E/D/E ANNUAL REPORT 2018 bolster human resources lower down in the organisational structure in the areas of goods and services, we are well placed to bring the core func- tions of a modern buying association up to an appropriate level and better aligned with daily operations. These core functions include purchasing, membership management, supplier and product group management, digital services, IT and logistics, as well as personnel management. This strategy will enable us to strength- en our own competitiveness as well as that of our member companies. and industry. Comprehensive consol- idation of the software meant that around 500 optimisation measures were undertaken to improve its user- friendliness and functionality. In ad- dition, E/D/E digitalised the ordering process for members and their sup- pliers. Innovative, cloud-based solu- tions are also enabling E/D/E to cov- er the entire industrial B2B value chain. These are being developed in the ERP environment in collaboration with a strategic partner, and range from the ERP and PIM systems through to the Multishop. 2018 milestones Alongside the continued develop- ment of our ranges, trademarks, services and purchasing processes, the core housekeeping function of logistics was also given priority attention in 2018. In both the do- mestic and international business, member companies are increasingly using our central logistics as a plat- form to enable them to have econo- mies of scale and efficiency when delivering goods to their customers. In order to offer the distributors reli- able delivery performance, E/D/E invested in an expansion of the materials handling technology in Wuppertal as well as increasing stock levels and introducing new delivery services for the growing end-customer business. Multishop, the e-commerce appli- cation, also underwent further de- velopment and optimisation, result- ing in a comprehensive e-commerce platform with numerous opportuni- ties for linking up with the trades The establishment of PVH FUTURE LAB GmbH by E/D/E together with certain innova- tive companies from amongst our members demonstrates a willingness to forge new paths and to make use of new forms of technology and new ways of collaborating for the benefit of the association. When it was presented to members for the first time at the E/D/E “Branchentreff total” in September 2018, the first marketready development, a plat- form for 3D printer use, was very en- thusiastically received, and is already being used by 25 distributors in the association. In 2018 we also took a new ap- proach in terms of product data management for the building fittings industry in the form of our eDC (electronic data centre) solution, which meant that we were able to progress with the much-needed advancements in data management for the sector as a whole. We opened up the eDC con- cept, already running successfully for several years for our members, to building fittings companies that do not belong to the E/D/E community of members and suppliers – an initi- ative that proved to be very popular. Since then, some major distribu- tors that are not members of E/D/E have opted to use the eDC data. professional develop- Continuing ment in the industrial B2B sector remains an important focus for E/D/E and the E/D/E Foundation. Last year the Foundation awarded its 400th ZHH scholarship, and on the back of this took the opportunity to organise a day of educational initiatives in the Wuppertal Junior Uni. On the initiative of E/D/E and the E/D/E AKADEMIE, a new dual- track Bachelor’s course in industrial B2B Management was accredited. Furthermore, the E/D/E AKADEMIE is expanding into digitalisation both in terms of its course content as well as internal processes. Economic conditions The German economy grew in 2018 for the ninth year running, albeit somewhat less vigorously. The GDP had increased by 2.2 percent in each of the two preceding years, whereas Federal Statistical in 2018, the Office reported growth of 1.4 per- cent. In the eurozone, GDP rose in 2018 by 1.8 percent, and in the EU 28 by 1.9 percent. A weaker second half of the year in Germany meant that the more promising projections made in the early part of the year did not materialise. Both private and public spending saw increases, 16