论坛议程 | Forum Agenda

• Efficiency Beyond SG&A: Collaboratively optimize the entire value chain through advanced analytics and automation to enhance productivity and competitive advantage
• Acquisition and Innovation: Business partner in growth through strategic acquisitions and accelerate with impactful innovation
• Business & Customer Proximity: Acquire business acumen and foster customer-centric mindset, to provide value adding insights and enable tangible progress
• Sustainable portfolio transformation: Support the business in boosting sustainability into a true differentiator

• From Process Guardians to Value Architects: Reshaping Finance in a Slowing Economy
• Organizational Agility: Building a Dual-Speed Finance Operating Model
• Data as the New Currency: Strengthening Support & Trust Through Digital Transformation
• The Greater China Advocacy Playbook: Turning Local Complexities into Global Conviction

• Optimizing liquidity management in China
• The benefit of regional Treasury centers
• How to utilize PBoC & SAFE schemes
• Key considerations for shareholding restructuring
• Challenges on cross-border cash movements
• Tax considerations on cash repatriation from China

• Making a Name：Streamlining a U.S.-Owned Business Unit & Facilitating Its Successful Sale
  • Identifying Cost Leakages Through Data Analysis
  • Three Strategies for Inventory Reduction
  • Rapidly Building a Finance Team
• Give Full Play：MFLEX’s Cost Reduction & Efficiency Journey
  • Accounting Process improvement
  • Building a Costing System from Scratch “0-1“
  • End-to-end optimization of warehouse management 
  • Establish digital system: Tool Empowerment and Data-Driven Decision-Making
  • Team Management: Internal Talent Development and Cross-functional Collaboration
• Dynamic Balance Among People, System, and Process
          ◦ Key Points for Collaborative Optimization
          ◦ Implementation Pathways and Future Prospects

Throughout her career in various companies, Julia has observed that between Germany and China often the small cultural differences have a big impact on the reputation and workload of the Chinese entity, so she has built an interest in making both sides aware of those to enable a closer and more effective collaboration. In this workshop, she will share her insights and discuss with the participants about following topics:

• What is clear communication
• What are unspoken expectations
• How to handle unreasonable or work-heavy requests
• How to bridge cultural differences

The competition of the manufacturing company in China is becoming more and more fierce. Not only from product perspective but also the running efficiency of internal organization.  

Robotic process automation (RPA) automates repetitive, rule-based tasks traditionally performed by human workers. By deploying software robots with tools like UiPath, PowerAutomate or Python, RPA streamlines business processes, enhances operational efficiency and reduces costs. The bots can mimic human interactions with digital systems, including logging into applications, entering data and performing calculations. The result is a significant reduction in errors and an increase in productivity, allowing human employees to focus on more strategic and value-added activities.

Furthermore, latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have widened the range of applications especially for the Indirect Areas in Administrative Tasks. So, the key question of the workshop is, How those new digital tools can help the organisation to get leaner and faster? 

• Introduce some internal projects initiated by BASF in China and globally, e.g. around analytics.
• Share pipeline projects, e.g. around expense reimbursement, finance chatbot for internal customs etc.
• Explore and discuss visionary ideas with the audience

• 8 Types of Generative AIs: that they are and when to use them
• Third AI Generation: why AI Agents are so powerful
• 6 Pillars of Corporate AI: what every company needs to get right
• Practice session on Finance use cases with first- and second-generation AI – bring a laptop! 

• Understanding AI: Concepts, Capabilities & Common Misconceptions 

• Building the Foundation: What Controllers Need to Leverage AI Effectively

• Where AI Meets Controlling: Key Areas of Application

• Real-World Examples of AI in Controlling

• From Manual to Autonomous Finance: Shifting from Excel-based workflows to predictive, AI-powered planning
• Digital Twin of the Business Model: Simulating integrated decisions across finance, operations, sales, HR and ESG
• Natural Language Planning: Leveraging NLP and AI to empower business users to build and explore scenarios intuitively
• Integrated Cross-Functional Planning: Connecting finance, HR, sales, and sustainability for end-to-end planning
• Customer Stories:
  • EZ-Link (Singapore): Achieved 6x faster forecasting and improved planning agility
  • Deutsche Telekom (Germany): Replaced over 300 Excel templates and streamlined planning across the enterprise
  • Li & Fung (Hong Kong): Reduced planning cycle time and improved decision support with AI-driven forecasting