Information
Philosophy
Interview with Thomas Bischoff
B+B is a family operated business. How can we figure this?
In our country we have meanwhile again recognised the potential which is available in these companies. In the past, a family company was considered to be casual and mostly led in a patriarchic and unstructured way. Today we know that these companies too make use of professional tools for planning, process management and controlling. Combined with personal commitment and social responsibility, this results in the optimal mix for entrepreneurship, as I see it.
It is exceptional that father and son jointly found a company. It appears they do not know what a “conflict between different generations“ is!
When founding the company, my father already handed over the reins to me, saying: “One tribe won’t bear two chieftains.” So right from the beginning, I was able to shape the organisational structures of B+B in such a way as I envisaged.
What philosophy is represented by the associates of B+B?
Of course, shareholder value also takes place with us. However, not on the basis of quarterly figures. The associates expect a proper rise in value. But we are not only obliged to figures, but, above all, to our products and each of our employees. Because they are the ones who bring our company forward.
Mr Bischoff, what belongs to the nicest moments in your job?
Thank God, there are a lot of them. But spontaneously I would say when I go on a significant trade show, when I see my employees being in a good mood at the stand and the newly developed products earn admiring views. There is nothing better than to market own ideas.
You are considered as being a very innovative entrepreneur in terms of IT, and you were already awarded a prize for it.
My weakness for modern IT solutions resulted in the fact that the IT systems used with B+B certainly rank among the most innovative ones. Using our CRM system, all market and customer relevant data are daily captured and updated. With B+B, all order taking processes run fully automatic. When a customer places an order via the web shop by 12 a.m., he will receive the goods the following day simply by means of the system, more or less without any employee intervening. That way, we are currently unrivalled.
What are your future targets?
We will make a point of extending our market share in Europe. In this context, we also plan to carry out acquisitions. And we continue following up on our way of success regarding our so-called 3B philosophy: First smiled at, then combated, and admired at last. Our customers can be assured that we won’t run out of ideas so quickly!