Danfoss Power Solutions (www.powersolutions.danfoss.
com) is a comprehensive subsupplier of mobile hydraulic solutions as either components or integrated systems to manufacturers of mobile equipment in agriculture, construction, material handling and road building, as well as speciality vehicles in forestry and on-highway.
The name of the division changed from Sauer-
Danfoss to Danfoss Power Solutions on 17 September 2013, when Danfoss A/S acquired all the remaining publicly held shares of Sauer-Danfoss Inc.
Today, Danfoss Power Solutions is a part of the privately held Danfoss Group, which in 2017 generated €5.8 billion in net sales, with EBIT of €645 million.
Globally Danfoss has around 24,000 employees.
Danfoss Power Solutions has around 20 factories in North America, Europe and South-east Asia and is among the largest manufacturers and suppliers of mobile hydraulics in the world today. Danfoss Power Solutions has its principal business centres in Ames, Iowa (US), Neumünster (Germany) and Nordborg (Denmark).
Danfoss Power Solutions’ competitors in mobile hydraulic solutions include Bosch Rexroth (Germany), Parker Hannifin Corporation (US) and Eaton Corporation (US).

Questions

1. Which political and economic factors in the global environment would have the biggest effect on the future global sales of Danfoss Power Solutions’ hydraulic components/systems to:

(a) Manufacturers of construction and mining equipment (e.g. Caterpillar)?

(b) Manufacturers of agricultural machinery (e.g. John Deere)?

2. What are the biggest problems in forecasting future demand for a subsupplier such as Danfoss Power Solutions?