed by Markus Simeit, Head of Human Resources Development. After discussing a brief overview of the day’s agenda, we dove right into an exciting topic, ‘strategies and operations’ at Rutronik.
Jan Stoll from the Business Development Team, presented to us the evolution of Rutronik and the business model consisting of the interconnections between ideas, production selection, prototyping, production and logistics planning, services and the supply chain. He explained the tremendous opportunities that lie in the electronics’ market and how Rutronik estimates and plans to overcome the challenges (e.g., market entry barriers, high capital intensity, transnationalism, etc.) in progressing towards ‘resilient’ supply chains. Forecasting concretely, ordering early and managing the part-segments judiciously are the crucial factors, he said. Throughout the session, Mr Stoll answered our queries with his hands-on insights and experience.
Then, Nico Hein introduced us to a tool, to which Rutronik had recently transitioned to simplify the financial related tasks and follow a structured, integrated finance and accounting approach. The results: enhanced transparency, segregation of duties, improved productivity and profitability as well as real-time reports and dashboards for decision-making among others. They smartly executed a phased roll-out strategy with the gradual conversion of software with co-ordination between the internal teams and external consultants to deal with the challenges of data migration, smooth integration with the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and the change management and employee acceptance process. They further target to integrate it with Industry 4.0.
We then moved onto an exciting shop floor visit into one of the Rutronik warehouses where we got information on the inbound - outbound strategies, material handling, material movement, safety, quality methods and practices. It was astonishing to understand and take a close look at how delicate, precise components are handled in huge quantities ensuring quality, efficiency and safety of the deliverables.
Throughout the visit, the camaraderie and humility of the colleagues at Rutronik, their team bonding, their passion for continuous improvement was evident to us. After a candid discussion with Mr Simeit over snacks and coffee, where he gave us some valuable advices for time and self-management, and a fun question-answer round with Jan and Nico, we concluded our insightful trip to Rutronik, with a group picture. We are extremely thankful to the Rutronik team for sharing their time and insights with us and look forward to staying connected.

Text: Aditya Yardi, MBA Class of 2025
Photo: MBA