Christian Jabs, CEO of thyssenkrupp subsidiary pacemaker.ai, explains the opportunities of AI-powered commodity price forecasting in an interview with Handelsblatt.

Across all industries, Days Net Working Capital (DNWC) are rising by up to 20 percent. What may sound like an abstract metric means billions of euros tied up in supply chains in practice.

Even small demand changes can trigger a chain reaction that pulses through the entire supply chain like a whip crack. In the end, the raw material supplier might order ten times the actually needed quantity. This phenomenon is called the bullwhip effect and costs companies worldwide billions annually.

The transport sector accounts for approximately 23% of global energy-related CO2 emissions – a figure that initially seems alarming. However, where the largest emission sources lie, there also lies the greatest potential for efficiency improvements and savings. Companies that precisely manage their transport emissions not only reduce their ecological footprint but simultaneously create tangible competitive advantages.

Member State representatives recently agreed on the Council's negotiating mandate for simplifying sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements. This proposal aims to simplify the CSRD and CSDDD by reducing reporting burdens and limiting the trickle-down effect of obligations to smaller companies.

What makes the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) perhaps the most important sustainability indicator of our time? The answer lies in its tremendous informative value – Unlike vague environmental promises, the PCF provides measurable, product- and process-specific emission data. It shows precisely where the largest CO₂ sources are located in a product's value chain, thereby creating the fundamental prerequisite for targeted, effective climate protection measures.