Lachende Kölnarena 2027: Cologne Carnival spirit, captivating live music, and personal connections – a tradition that brings us together.
Date: Thursday, January 14, 2027
Venue: LANXESS arena, Willy-Brandt-Platz 1, 50679 Cologne, Germany
The Lachende Kölnarena has become a cherished tradition at enomyc. On January 14, 2027, we’ll once again be celebrating with a hearty “Kölle Alaaf!” Since its beginnings as the “Lachende Sporthalle” in 1965, the event has embodied Cologne’s carnival traditions and the Rhineland’s distinctive joie de vivre.
When the LANXESS arena comes alive with singing, laughter, and carnival spirit, we’ll be right in the middle of it – Kölsch in hand, enjoying the atmosphere and taking time for personal conversations. An evening where Cologne Carnival sets the rhythm.
More informationStrategy & Corporate Performance
AI optimizes prices, but only within a predefined pricing system. Why that system remains a management responsibility, explains enomyc pricing expert Jan Ulrik Holsten.
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Together with Ufenau Capital Partners, enomyc is building a consulting platform for transformation and restructuring. Julia Hammer explains why the market is calling for it now and what changes for clients.
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Many Mittelstand production networks have evolved over time and no longer fit volatile markets. Christian Zeller and Max Stehr explain which level of intervention makes sense and when.
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A restructuring plan in accordance with IDW S 6 is more than a mandatory report for the bank. Dr. Stefan Frings and Tom Hammer explain how it creates financial security and strategic clarity.
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The final publication of IDW S 16 provides, for the first time, a concrete reference framework that operationalizes the legal obligation for early crisis detection under Section 1 of the StaRUG. IDW S 16 does not create a new legal framework, but rather specifies how companies can properly fulfill the previously often abstract requirements for early crisis detection, planning, and risk management. enomyc partner and financial expert Jonas Keppler explains what the standard means in practice—and what consequences it has for business decisions .
Strategy & Corporate Performance
2025 was a challenging year—and a year of professionalization. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) refined their business models, adjusted their financing strategies, and tackled technological change more actively than in previous years. We talk to enomyc founders Martin Hammer and Uwe Köstens about key developments and what will be crucial for SMEs in 2026.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
With the opening of its US office in Anderson, South Carolina, enomyc is taking an important strategic step in international consulting. In an interview, founder Martin Hammer and Managing Director Franz A. Wenzel explain why local American consulting expertise is a key success factor for the US market, what differences between European and American corporate and work culture are decisive, and how enomyc will provide even more targeted support to medium-sized companies in their global core markets in the future.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
The pharmaceutical industry is at a turning point. While global demand for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is rising, more and more medium-sized manufacturers in Europe are coming under pressure. Skyrocketing location costs and crippling regulations, as well as dependence on Asian suppliers, are making life difficult for them. The market is growing, but not for everyone. In their article, Dr. Stefan Frings and Marius Stenzel explore why some companies are constantly losing ground despite rising demand and what they can do now to adapt their production, supply chains, and organization to the new challenges.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
AI optimizes prices, but only within a predefined pricing system. Why that system remains a management responsibility, explains enomyc pricing expert Jan Ulrik Holsten.
Transformation & Restructuring
Together with Ufenau Capital Partners, enomyc is building a consulting platform for transformation and restructuring. Julia Hammer explains why the market is calling for it now and what changes for clients.
Transformation & Restructuring
Many Mittelstand production networks have evolved over time and no longer fit volatile markets. Christian Zeller and Max Stehr explain which level of intervention makes sense and when.
Transformation & Restructuring
A restructuring plan in accordance with IDW S 6 is more than a mandatory report for the bank. Dr. Stefan Frings and Tom Hammer explain how it creates financial security and strategic clarity.
Financial Advisory
The final publication of IDW S 16 provides, for the first time, a concrete reference framework that operationalizes the legal obligation for early crisis detection under Section 1 of the StaRUG. IDW S 16 does not create a new legal framework, but rather specifies how companies can properly fulfill the previously often abstract requirements for early crisis detection, planning, and risk management. enomyc partner and financial expert Jonas Keppler explains what the standard means in practice—and what consequences it has for business decisions .
