Critical Analysis of the Deutsche Bank

Introduction

To Deutsche Bank The deutsche bank is originally a German bank and financial services company which was started in the year 1870 in Berlin, Germany. The bank has since grown and is said to now employ approximately 10000 workers in over 70cities world over. The services offered by the Deutsche bank include but not limited to, sales, trading, and origination of debt, equity and trading research(Kristofik, 2014). The bank, in its capacity as a financial institution organizes and facilitates mergers and acquisitions for companies who intend to venture out into that. Further, they facilitate wealth management, retail banking, and corporate finance among other financial services. The bank is said to have a personal touch to every product it sells to its clients with no exceptions. The bank accesses the needs of each client independently to ensure that each client, whether an individual or a body corporate has had its special needs specifically catered for. This has been said to give the bank an edge over its competition.

In 2009, the bank was said to be the largest foreign exchange dealer in the world with a market share of 21%(Kristofik, 2014). Those who study markets have agreed that for a single entity to command that size of the stock market is quite something remarkable. The bank is listed on two stock exchanges which are the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. There had been fears that Deutsche Bank would neglect its German roots and relocate, this caused ripples that led to people settling for a dual CEO model that allowed for everyone to have their needs protected. In the last quarter of the financial year 2013, the bank was said to record loses. However, the shuffles in the leadership of the bank seen this year are likely to point the functioning of the group in the right direction(Miltner, 2014). This paper will seek to tackle the issues of the application of supply chain management in the Deutsche bank as well as have a brief discussion on how the bank conducts sustainable marketing.

Deutsche Bank’s Financial Supply Chain Management Services

More and more businesses are beginning to recognize the potential of supply chain and its role in emerging strategic management and its ability to improve sales and sale margins if properly implemented in businesses. More and more experts in this field have pointed out that there is need to recognize the reality of relationships within supply chain management, they describe them as a risk and a revenue sharing relationship(Joel Wilsner, 2009). The unpredictability of the global market as it currently is has had a great impact on trade flows and has led both banks and financial institutions to engage in proactive management of company funds. As a result, financial supply chains have gained popularity. As globalization takes its course, supply chains have been said to become more complex. As expected, increased complexity goes hand in hand with increased financial risks(Joel Wilsner, 2009). As a result of this, Deutsche bank, just like most multi-national companies has embraced the use of Financial Supply Chain (FSC) Solutions.

FSC solutions are designed to help mitigate risks of a financial nature associated with cross-border trade as well as minimal cost and disruption to existing processes(Joel Wilsner, 2009). These FSC solutions have been designed to help companies optimize working capital management, minimize risk while at the same time increasing the transparency between trade partners. As stated earlier, the Deutsche bank is growing rapidly and opening branches in various cities world over, it is paramount that they protect themselves from any financial risks whatsoever as they grow. The benefits of FSC have been said to be immense. However, the most spoken about benefit is said to be that FSC solutions offer a stable, reliable source of liquidity to banks like Deutsche. As compared to other sources of liquidity, FSC solutions have been reported to be flexible and solutions that are incremental as they add to rather than consume existing cash resources.

Further, these solutions, if implemented properly may serve to extend working capital cycles and as result they enhance working capital management(Miltner, 2014). Deutsche bank is said to operate under the belief that Financial Supply Chain solutions can restore the balance as well as provide access to additional liquidity. In addition to this, FSC, have the ability to create opportunities which will allow larger corporates to be assured of their financial wellbeing and the stability of their suppliers, through providing them with the ability to access low cost funding’s from third parties such as Deutsche Bank. On matters FSC, Deutsche bank operates under the understanding that FSC must be global since even trade itself is global. For the bank to be able to reap optimum benefits from FSC solutions therefore, on-the-ground presence is important so as to supply the bank with vital knowledge of local regulations and local business cultures. Societies all over the world are different and their cultures are predominantly different.

Deutsche bank has branches in over 70 cities of the world, and each of these cities, there are different sets of people, with different sets of beliefs and practices. Therefore, in order to be able to do effective business with these people, the bank must under the specific traits of each of these communities. Only then, will they know how to tailor make financial products that will suit them, and create business for the bank around that particular region. FSC solutions are in support of all these. Owing to all these factors, Deutsche banks as a trusted advisor to its clients and has continuously invested in robust platforms that can manage a range of processes along the trade value chain(Kristofik, 2014).

Therefore, for anyone seeking to understand how Deutsche bank has managed its supply chain, they would need to understand the operation and application of the Financial Supply Chain Solutions(Lee, 2011). Only then, will they be in a position to relate with the kind of strategies the bank has put in place. Although the bank recorded loses in the last quarter of 2014, the financial planners in charge of financial decision of the bank have since gone back to the growing board to chart the way forward and ensure the same does not re occur during the first financial quarter of 2014. The icing on the cake for customers of Deutsche bank is the fact that can now access this FSC solutions on a mobile application specifically designed for the banks clientele. This application allows clients of the bank to access their working capital management tools easily and fast from the comfort of their homes. This app is known as Autobahn app market. Recently, the bank has added a new feature to the application which is the banks Financial Supply Chain Solutions. They are aimed at enhancing working capital while at the same time increasing liquidity and create transparency in the banks supply chain(Backhaus, 2014). All these information is now available on an app.

Deutsche’s Bank Suatinable Marketing

The biggest and most sustainable marketing strategy for this bank has been keeping and maintaining a sustainable clientele as well as ensuring that the finances of their clients are well taken care off and wisely invested. The bank realizes that the best way to market it, is by keeping its clients happy and in that way, they retain their clients as well as get more. The bank uses, among other tools, a sustainability management system that aids in the implementation of their sustainability strategy as well as help manage eco-efficiency measures effectively. The system, has been designed to collect all relevant consumption figures in aadatabase that is global so that the bank may conduct an analysis of the data and identify potential optimization(Backhaus, 2014). This sustainability management system aims at improving the functioning as well ensuring the sustainability of all the departments of the bank. Audits conducted regularly have indicated that since the introduction of the sustainability programmer in 1999, the bank has steadily improved in its sustainability performance. With the knowledge of the sustainability management program applied by the bank, it is important to realize that marketing in the bank is one of the area that have been boosted by this program(Backhaus, 2014). An example is when the bank introduces a new product to the market like the autobahn app market.

Many people, while dealing with matters concerning their finances, are often reluctant to embrace new things or try new products as they do not want to gamble with their finances. The responsibility of the banks marketing team in such a situation is to package the app in a way that every client who banks at Deutsche wants to be able to be part of the new product, while fresh clients are signing up. The secret behind the marketing is convincing the consumers of the product of its sustainability. The sustainability management program therefore comes in handy to help structure a product that will be sustainable in the market, even after it has been launched.

The moment the bank can convince its clients that the products they offer both as a bank and as a financial institution are sustainable, then the bank will have succeeded in its marketing. It has been agreed by various writers over time that the biggest burden for sustainability of management lies with the Management Board as it is the organ of the entity that sets policies and monitors their progress. Since the introduction of sustainable management, it is said that to date, approximately 14 trillion euros have been invested by various corporates globally following some sustainability criteria. For the bank to survive in the market therefore, they will have to keep getting more innovate and sustainable ways of notifying their clients of any new products they in the market.

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