Bechtle AG is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 information technology services company. It offers IT consulting, IT services and is also acting as a reseller of information technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

 products. The company is headquartered in Neckarsulm

Neckarsulm

Neckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart, and part of the district Heilbronn. As of 2004, Neckarsulm had 27,296 inhabitants....

 and is listed on the TecDAX

TecDAX

The TecDAX stock index tracks the performance of the 30 largest German companies from the technology sector. In terms of order book turnover and market capitalization the companies rank below those included in the DAX.The TecDax was introduced on 24 March 2003...

 stock index.

Established in Heilbronn

Heilbronn

Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....

 in 1983, the Bechtle group now operates from over 60 locations throughout Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The HQ in Neckarsulm, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, houses several different parts of the operation. Bechtle also boasts operations in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, UK, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 (under the name ARP Nederland BV since 2008), France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. As of 2006 Bechtle employed 3,900 people and had an annual turnover of approximately €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

1.2 billion. In 2007, Bechtle had over 4000 employees on its books and posted double digit growth, ahead of the German market in general.

Company Structure

Bechtle direct
Bechtle direct operates along the lines of a direct reseller of IT equipment and was one of the pioneers of e-commerce in Europe, opening a webshop as early as 1995. In addition to e-commerce, Bechtle direct can boast a large sales force and a sizeable, bi-annually published catalogue of IT products encompassing more than 800 pages. Both catalogue and website feature a range of approximately 30,000 IT products from around 300 manufacturers.
Bechtle direct currently operates in ten European countries, with further expansion into Europe planned as of 2008. Bechtle direct operates on a national, cross-regional basis, with each country location being responsible for total business in that country.
Chairman and spiritus rector of the Bechte direct group of companies is Jürgen Schäfer.

Bechtle System Houses
Around 60 of Bechtle's locations in Germany and Switzerland are known as "System Houses". These locations deal primarily with regional service provision in the broad area of IT, with many also having specific areas of specialisation. Each system house has a responsible managing director who, in turn, reports to the company board.

Compentence Centers
20 Competence Centers spread throughout Germany provide additional know-how to complex IT projects. Security, storage, virtualisation, digitale archiving, CAD and enterprise computing are some of the areas which competence centers have specialised in. Competence centers are not bound to one region as system houses are, with specialists being available throughout the group.

Bechtle Logistik & Service
Bechtle Logistik & Service, based in the company HQ in Neckarsulm, is home to the central services which support the group internationally. This includes both national and international purchasing and product management, warehousing, controlling, and translation. Bechtle Logistik & Service employs around 250 staff, headed up by Josef Jungo.