Strategy & Corporate Performance
2025 was a challenging year—and a year of professionalization. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) refined their business models, adjusted their financing strategies, and tackled technological change more actively than in previous years. We talk to enomyc founders Martin Hammer and Uwe Köstens about key developments and what will be crucial for SMEs in 2026.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
With the opening of its US office in Anderson, South Carolina, enomyc is taking an important strategic step in international consulting. In an interview, founder Martin Hammer and Managing Director Franz A. Wenzel explain why local American consulting expertise is a key success factor for the US market, what differences between European and American corporate and work culture are decisive, and how enomyc will provide even more targeted support to medium-sized companies in their global core markets in the future.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
The pharmaceutical industry is at a turning point. While global demand for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is rising, more and more medium-sized manufacturers in Europe are coming under pressure. Skyrocketing location costs and crippling regulations, as well as dependence on Asian suppliers, are making life difficult for them. The market is growing, but not for everyone. In their article, Dr. Stefan Frings and Marius Stenzel explore why some companies are constantly losing ground despite rising demand and what they can do now to adapt their production, supply chains, and organization to the new challenges.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
AI optimizes prices, but only within a predefined pricing system. Why that system remains a management responsibility, explains enomyc pricing expert Jan Ulrik Holsten.
Transformation & Restructuring
Together with Ufenau Capital Partners, enomyc is building a consulting platform for transformation and restructuring. Julia Hammer explains why the market is calling for it now and what changes for clients.
Transformation & Restructuring
Many Mittelstand production networks have evolved over time and no longer fit volatile markets. Christian Zeller and Max Stehr explain which level of intervention makes sense and when.
Transformation & Restructuring
A restructuring plan in accordance with IDW S 6 is more than a mandatory report for the bank. Dr. Stefan Frings and Tom Hammer explain how it creates financial security and strategic clarity.
Financial Advisory
The final publication of IDW S 16 provides, for the first time, a concrete reference framework that operationalizes the legal obligation for early crisis detection under Section 1 of the StaRUG. IDW S 16 does not create a new legal framework, but rather specifies how companies can properly fulfill the previously often abstract requirements for early crisis detection, planning, and risk management. enomyc partner and financial expert Jonas Keppler explains what the standard means in practice—and what consequences it has for business decisions .
Strategy & Corporate Performance
2025 was a challenging year—and a year of professionalization. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) refined their business models, adjusted their financing strategies, and tackled technological change more actively than in previous years. We talk to enomyc founders Martin Hammer and Uwe Köstens about key developments and what will be crucial for SMEs in 2026.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
With the opening of its US office in Anderson, South Carolina, enomyc is taking an important strategic step in international consulting. In an interview, founder Martin Hammer and Managing Director Franz A. Wenzel explain why local American consulting expertise is a key success factor for the US market, what differences between European and American corporate and work culture are decisive, and how enomyc will provide even more targeted support to medium-sized companies in their global core markets in the future.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
The pharmaceutical industry is at a turning point. While global demand for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is rising, more and more medium-sized manufacturers in Europe are coming under pressure. Skyrocketing location costs and crippling regulations, as well as dependence on Asian suppliers, are making life difficult for them. The market is growing, but not for everyone. In their article, Dr. Stefan Frings and Marius Stenzel explore why some companies are constantly losing ground despite rising demand and what they can do now to adapt their production, supply chains, and organization to the new challenges.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
Do you buy premium brands and save money at discount stores? Recent studies show that Germans have become even more price-sensitive. At the same time, however, the market volume for luxury goods is also growing. Manufacturers and retailers are under pressure: how can they strike the right balance between price sensitivity and customer loyalty? Marketing expert Peter Klein believes that companies should focus on the value of their products. However, most companies lack a clear, professional pricing strategy developed by a specialized pricing team. How can this be improved?
