Auswirkungen des Russland-Ukraine-Konflikts auf die Beschaffungsstrategie europäischer Unternehmen am Beispiel Aluminium

Abstract

Aluminum has established itself as an indispensable material in the industry and is now inseparable due to its versatility and properties. Specifically, its lower weight compared to steel is one of the reasons why aluminum is indispensable in the automotive industry. The supply chain of aluminum is extremely complex and due to its specific characteristics, extends across the entire globe. While the raw material bauxite is found in certain regions around the equator, further processing into aluminum takes place in countries with high energy availability and low energy costs due to the energy-intensive production process. As a result, Russia has become an attractive production location for primary aluminum and has always been an important trading partner of the European Union. Since the start of Russia's invasion on February 24th of 2022, this trade relationship has been strained, and the EU has responded with several sanctions against the Russian aggression. Geopolitical events like this conflict always influence the supply chain. For this reason, this scientific work examines the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the flow of Russian aluminum into the EU and on the sourcing strategy of European companies in general. To understand the complexity of the aluminum supply chain, a comprehensive literature review on the supply chain was conducted. This included a closer look at the production process and energy consumption of aluminum, recycling, listing on the stock exchange, key markets, regulations, and laws. Subsequently, Eurostat data were analyzed and visualized to identify the development of trade flows and trends since the outbreak of the conflict. In order to fully answer the research questions, in addition to quantitative data analysis, expert interviews were conducted in the empirical part of the research. The following results were generated: In general, it can be stated that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has led to a change of the sourcing strategy of European companies. Aluminum volume has been withdrawn from Russia, and new suppliers have been acquired or volumes have been increased with existing suppliers, primarily in the Arab and Asian regions. Since only a few aluminum goods have been sanctioned by the EU, it is a so-called self-sanctioning of the companies and thus a voluntary withdrawal of volume from Russia. Reasons for this include business relationships in the USA, market pressure, pressure from their own workforce, blocking of payment flows to and from Russia by banks, and solidarity with Ukraine. Decision factors for the choice of procurement region are sustainability, price, and availability, with sustainability being the focus. In the Arab region, there is great potential here through solar energy and investments in expanding the nuclear program.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Mátyás Gritsch (Supervisor)