Objectives and Strategy

In 2000, the year of the IPO, the Executive Board presented the Vision 2010 for the first time as the long-term growth strategy of the Bechtle Group. The purpose of this strategy was to reach revenues of 2 billion euros and an EBT margin of approximately five per cent. In 2007, the Vision 2020 was added to these goals, which have since become medium-term goals. According to this vision, Bechtle intends to achieve a group revenue of 5 billion euros with 10,000 employees.

Bechtle plans further organic growth by means of higher-quality services and a suitable hardware infrastructure and software portfolio as part of a customer solution. To this end, the company is making a concerted effort to expand its offer, partly using its own resources, partly in collaboration with key manufacturers. The objective is to provide innovative, solution-oriented concepts for the IT of medium-sized customers, thereby gaining a visible edge over competitor offers.

Acquisitions are part of the growth strategy

Further growth is to be supported by means of attractive acquisitions or selective establishment of new companies. In this way, Bechtle AG wants to increase its geographic coverage with IT system houses in the German-speaking market and its international presence via IT e-commerce companies in European countries. The acquisitions focus is on small to medium-sized businesses of which Bechtle can take over 100 per cent of the shares. Main points of interest are the addition of IT-specific competencies and the intensive processing of strategically important regional markets for the purpose of gaining market shares.

In the IT e-commerce segment, Bechtle pursues a consistent internationalisation approach on the basis of a multiple-brand strategy. The company is already present with two brands in five European countries. By means of these two brands, the presence in Europe is to be further expanded. Bechtle also believes that there is substantial potential for long-term growth in Asia and South America.

The number of employees, too, is to grow in line with the presented corporate expansion goals. According to the medium-term planning, the number of employees is to be stepped up to about 5,000, depending on the growth rate.