Just when Germany came to terms with a second consecutive year of economic decline, the positioning game began among German companies. IT companies, automakers, banks, textiles, and RETs – each organization has to tailor its strategic approach to deal with a toughening economic climate and prepare for better days ahead.

In a major development, German national railway supplier Deutsche Bahn has decided to offload its logistics arm Schenker to Danish competitor DSV for seven billion euros. This sale is expected to bring revenue into Deutsche Bahn, which is in need of a financial boost due to operational challenges and delays. This cash inflow will most probably be used to sort out some of the current problems and enhance fundamental rail offerings.

The structure change has made the Commerzbank, the second largest private bank in Germany a potential take over candidate by the foreign banks. There has been heightened concern over the future of the German bank as UniCredit, the Italian banking syndicate, has discreetly upped its holding in Commerzbank to 21%. Shares responded to this development, reflecting ECB’s President Christine Lagarde’s recent call for cross-border banking mergers because European banks need to merge in order to compete with those in other parts of the world.

Some of the more significant changes are occurring in the real estate sector because this industry has felt a significant degree of the pinch of the economic downturn. Other players, many of which are German, such as the Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (PBB), which is a leading real estate lender, recently declared that they would cut originations of office loans, hence adjusting the balance more towards Europe. This comes amid PBB trying to cover its loss of confidence in the major asset that exposed it to U.S. commercial real estate. New business opportunities are identified in data centres, senior living, logistics, and hotels, while the supply of new business involves a reduction in the U.S. market focus.

In the technology industry the Indian IT major Infosys declared that the company would be working with zooplus, a Munich based European e commerce firm to improve its service offering and operational capacity. It will create an advanced centre: the Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad, India which will prove that German companies remain attractive as partners for tech companies.

The industrial sector is not left behind in the current developments either. An Indian steel major, JSW Steel, has entered into a joint study with BHP, one of the world’s biggest resources firms, to fast-track the usage of carbon capture technology for the steel production cleaner process. This case demonstrates the emergence of new concerns related to the sustainability of activities of heavy industries and the readiness of German companies to form strategic partnerships with international companies in order to mitigate the negative impact of their activities on the environment.

Another large Indian IT giant, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has also declared its plans to launch a new center in Visakhapatnam, India, and will provide work to 10,000 workers. Although this is not technically in Germany, it exemplifies the continuing phenomenon of Germany’s businesses and their overseas partners continuing to seek out new sites for talent and cheaper labor.

In the renewable energy segment, VA TECH WABAG has achieved gigantic repeated orders from Reliance Industries Ltd. for the water treatment plant at Dahej and Nagothane. This development underlines the further rise of environmental technologies and the leading role of Germany’s companies on this market.

Other strategic activities seen here, particularly by German firms and their counterparts, represent trends of adjustments and coping with economical fluctuations. The steps such as divestment of non-core businesses, acquisition of foreign investments, new ventures into new markets and specialization in R & D technologies gives hope to the German businesses in the coming years instead of the present global business adversities.

The many structural economic questions currently being debated by Germany in relation to the proposed growth package call for organizational agility, strategic planning, and foresight demonstrated by these companies in the process of rebuilding the German economy. The next several months and years are likely to witness new rounds of restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and international alliances as German companies respond to the changing world economy.

The effectiveness of such corporate strategies, along with the government’s endeavors to foster economic stability, will define the further development of Germany’s economy as well as its capacity to retain its status as one of the world economic leaders. Having had the experience of operating through volatile economic climates, corporations of Germany are best placed to help the nation overcome current hitches and open up opportunities for growth in the future.