ROLAND SCHWIENTEK is a Partner in Roland Berger's Munich office. He studied business administration at the Gerhard-Mercator University of Duisburg, Germany. Schwientek joined Roland Berger in 1997 after working several years in various functions in the automotive and automotive supplier industry, lastly as a purchasing manager at Bosch automotive division. KPI, Procurement/purchasing, manufacturing footprint, supply chain management and working capital optimization are some of his focus issues. He leads projects across many different industries under the heading Best Practice Transfer: What can we learn from leaders and leading industries? Schwientek is author of a number of studies, including Purchasing Excellence and Working Capital Excellence. AXEL SCHMIDT is a Partner at Roland Berger. He joined the strategy consultancy in 1991 and became Global Head of Operations Strategy in 1997. Previously he worked for Procter& Gamble in Paris and ACL Engine Parts in Australia. He gained his degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Schmidt has conducted projects in various industries ranging from consumer goods/retail and pharmaceuticals through to automotive, engineered products and financial and security services. He advises clients on the projects that include supply chain and asset optimization, global footprint optimization, distribution and logistics strategy, turnaround programs and global purchasing and developmentorganization redesign.