As in other organizations, the trunk of our symbolic corporate tree is made up of three value streams: innovation, productivity and global growth. They form the engine behind our creation of value.
Innovation value stream: bringing the best ideas to market faster than our competitors
In our first value stream, we turn our best ideas into marketable products, systems, functions and solutions. Innovation is the combination of ideas and market success.
Innovations are among the most important types of our profitable growth. After all, leading, pioneering technologies and new business models that we bring to market more quickly than others are how we ensure our success.
We systematically design our corporate culture to guarantee the people in our organization the greatest possible flexibility and freedom to act as they see fit. The aim is for all employees to unleash their full potential with regard to their individual skills and talents, grow to help complete our tasks and objectives and thereby make the best contribution to our overall success that they can. This is how we make the best possible use of our organization’s full creativity.
Your Continental is right at the forefront when it comes to electric mobility. In the past few years, we have invested more than a billion euros in this future-oriented field, and the trend is rising.
Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental
Productivity value stream: remaining competitive by combining effectiveness and efficiency
Productivity is the combination of efficiency and effectiveness. Being efficient means that we provide our services in the right way, conserving resources, employing the least possible effort and focusing on the essentials. However, these factors alone would not be enough to create value. That is because in the worst case, an organization could produce very efficiently but miss the needs of the market. That is why effectiveness is also required. Being effective means concentrating on the right services. These are those that lead to the desired result and, above all, inspire enthusiasm among customers.
Therefore, if you can optimize the cost/benefit ratio, you will be productive.
We increase our productivity every year, and thus our competitiveness and creation of value.
A quicker flow of information, continual workflows, constant improvements: This is what we call the flow principle based on the principles of lean management. No traffic jams, no lost time; roundabouts instead of traffic lights. With the aid of the Continental Business System (CBS), we methodically remove from all our processes anything that unnecessarily slows or extends the journey to the customer.
Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental
Global, profitable growth value stream: for sustainable and connected mobility
With the third value stream, we seize the opportunities to create value on the markets of the world. After all, worldwide demand for vehicles and individual mobility continues to grow. We are growing with it – and faster than the markets themselves! For this purpose, it is necessary to respond very quickly to constantly changing market requirements and individual customer demands. The flexibility required for this is embedded in our corporate values and our strategy.
Our strategic motto: decentralized wherever possible, centralized wherever necessary. We therefore develop, produce and purchase on site – where this makes sense – and operate in the market for the market.
