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Wolfgang Schmetterer

Localization Expert

I'm responsible for the right words in the right place in the SupplyOn Services. I also take care of editorial processes and the smooth handling of translations into 15 languages. As a communicative all-rounder, I write about digital services and applications in the areas of quality, purchasing and the SupplyOn portal in this blog.

Posts by Wolfgang Schmetterer:

Use Cases

Achieve clarity, control, and compliance in purchasing with Supplier Lifecycle Management

Times are tough for procurement. More risk, more rules, less time. Strategic buyers are contending with global tariff swings, geopolitics in crisis mode, shortages of critical raw materials, and rising ESG expectations. To keep up with changing circumstances, they have to actively manage and continuously adapt their supplier base.Besides identifying and qualifying reliable suppliers, procurement teams must uncover and mitigate risks early. Also, they need to maintain full control over supplier approvals and classifications, all while ensuring traceability and compliance.With SupplyOn Supplier Lifecycle Management, buyers have a clearly structured, automated process that streamlines supplier management. It generates tangible added value for purchasing, quality, risk management, and compliance teams.The SupplyOn process explained step by step1. Identify and pre-qualify suppliersSupplyOn is the leading global supplier network for the automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing industries, connecting more than 140,000 companies. You are able to efficiently locate suitable business partners or seamlessly onboard existing contacts.Your benefit: Fast, targeted supplier search based on verified dataRather than starting from zero, you gain access to a broad and verified network within the SupplyOn supplier community.2. Use customized qualification profilesQualification requirements vary by product group, region, division, or risk level. Supplier Lifecycle Management lets you define individual qualification profiles. Then it automatically creates questionnaires, verification documents, checks, and evaluation criteria, among others. All that without involving IT or having to search manually for up-to-date templates.Your benefit: An automated and audit-ready qualification processEveryone involved in the qualification process evaluates suppliers based on standardized criteria. This ensures consistent, transparent decisions. In case circumstances change, you can easily adjust or adapt your criteria.3. Recognize risks at an early stageThrough the structured, context-sensitive process, the right information is automatically requested based on supplier type, location, and product group. This lets you identify and mitigate risks, whether financial, quality-related, or ESG-driven, before they can disrupt operations.Your benefit: Informed supplier selection with minimized riskRisks are systematically uncovered and evaluated. You can select reliable and strategically aligned suppliers based on solid data.4. Ensure cross-departmental cooperationTeams from procurement, quality, sustainability, risk management, and other business functions collaborate within a shared, role-based system. Tasks such as audits, risk assessments, and certificate reviews are automatically assigned, then deadlines are tracked and results centrally documented.Your benefit: Clear responsibilities and smooth coordinationEveryone knows what to do and when. You eliminate duplication and avoid communication gaps.5. Apply structured approvals and strategic classificationsOnly authorized users can approve suppliers and assign strategic classifications, such as "preferred supplier" or "new business on hold." Any changes, such as issues related to ESG or performance, can be immediately reflected in the classification status.Your benefit: Confident decisions and traceable complianceApprovals and classifications are based on accurate, reliable data and aligned with the company-wide sourcing strategy.6. Maintain central data in the supplier profileAll relevant supplier information, including qualifications, evaluations, certificates, approvals, and classifications, is stored in a central digital profile. The data is always up to date and fully integrated across systems.Benefit: Full transparency and control over supplier dataYou no longer need to search through emails or spreadsheets. All supplier data and performance reports are readily accessible in one place.Conclusion: Structure leads to successSupplyOn Supplier Lifecycle Management is more than a software tool. It provides a tried-and-tested, structured and strategic process that ensures secure supplier selection, mitigates risk, and breaks down internal silos.As members of a global network, potential suppliers become trusted, long-term partners who are transparent, compliant, and secure.
Achieve clarity, control, and compliance in purchasing with Supplier Lifecycle Management
SCM Insights

Product development: the why & how of supplier-initiated change requests

Feasibility studies play a crucial role in the automotive industry during the procurement process for parts under development. After all, even before these new parts are developed and contracted, companies need to ensure that they can be delivered in the required quality and quantity, on time and at appropriate conditions. SupplyOn Technical Review has been efficiently handling all of this for years. In most cases, the customer provides the specifications. But it can lead to even greater efficiency and project success if the suppliers can also initiate changes themselves.The classic Technical Review processTechnical verification is the process of verifying the quality, quantity, delivery dates, and conditions of a new part. For this purpose, the customer company requests information from the suppliers by means of a questionnaire. The customer then assesses the supplier's feasibility and maturity.Change management: a new process for Technical ReviewAutomotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen has been one of the main users of the Technical Review process since its inception. And because Technical Review has worked so well from the start, they wanted to see if Technical Review could be extended beyond the standard process.ZF project manager Alejandra Rangel Granados explains: "We often have a situation where a supplier needs to independently coordinate and approve necessary or desired changes to the product and process with us as the customer before the change is implemented. In this way, the supplier can be sure that ZF, as the customer, agrees to the change. "And it was no coincidence that SupplyOn already had a concept up its sleeve. There were already concepts on how Technical Reviews could also be initiated by the supplier. With a small expansion of the Technical Review, the time had come at the beginning of 2023: the improved process based on Technical Review was ready for ZF.How the supplier-driven Technical Review process for change requests worksAs a prerequisite for the supplier-driven process, the customer first creates a template. This template defines the type of changes, such as product information, that the supplier can send to the customer.The supplier can then use this template to send structured change requests and start the coordination process with the customer. After receiving the request, the customer may need to coordinate further details with the supplier and check the feasibility of the change. The result is immediately displayed to the supplier in Technical Review and sent as an email notification.Advantages of the optimized processZF project manager Alejandra Rangel Granados: "The ZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions division has been using the new process with its suppliers since mid-January 2023. Previously, change requests for parts and processes were made via unstructured e-mail communication, which was difficult to track. Thanks to SupplyOn, we can now offer a fully electronic, easily traceable and data-secure process. In addition, we are now much better informed before the supplier makes any changes."Suppliers also benefit from the new process. They now receive timely feedback on important change requests. Emails from the supplier are no longer lost because the change is stored transparently and securely at SupplyOn.Meanwhile, SupplyOn is already making plans for the next expansion stages of Technical Review. Product Manager Martin Weber comments: "We are sure that we will be able to implement further use cases based on Technical Review quickly and easily." So, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the all-rounder Technical Review — in any case, the end of the line does not seem to have been reached yet.
Product development: the why & how of supplier-initiated change requests
Inside · Technology

Certificate Management and Artificial Intelligence

If autonomous vehicles driving with artificial intelligence were used, would the problem with speeding cars in built-up areas be completely solved? And who is liable if such a vehicle causes an accident? Does facial recognition in public spaces serve general safety or does this result in a surveillance state? You only have to watch the news: the topic of "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" is stirring the public. (more…)
Certificate Management and Artificial Intelligence
SCM Insights · Use Cases

Collaboration made easy: feasibility studies with Technical Review

Continental and ZF Friedrichshafen's customers include numerous automotive manufacturers (so-called OEM). In this industry, the demands on logistics, feasibility, quality, quantities and compliance are particularly high. Both companies therefore need absolutely reliable partners.Until recently, however, they were faced with a challenge: How can they check with both known and, in particular, new suppliers to see whether they can produce newly developed parts in the required quality and quantity, deliver them on time and on the right terms and conditions? (more…)
Collaboration made easy: feasibility studies with Technical Review