Strategy & Corporate Performance
Pricing is one of the most powerful but often underestimated levers for increasing profits and company value. Even small changes can have a big impact: a price increase of just 1% can boost operating profit by up to 11% with the same sales volume. In contrast, a price reduction of 5 percent requires a rather unrealistic sales increase of around 19 percent if profits are not to plummet. Artificial intelligence (AI) is now putting pricing back on the agenda for small and medium-sized businesses. In this interview, enomyc experts Jan Ulrik Holsten and Franz A. Wenzel explain how AI is changing pricing and what options this opens up for companies.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
Large OEMs have to do it, as do medium-sized companies whose plants in one region are underutilized while customers in another market cannot be supplied quickly enough. Whether large or small, virtually all companies have to continuously adapt their production capacities to changing requirements. In a world where what seemed like an ironclad rule yesterday may no longer apply tomorrow, this is no easy task. In their article, enomyc experts Max Stehr and Christian Zeller explain what companies should pay attention to and why involving an experienced partner at an early stage can avoid a lot of unrest, friction losses, and often also costs.
Digital Strategy
Only a fraction of German companies use blockchain in their daily practice. Does blockchain technology create more problems than solutions? Or does the decentralized system actually hold untold opportunities? How do companies benefit from stablecoins and DeFi? And how can blockchain solutions be implemented in German SMEs? Technology expert Franz A. Wenzel, Director at enomyc, answers burning business questions.
Strategy & Corporate Performance
The wind energy market in Germany is racing from one record to the next. Never before have so many permits for new turbines been issued as last year. Almost a third of electricity is now generated by wind power. Nevertheless, the industry is not a sure-fire success. This is not only because the market is often as volatile as the winds that blow. Growing competition from Asia is also putting pressure on companies. In their article, enomyc authors Dr. Stefan Frings and Viola Damberg take a look at the most important current developments and outline how suppliers can best equip themselves for the increasingly harsh winds of competition.
Financial Advisory
From controlling at a renowned state bank to working in an internationally operating SME and finally to management consulting: Jonas Keppler has already sat on many chairs. What all stages have in common: his passion for numbers. Which restructuring case does he consider the most exciting of all time? How can CFOs and controllers be convinced to use AI? And with which guiding questions does he inspire medium-sized companies to think big? A conversation with Jonas Keppler – about numbers, impact, and perspective.
Digital Strategy
Der Markt für Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) boomt. Immer mehr Anbieter preisen ihre Lösungen an. Doch bei genauer Betrachtung entpuppt sich so manche vermeintlich intelligente Neuigkeit als Mogelpackung, schließlich lässt sich allein mit dem Label „Künstliche Intelligenz“ ordentlich Geld verdienen. Mittelständische Unternehmen stehen dadurch oft vor einem Dilemma: Einerseits möchten sie KI-Lösungen einführen, um beispielsweise von Effizienzsteigerungen zu profitieren, andererseits ist die Auswahl von Tools aufwändig und bleibt oft ohne Ergebnis. In ihrem Beitrag erklären die enomyc-Autoren Carla Dausend und Leonard Rampf, welche Fehler Unternehmen vermeiden sollten und was beim Einstieg ins Thema zu beachten ist.
Digital Strategy
US corporations such as Amazon and Walmart want to revolutionize the payment system. According to recent reports, they are working on minting their own digital currencies –Stablecoins. These promise faster payment processing, lower transaction costs, and complete control over payment flows. This is reason enough for German SMEs to take a closer look at the technology, say Franz Wenzel, Stella Weisser, and Tom Agsten from enomyc. The three have been working on blockchain and crypto topics for a long time and were on site at the Berlin Blockchain Week 2025 (BBW) to discuss and interact with other teams about the current trends and applications. In this article, they explain what is behind this trend toward digital payments—and how blockchain, Web3, and digital currencies is being translated into real business models.
