Sales of WACKER Products Decline Slightly
Our products’ overall sales were slightly lower in 2012. Revenues at WACKER POLYSILICON and Siltronic remained below the previous year, mainly due to pricing policies. Conversely, WACKER POLYMERS posted significant volume gains in its dispersions and dispersible polymer powders. WACKER SILICONES and WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS also saw volume gains.
Our business is characterized by high repeat-purchase rates. 93 percent of Siltronic’s 2012 product sales were transacted with customers we had supplied in 2011. At WACKER POLYMERS, the repeat-purchase rate was 97 percent (by revenue), and the rate at WACKER SILICONES was over 90 percent. The repeat-purchase rate at WACKER POLYSILICON is not meaningful, since there are customers who have completely withdrawn from the solar business.
Having introduced “SMART” (a new customer management system) for our three chemical divisions in 2011, we extended its coverage to WACKER POLYSILICON in 2012. This highly integrated system allows customer data to be recorded and documented, as well as combined with customer-related data from all SAP modules.
Global Sales and Distribution Network
WACKER customers break down into three groups: key accounts, customers, and distributors. Key accounts are customers of special strategic significance for WACKER and with high sales levels. WACKER currently has 37 key accounts with whom we generated around 25 percent of our 2012 revenue in the chemical divisions (WACKER SILICONES, WACKER POLYMERS, WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS). About 60 percent of our chemical-related revenue was from our approximately 8,000 other active customer relationships and around 15 percent from distributors.
The share of sales transacted through platforms, which are in place in 63 countries, increased further in 2012. E-business is used most frequently in Asia, where it accounts for around 45 percent of sales at the chemical divisions.
Sales and Distribution Network Extended
We are working with a new distributor in Asia, DKSH, in order to improve sales of our products for the region’s pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics and medical-technology sectors. Similarly, WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS has engaged the services of a new partner for cyclodextrin, cystine and cysteine in most European countries. As of 2012, new distributors have been appointed in China, India, Taiwan and Turkey, as well. Despite these developments, distributor numbers have not changed from a year earlier. We collaborate with 280 distributors (2011: 280) and five distributor groups. WACKER is thus active in 87 countries. 80 percent of our business with distributors is transacted with about 50 partners.
Distribution Management
Marketing communication is a key element for strengthening WACKER’s branding and for supporting product sales effectively. In 2012, we spent €13.8 million (2011: €14.2 million) on marketing communication.
Percentage of Marketing Costs
Attendance at 80 Tradeshows Worldwide
WACKER decreased its tradeshow presence slightly in 2012, having a booth at a total of 80 tradeshows (2011: 86). We presented our products at 32 tradeshows in Europe (2011: 26), at 19 shows in Asia (2011: 21) and at 16 shows in the USA (2011: 23). WACKER’s key tradeshows of the year were Paint India for our construction chemicals business, the photovoltaic industry’s PVSEC conference in Frankfurt, and Incosmetics in Barcelona, where WACKER presented new hair-care products. We analyze the success of our tradeshow communications qualitatively and quantitatively, with 23 shows reviewed in 2012.
Tradeshows in 2012
1 Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey
2 China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
3 Brazil
4 Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates