Controlling in Transition: The Work Group Westphalia Meets at Phoenix Contact
Discussion on Part 2 of the Transformation Trilogy
How is controlling adapting to changing requirements? At the fall meeting held at Phoenix Contact in East Westphalia, the focus was on practical experiences, day-to-day challenges, and potential solutions—including those involving AI.
At the fall meeting in Blomberg, Head of the Work Group Thomas Meyer welcomed 24 members. He was pleased to welcome five new colleagues and to note that women now make up 40 percent of the Work Group.
The Work Group visited Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG, an owner-managed family business and “hidden champion” from East Westphalia—a global market leader in industrial connection technology that is still relatively unknown to those outside the industry. It’s no coincidence that the company was nominated as early as 2022 for the ICV Controlling Excellence Award (now the Albrecht Deyhle Award for Controlling Excellence), because—whether for control cabinet, industrial, or energy applications—hardly any industry can do without the electronics and electrical connection technology produced by the company.
A particular highlight for the members of the working group was the tour of the modern manufacturing facility at All Electric Society Park, where Phoenix Contact demonstrates how forward-looking building management, resource efficiency, and sustainable operations can be combined into a holistic approach to industrial sustainability.
“Our economy has always been undergoing constant change and will have to continue to adapt in the future in order to hold its own in the face of international competition. Change requires adaptation. This particularly affects the finance department, as it provides the information basis for business decisions,” says Head of the Worki Group Thomas Meyer, summarizing one of the day’s key insights.
The conference was the second part of a transformation trilogy. In the first part, the members of the Work Group had discussed how to manage transformations and how important it is to scrutinize processes and adapt them to current requirements in collaboration with all stakeholders. The Work Group meeting at Phoenix Contact focused on the steps involved in adapting controlling processes. The goal was to highlight practical experiences regarding the setup, as well as daily challenges and corresponding solutions—including, and especially, those supported by AI. In the third part, for which the working group will meet in April 2027 at Dr. Oetker in Bielefeld, the AI tools for use in controlling will be examined in greater detail.
The conference was organized and conducted by Work Group member Dr. Christian Block, along with the two external speakers, Jens Ropers, a partner at CA Controlling Akademie, and Lars Böhle of KuL Consulting. The participants enjoyed the lively discussions.
That evening, the ICV social atmosphere and networking opportunities were also well represented.
“We would like to extend our special thanks to our host, Phoenix Contact, as well as to Dr. Christian Block, Jens Ropers, and Lars Böhle for their hospitality and the insights they provided into this complex topic. It was well worth it!” emphasizes Thomas Meyer, who is already looking forward to the upcoming meetings: online on November 11 at the Controller Roundtable, and in person at the spring conference on April 29–30, 2027, in Bielefeld at Dr. Oetker on the topic of “AI Solutions for Controlling.”
