Business Guide

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.

Digitization can make a decisive contribution when it comes to achieving Germany’s climate targets by 2030. This was the conclusion of a study conducted by Accenture for the digital association Bitkom, which examined the influence of various digital technologies on the net savings potential of CO2 emissions using case studies in seven sectors of the economy. Accordingly, the areas of industrial manufacturing and mobility offer the greatest reduction potential. Following the results of the study, a decisive lever can be the optimization of routing and freight management.

With the increasing challenges in global procurement, many companies feel the growing need to secure their supply chain: If, for example, a supplier solely responsible for certain materials or resources were to fail, this would have serious consequences for production. Diversifying the supply chain through dual or multiple sourcing strategies is an effective means of strengthening resilience and reducing procurement risks. However, an increasing number of suppliers can also result in increased costs and more complex management processes. We compare the advantages and disadvantages of dual and multiple sourcing with the single sourcing concept and explain in which context which alternative is most prone to success.

Cyberattacks on data and network security are a serious threat to companies worldwide, including small and medium-sized enterprises. IT security expert Johannes Mattes and Alexander Gronwald, a specialist in digital transformation, explain the vulnerabilities that attackers abuse, and which defense strategies companies can use for protection. They also discuss why employee training plays a major role when it comes to cybersecurity.

From January 1st 2023, the German Supply Chain Act holds companies with more than 3,000 employees in Germany liable to comply with extensive due diligence obligations towards people and the environment in their supply chain. One year later, the law will also take effect for organizations with more than 1,000 employees. In the following interview, Judith Jung, specialist group representative at the German Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME) and project manager at the Competence Center for Innovative Procurement (KOINNO), and Carsten Knauer, head of the BME Logistics Section, discuss why small and medium-sized companies are also affected and what they can do to prepare.

For companies, inventory management is strategically important and challenging at the same time: In order to avoid surplus goods or bottlenecks, demand must be predicted as accurately as possible. Incorrect planning can lead to considerable economic disadvantages. In order to manage and optimize inventories in line with demand, a high degree of transparency is required in all supply chain processes. In addition to the basics of inventory management, we will introduce you to methods and tools that can be used to increase transparency and thus achieve inventory optimization.

Strategic commodity group management not only enables the optimization of procurement costs, it also facilitates supply chain strategies and supplier relations. In addition, commodity group classification supports the assessment of risks as required by the Supply Chain Act which comes into force in January 2023. We explain how companies can take advantage of the many benefits of strategic commodity group management.

Many companies are currently struggling with high cost pressures on the supply chain caused by supply constraints, increased freight and storage costs, sharply rising energy prices and persistent inflation. What is needed at this point are efficient processes that can reduce costs, save time and increase productivity. Discussing examples from practice, we explain how companies can work much more efficiently with technologies specifically tailored to the supply chain.

Companies are currently confronted with a multitude of risk events that directly or indirectly impact procurement, production and supply security. Most of these incidents are beyond direct control – yet there are ways to identify risks, adjust processes and optimize systems. The basis for this is supply chain analytics – the targeted evaluation of the data stream that accompanies goods along the supply chain. Our new blog post explains the basics of supply chain analytics.