Basic Understanding

At Bechtle AG, risk and opportunity management are closely interlinked, just as they should be. An “opportunity” can be the possibility of an event or trend that is favourable for the company or a potential positive variance from a planned scenario. The internal opportunity management of Bechtle AG is mainly derived from the strategy of the business segments and their goals. The group’s Executive Board and the operational management in the individual business segments and holding companies are directly responsible for the early and continuous identification, assessment, and control of opportunities. Thus, like the risk management, these tasks are an integral part of the cor- porate planning and control system. Therefore, the management of Bechtle AG puts a lot of emphasis on detailed evaluations and comprehensive scenarios concerning the market and com- petition situation, relevant cost drivers, and critical success factors affecting the company. From this, concrete potential opportunities are derived for the individual business segments and discussed in planning meetings between the Executive Board and the division heads, and suitable goals are agreed to exploit the potential. The individual opportunities of the Bechtle Group are presented in the Forecast Report.

Missing opportunities also entails a risk

The possibility that an event could have a negative impact on the business is referred to as “risk”. Thus, a risk is the danger of not being able to achieve goals or successfully implement strategies. This includes all internal or external events, actions, or omissions that constitute a potential threat to the company’s success or existence. The definition of risk is not limited to negative developments or events, but also expressly includes the failure to use or the inadequate use of positive devel- opment possibilities.

At Bechtle AG, “risk management” is defined as the entirety of all organisational arrangements and measures to identify risks and to effectively counter these risks. The main objective of the risk management is the due identification of material and existential risks and the initiation of suitable measures with the framework of risk control, thereby minimising or averting harmful consequences of the potential occurrence of a risk for the company. Efficient risk management makes sure that personnel and resources can be deployed in such a way that the attainment of corporate goals is supported in the best way possible.

The risk management does not intend to avoid all risks. To successfully exploit opportunities, a company must deliberately take risks in the course of its business activity. However, it is important to limit risks to an acceptable degree. This degree is governed by the risk policy and risk strategy that is tuned to the primary basic orientation of the company. At Bechtle AG, the risk strategy is based on the corporate culture, the corporate guidelines, and the company’s strategic goals. The key elements of these basic cultural definitions are rooted in the corporate philosophy of Bechtle AG.

With its Vision 2020, Bechtle AG pursues the ambitious goal of achieving revenues of 5 billion euros with 10,000 employees. The targeted profitable growth will inevitably be accompanied by business risks. The risk policy of Bechtle AG must take this into account.