Transformation & Restructuring
Is this impression misleading, or are strikes becoming more common? Which industries are hardest hit? And how well prepared are medium-sized companies? “In my experience, not well at all,” reports Thomas Wahlig, specialist lawyer for labor law, “but the unions are just as bad.” This could make companies vulnerable to blackmail very suddenly. And this at a time when German SMEs are in the midst of an unprecedented wave of restructuring. Thomas Wahlig is a partner at Pusch Wahlig Workplace Law and specializes in collective bargaining and works constitution law, particularly restructuring. He says that companies planning restructuring should check their strike resistance very carefully in advance. How? With due diligence. We interviewed him.
Financial Advisory
Loan-to-own transactions are increasingly discussed in restructurings. Alexander Neumann explains their role in the German market, who benefits and what to watch out for.
Transformation & Restructuring
In recent months, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have faced existential crises due to challenging economic conditions, the unique structural situation in Germany, and the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has been further exacerbated by sharply rising capital costs, increased risk aversion among financiers, and repayment obligations from the pandemic period. According to enomyc author Dr. Stefan Frings, these multiple crises present the perfect opportunity for decisive and consistent action. Often, it takes significant pressure before stakeholders are willing to confront harsh realities and, with careful consideration, bring an end to long-standing but unsustainable practices.
Transformation & Restructuring
While crises used to be exceptions, they have become a constant state due to the pandemic and wars. The business world is not exempt, with many companies currently facing turmoil. Martin Hammer, founder and managing partner of enomyc, has witnessed over a thousand companies in crisis and has successfully led many out of trouble. Here, he discusses the causes, symptoms, and the Tarragona Strategy, a proven concept in both medicine and business.
Transformation & Restructuring
The StaRUG x Leoni AG case is making history in corporate restructuring. Specifically, it represents a paradigm shift. According to the summary of the restructuring plan, the expected return for the shareholders affected by the plan in the next best alternative scenario was 0%. This has never happened before. How has this case affected restructuring practices since then? Who are the winners and losers? And what opportunities or risks does StaRUG hold for LLCs? Ralf Ehret, Partner and Head of Debt Advisory, provides insights.
Financial Advisory
One in four insolvencies is due to late payments. Especially in business trans-actions between large debtors and small creditors, long payment terms re-peatedly lead to problems. As a result, particularly SMEs, which rely on pre-dictable cash flows, are forced to delay payments to their own suppliers, incur higher financing costs, and have less room for investments. With a directive aimed at combating late payments in commercial transactions, the European Commission intends to ensure more fairness. Moreover, it aims to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises. While this sounds promising, it also has its drawbacks, according to experts Marc Fahrig and Ralf Ehret, who outline what businesses should now prepare for.
Digital Strategy
Disruptive technologies such as genAI are becoming increasingly important in the business world. This presents the upper midmarket segment with the challenge of not only understanding these technologies as a trend, but also applying them in practice in order to best increase efficiency and innovative capacity. Concerns that the barriers to entry are too high for SMEs are unfounded, says head of innovation at enomyc and author, Franz Wenzel. A certain amount of preparation and training is essential, however, a strategy for AI integration that has been worked out down to the last detail is not necessary from the get go. He is convinced that two factors are much more decisive: Understanding. And time.
Digital Strategy
Skepticism and reservations, fascination and anticipation: no matter how you feel about AI – you are certainly not alone. No wonder, says Mario Trapp. After all, AI is a pioneering technology. It gives rise to tangible changes. And it provokes. Even myths: “We’re in the SME sector here. AI is too far removed from what we do at the core," is one assumption. A false one, says Trapp. As a Partner in Restructuring & Transformation and Head of Digital Strategy, he has been observing the technological developments of AI for quite some time. His world? Big data and data analysis. His industries? Many – primarily owner-managed companies. How does he himself apply AI in business? Should companies already be hiring Chief AI Officers? And which AI developments make even him uneasy? Get to know our new partner. And how to improve your prompts.
