After more than 20 years of successful activity in the road construction industry, the Stüve Straßenbau Group, like many other companies, was faced with the question of how the company should develop in the future. Which business fields should be served, what is the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and what is the basic strategic orientation of the company? A lot of questions that need to be answered; and since this can hardly be realised within the framework of everyday work, it became an independent project.
In March 2020, almost exactly one year ago, students of the 3rd and 4th Master’s semester at the PHWT Vechta came together to work on this project. This project was the result of intensive discussions between Prof. Dr. Maik Büssing and the management of the Stüve Straßenbau Group. At that time, it was already clear that the company had reached a point after constant growth where it was time to take stock of the current situation and revise its orientation.
The first analyses already showed that the topic of “road construction” is much more complex than many think possible. Technical issues of civil engineering were now on the agenda as well as the issue of hiring out workers, the efficient use of road construction machinery and problems surrounding long-term contractor liability in the construction industry. In addition to internal company data, sector reports and statistical data were also evaluated to identify typical characteristics of this sector.
Building on this extensive analysis, various planning scenarios were then jointly developed and discussed in order to define the basic strategic direction of the company. It was particularly important that the ideas were discussed together again and again and that the pros and cons of each individual point were weighed up against each other. The result was an overall package for the Stüve Straßenbau Group consisting of a strategic reorientation and a whole series of operational measures. This enables the company to implement the first points from the strategy process in the short term, so that initial results can be generated quickly.
Finally, the overall concept was once again presented to the managing partner Mr. Burkhard Stüve within the framework of a corona-related online presentation and critically discussed by all. Mr. Stüve’s conclusion: “From this basis we can implement some points directly and at the same time grow sustainably in the newly defined four business areas of the company. …and then in spring we will meet for a day at Stüve Straßenbau to go digging.”
by: Prof. Dr. Maik Büssing
