Manufacturing Intelligence
Decisions on numbers, not on anecdotes.
Manufacturing Intelligence is our analytical layer: cost structures, labour-cost series, commodity data, regulation and market landscapes — every figure traceable to a cited primary source, every conclusion methodically documented.
Methodology
How our analyses work.
As a service
Manufacturing Intelligence is available as project-based analysis (e.g. cost-structure comparison for a concrete part family) or as a subscription with quarterly data updates. Talk to us about your question.
Analyses
Published analyses.
Our published analyses are written in German — the working language of our mandate practice. English summaries are planned; until then, the data tables and charts speak for themselves.
A-01
Steel prices China–Europe: the diverging scissors
Since the 2022 energy crisis, European steel prices have structurally exceeded Chinese levels. First extract from the BENTENKAMP commodity data series — indexed trends, methodology, consequences for castings, forgings and steel components.
Commodity data
A-02
The underestimated cost driver: machine-hour rates
How the cost of a CNC part decomposes in Germany and China — visualised cost structures from live quotation comparisons and the four levers behind the cost advantage.
Cost structure
A-03
Wages explain only part of it: why Chinese quotes land 30–40 % below German ones
An honest decomposition using official data — Destatis labour costs, NBS/GTAI wage levels, IW unit labour costs — and what actually matters for CNC parts, castings and forgings.
Labour costs
A-04
295,000 robots in one year: China's automation push changes the procurement equation
China installed more industrial robots in 2024 than the rest of the world combined — most of them from Chinese manufacturers. What that means for buyers of CNC parts, castings and assemblies.
Automation
A-05
The race against time: ramp-up in months, not years
„China speed" is not a slogan but an organised compression of tooling, prototyping and production ramp-up — and an analysis of where European companies can use it to their advantage.
Time-to-market
A-06
CBAM is no longer paperwork: embedded CO₂ counts since 1 January 2026
The transition phase is over. For imports of iron, steel, aluminium and derived components — including fasteners and piping components — binding obligations apply from 2026. What machinery builders should now demand from their Chinese suppliers.
Regulation
A-07
China+1 is not a move but an addition: what Vietnam, India and Mexico can — and cannot — deliver
A sober comparison of the alternatives, with wage data, supplier-market maturity and the decisive question for mechanical engineering: who can actually deliver CNC, casting and forging quality?
Sourcing strategy
A-08
The audit is only the beginning: how supplier qualification really works in China
Certificates prove a factory was audited once — not how it runs on a Tuesday. The methodological framework we use to evaluate suppliers: machine park, processes, data, culture.
Qualification