Let's be honest: new technologies and ground-breaking innovations are topics that most of us would expect to find in Silicon Valley rather than in German SMEs. The long list of German SMEs whose products and solutions are in demand all over the world shows that this is not the whole truth. The secret of their success: above-average innovative strength. The Top 100 competition honours precisely such companies. This year, enomyc is also among the winners. How is innovation "organised" there and how do customers benefit when their consultancy is innovative? We talked about this with Julia Hammer, COO and Managing Director, and Franz Wenzel, Director at enomyc.
Financial Advisory
During a corporate crisis, many things change, including the relationship between the company and its financiers. Internal regulatory requirements lead to changes vis-à-vis lenders' engagement strategies and new contacts. Communication requirements also increase in many respects. Those who fail to recognise this risk a communicative downward spiral and thus potential existential consequences. Why is correct crisis communication so crucial for a successful restructuring? And how does it work exactly? Ralf Ehret, enomyc Partner and Head of Debt Advisory, looks at five typical pitfalls of communication with financing partners - and how you can avoid them.
Digital Strategy
Nine out of ten companies are victims of data theft, espionage or sabotage. Practically any company can become a victim, from a small tax consultant to a major international corporation. The extorted ransoms reach ever more dizzying heights and lead many a company into insolvency. Which actors and structures are behind the cyberattacks and, above all, how can one protect oneself? That's what we asked Andreas Persihl. He is owner of Hamburg-based CAPERIUM GmbH, which specialises internationally in crisis analysis, prevention and defence.
Digital Strategy
Incendiary, destructive and fascinating all at once, cyberattacks are leading the current polycrisis. Critical infrastructure is under attack, and reports are piling up at state criminal investigative agencies and public prosecutor offices alike. One thing is clear to the experts: Cyberattacks cannot be avoided. It is important, now more than ever, that companies know how to react to them, lest the future judge them harshly for their failure to respond accordingly. How can companies better arm themselves against cyberattacks? And if attacks succeed: How do they switch to "incident response" instead of "headless chicken mode"? It is time to ask an expert. Philipp Seebohm from AON shares insights and recommendations from eight years of cyber risk management.
Transformation & Restructuring
Dass sich die Krise erst jetzt, knapp drei Jahre nach Ausbruch der Pandemie, in Bilanz, GuV und Cashflow der Unternehmen bemerkbar macht, ist auch auf die nach wie vor gestörten Lieferketten zurückzuführen. Materialknappheit und fehlende oder immer teurere Transportkapazitäten vor allem aus Asien beeinträchtigen den Zufluss von Produkten und Teilen. Um in dieser Situation eine verlässliche Warenversorgung sicherzustellen, haben viele Unternehmen große Sicherheitsbestände aufgebaut. Auch das bindet ordentlich Liquidität.
Financial Advisory
Raw materials, labor, energy, transportation: everything is becoming ever more expensive. But that's not all: the rising costs of important input factors are endangering the profitability of companies. With our interactive inflation calculator, you can quickly find out just how much price increases are impacting your company's earnings and how price increases to your own customers can provide relief.
The current crisis not only has a major impact on the liquidity of companies: It also affects their payment morale. The focus is on existing contracts - as well as on future business relationships. What options do entrepreneurs have in the event of their business partners going bankrupt? Which contractual clauses are important for existing and future business relationships? We asked Reiner Winkelbauer, business mathematician, experienced managing director and CFO in the aerospace and pharmaceutical industries. He has been advising companies as a partner at enomyc for about five years. What recommendations does he have for entrepreneurs? How can they protect their company in the current situation?
Transformation & Restructuring
The faces and stories of our consultants are many and varied. Hardly anyone’s career path that led them to enomyc is like another. We interviewed two of them: Industrial engineer and senior consultant – at 26 years old, Felix Dosch has lived in Australia, worked in the USA, and studied in Taiwan. And 55-year-old Reiner Winkelbauer, business mathematician and partner, completed his master of science in 1990 in Syracuse, New York, before assuming responsibility for 600 employees and 70 million euros in sales as a CFO and managing director for many years. Learn more The most important lessons: advice they didn’t take and insights they want to share with prospective talents.
