Current information on dealing with the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Prevention and security measures

In recent history, the current situation surrounding the coronavirus is unique and leads to many challenges both in the private environment and as a company. Immediately after the outbreak of the Coronavirus in China, Würth Industrie Service developed a multi-stage emergency plan that is adapted and activated according to current developments. Since January 27th, the employees of Würth Industrie Service have been continuously informed about the situation regarding the Coronavirus and the related preventive measures.

The main objective of the measures taken is to continuously and comprehensively fulfil our obligation towards the health of our employees and the supply of our customers.

In order to ensure the security of supply and delivery, numerous measures have been taken with regard to our logistics, our sources of supply and our full-service support. In order to reduce the risk of infection among employees, extensive travel restrictions for all employees came into force at the end of February. In addition, visits to the site and events were refrained from. In March and April, over 90 percent of administrative staff worked from their home offices.

Back to Work

In view of the positively developing infection figures and the loosening of restrictions that have come into force throughout Germany, Würth Industrie Service has been taking the path to a new normality since 4 May 2020 according to the motto "Back to Work".

Relaxations are initiated step by step, adapted to the regulations of the government. Administrative employees can now return from their home office to their workplace on the company premises in compliance with the hygiene guidelines. To ensure the greatest possible safety and protection of employees, the maximum number of people per office is limited.

From July we will again be welcoming business partners to the company premises after they have registered by name and in compliance with the hygiene rules. In coordination with the customer, our sales department, too, is once again increasing its focus on personal on-site support for customers.

How to reach your contact persons

Sales reps	Internal Sales	Shops	Product and application consulting
Available by telephone and in person	Fully reachable	regularly opened	Fully reachable

Measures to ensure the ability to deliver in our logistics:

In order to be able to maintain the logistics processes in the European central warehouse of Würth Industrie Service in Bad Mergentheim, the logistics processes and the shifts at Würth Industrie Service have been strictly separated since the beginning of March. The reason for this is that in a confirmed case of infection, the smallest possible number of employees are affected by necessary precautions such as domestic quarantine. Affected activities can be taken over directly by the opposite shift or the specially created substitution shift.
To reduce the risk of infection, access to the company premises is limited to a maximum. Only people registered by name, who have previously completed a self-disclosure form, may enter the premises of Würth Industrie Service. In addition, all logistics areas are disinfected several times a day and employees are required to maintain good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette.
In order to enable the delivery of goods in the event of a special situation in Bad Mergentheim, a large part of our standard goods were stored at different locations.

Measures to ensure the ability to deliver regarding our supply sources

Thanks to continuous communication with suppliers, extensive supplier monitoring, the possibility of being able to fall back on alternative sources and adequate stockpiling of articles, there have been no interruptions in the supply chain and no uncertain supply situation across the board.
Due to the intensive customs controls at the borders, time delays occur. However, the transport chains are still stable and we are in constant contact with our transport service providers. Additionally, the deliveries are under continuous monitoring.
Should bottlenecks of item availability become apparent, we will contact our customers to discuss a joint situation-specific solution.
Due to the WHO's determination on January 31, 2020 that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) represents a health emergency with international implications ("Public Health Emergency of International Concern, PHEIC"), the current situation must be classified as a case of force majeure (Force Majeur). We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely and, as far as possible, are in close contact with our business partners in the affected regions in order to initiate further measures within the scope of our possibilities in the event that supply bottlenecks nevertheless become apparent.

Measures for full service in system support

With our automated reordering systems such as RFID-Kanban or automatic dispensers, the notification of demand is guaranteed independent of manual steps. If there are customer restrictions on the access of system administrators, we discuss the alternative approach individually with the customer. A full service support, for example, can be switched directly to a basic support, so that the supply of C-Parts is guaranteed.
Customers who use non-automated systems from Würth Industrie Service that are currently not able to report their requirements as usual by the system administrators can use an app to report their requirements independently at short notice to ensure the supply of C-Parts.

Trade fairs and events

Many events and trade fairs that we have planned for you in recent weeks and months could unfortunately not take place due to the coronavirus. In order to give you the opportunity to get to know our products and systems, we have developed some webinars. Furthermore, we are very confident that we will soon be able to welcome you again to events and seminars at our premises, while adhering to the hygiene guidelines

More about our webinars and events

As one of the largest employers in our region, an essential part of our corporate activities is to fulfil our social obligation to the general public. Therefore, we support social and medical institutions as well as public bodies with vital protective equipment such as masks, protective goggles, etc. Many thanks for your understanding if this means that individual orders from our customers may be served with delays!