Business Guide

Especially in times when markets are changing rapidly, reliable suppliers are of crucial importance: The productivity and efficiency of many companies depends on whether agreed delivery commitments and quality are met – or not. However, strategically optimizing supplier development requires time, knowledge and resources. In our latest article on the blog, we explain the advantages that working with suppliers in a spirit of trust provides. Further, we discuss the challenges that companies face is this context and the strategies that they can apply in order to increase their competitiveness through viable relationships with their suppliers in the long term.

Disruptions in global supply chains affect the world economy. With quite severe consequences, as those disruptions can quickly lead to delays or even failure in the delivery of goods or services. To ensure that the complex logistics processes function as smoothly as possible even in times of crisis, effective collaboration between all supply chain partners and the intensive exchange of all relevant information have become indispensable. In our latest blog post, we explain the key benefits that collaborative work has for companies, the technologies that support them and the obstacles that those involved must face in order to successfully establish and build a transparent, resilient and efficient supply chain.

The digital exchange of all relevant data along the supply chain is becoming increasingly important. Transparency and seamless tracking opportunities are required for end-to-end process control. And further, the German Supply Chain Act places high demands on companies. For all those scenarios, the Internet of Things offers numerous opportunities to increase the efficiency and agility of the supply chain. Find out how IoT-based solutions can help companies minimize risks, reduce costs and optimize processes.

International free trade agreements, stable political conditions as well as a favorable geographical location and comparatively low wage and production costs characterize Vietnam as an attractive production location in Asia. Nevertheless, as in almost all foreign markets, German and other European companies initially face challenges. In order to leverage the potential and counteract possible risks in a targeted manner, it is advisable to work with experienced partners in close interaction with intelligent supply chain management.

Sustainability is increasingly called for – by customers, environmental organizations and legal requirements. The focus in this context not only includes environmental protection activities, but also the more comprehensive ESG concept, consisting of the key elements ‘environment’, ‘social’ and ‘governance’.

Successful digitization is an essential prerequisite for any sustainable business – after all, automated processes increase resilience, security and flexibility along the entire value creation process. Decisive for the success of the transformation is, among other things, the extent to which digitization is firstly understood as part of the corporate strategy and secondly strategically pursued within its implementation. So, what can such a strategy look like and what do supply chain and procurement managers pay attention to if they want to make their supply chain processes more digital? We explain which considerations are part of strategic digitization.

After three turbulent years, global supply chains have eased considerably – freight rates are falling and the flow of goods is more reliable again. Nevertheless, companies will continue to face challenges in 2023 that need to be mastered strategically. Resilience, agility and transparency remain important goals. So will reconciling cost efficiency, performance, security and sustainability. We discuss six trends to show which strategies are gaining importance in procurement, what is fueling their implementation, and what synergies digital solutions promise.

The success of trading and manufacturing companies is strongly tied to the fact that the quality and reliability of supply of products, preliminary products or raw materials is always guaranteed. Selecting the right suppliers is all about efficiency and cost-effectiveness, yet sustainability and reputation must also be considered. Companies that rely on supplier assessment according to ISO 9001 have an advantage – they benefit in terms of management and optimization of their supply chain. For example, the implementation of the Supply Chain Act, which has been in force since January 1st, can be firmly based on a systematic assessment of suppliers. We explain the added value that is associated with the certification and discuss which criteria are relevant.

The global pandemic, severe weather events or new legislations such as the Supply Chain Act – in the face of continuing risks and rising demands, companies in the manufacturing sector are increasingly looking for approaches to optimize their supply chains. 3D printing processes, also known as additive manufacturing, have paved the way to new opportunities that are aimed to make supply chains more cost-efficient and sustainable, whilst keeping the risks low at the same time. We explain how the innovative manufacturing technology can be applied and discuss the benefits that it offers.