UCA: How Chemistry Becomes Resilient Just-in-Case vs. Just-in-Time? Chemistry in the VUCA Era

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Verband der Chemischen Industrie e.V.

DÜPERTHAL Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Italvacuum, Srl

Price shocks, supply chain risks, and trade conflicts: When the unimaginable becomes everyday reality, can companies react at all? Do tried-and-tested strategies provide answers in uncertain times? And what exactly does VUCA stand for?

“It’s the end of the world as we know it,” proclaimed the 1987 hit by alternative rock band R.E.M. Three years later, following the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, everything was indeed different. And today? With the tariffs introduced by U.S. President Trump in 2025 and the suspension of arms deliveries to Ukraine, more certainties are collapsing. Even a disintegration of NATO and the Western sphere of interest seems possible. This development poses a serious problem for an economy as closely linked to the world market as Germany’s – and it is life-threatening for the chemical industry.

Companies in many developed markets like e.g. Germany cannot compete with the energy and raw material costs of their international competitors, nor can they rely on robust sales markets. With the weakness of key customer sectors, particularly the automotive industry, the demand for polymers, basic chemicals, paints, and coatings also weakens. Only the pharmaceutical industry proves crisis-resistant – no surprise, as people continue to get sick. “Without a strong chemical and pharmaceutical industry, there are no resilient supply chains, no leaps in innovation in various technologies, materials, and substances, and no secure supply of essential inputs for the entire industrial network,” emphasizes the German Chemical Industry Association VCI's Chief Executive Wolfgang Große-Entrup. “The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated the importance of a strong industrial base."