BASF new organization now in effect

04-Jul-2001

Stronger customer orientation thanks to new business units Reorganization of BASF's five segments Annual cost advantages of €400 million expected

BASF is making itself "Fit for the Future." Under this motto, BASF has put in place 38 regional and 10 global business units effective today (July 2). The key aim of the new structure is to respond to customers' needs worldwide more quickly and more flexibly.

BASF is further developing its organization with three main objectives in mind: to increase customer focus, to strengthen its market presence and to foster entrepreneurship within the company. "We want to increase the value of the company through growth and innovation, and to do this we need optimal internal structures and processes. This will help us to reach decisions more quickly and above all closer to the market," said Dr. Jürgen F. Strube, Chairman of BASF's Board of Executive Directors. The "Fit for the Future" program is expected to produce cost advantages of around €400 million per year.

An innovative organization for an innovative company

Global and regional business units

The new organization includes 10 Global Business Units - 7 based on product lines and three on customer branches. In addition, there will be 38 Regional Business Units - 18 in Europe, 9 in Asia and 11 in the NAFTA region - that will be responsible transnationally for production, marketing and sales.

Centers of Competence

A further feature of the new organization are the eight Centers of Competence that have been formed from existing functional and central units. These Centers will strengthen and take advantage of the company's global Know-how Verbund and will bundle expertise in the fields of research, engineering, Responsible Care, logistics, information technology, human resources, technical procurement and raw materials purchasing. The Centers of Competence will allow BASF to benefit from standardized processes and technical platforms worldwide and to leverage expertise in the various regions.

Segments and operating divisions

The divisions have been restructured in a move to further optimize BASF's value-adding chains through consistent process orientation. Some divisions have been merged as a result.

Regional divisions reorganized in regions

The structures of the regional divisions in Asia and Europe have also been further developed to take account of the merging of economic regions and have now been combined and simplified in Regions. The following regional structure for Europe and Asia is effective immediately:

The previous structures of the regional units in the Americas and in Eastern Europe, West Asia and Africa will remain substantially unchanged.

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