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How to do successful customer portal management (guest article by Klüber Lubrication)

How to do successful customer portal management (guest article by Klüber Lubrication)

In business relations between us (Klüber Lubrication) and our customers, a digital and efficient exchange of information is nowadays the be-all and end-all for successful cooperation. To ensure this, portal solutions — such as SupplyOn — are used. These usually combine several applications that support data exchange of cross-business and customer-specific processes, from tenders to…

Design Thinking: the quest for the “Wow” factor

Design Thinking: the quest for the “Wow” factor

“How do we generate enthusiasm among our customers?” This is the key question on Sabine Moudilou’s mind. As Manager Supplier Quality at SupplyOn, she is currently looking into the potential for a new audit management solution. For her, this is about more than optimally meeting customer needs. More than covering as many market requirements as…

Supplier Community Event: relevant CO2 information for suppliers — for the first time live from the studio

Supplier Community Event: relevant CO2 information for suppliers — for the first time live from the studio

Our Supplier Community Events are highly appreciated by suppliers. High attendance figures and constant positive feedback from the audience have now prompted us to give it an even more professional touch: Our new SupplyOn Studio debuted at the last Supplier Community Event — and it was a complete success! Read all about it here for…

Industry News

Sustainability Kongress 2022: solving the challenge of sustainable business operations

The Sustainability Kongress, organized by the Berlin Institute of Supply Chain Management, was a high-profile event, with keynotes by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany and Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Alongside Joschka Fischer and Michael Kellner, various corporate executives and purchasing managers presented their views on sustainability in a world in transition, where time to act is running out. Among the speakers were Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld, Deutsche Bahn CEO Dr. Richard Lutz, Airbus Executive Nicole Dreyer-Langlet and BASF Executive Saori Dubourg.Sustainable management is in demandThe key topic of the congress were sustainable business practices. Particularly, it was about the need for embedding sustainability in the corporate strategy as well as a basic attitude for the entire organization. A clear, transparent and measurable sustainability reporting system was called for.Two aspects in particular were discussed for reducing the carbon footprint. One key factor was the impact of the inbound supply chain (i.e. upstream supply chain = "Scope 3") on CO2 emissions. The second central topic was product development aligned to sustainability principles. This considers CO2 emissions both during product use and at the end of the product life cycle, catchword: circular economy.In addition, other important ESG topics, such as diversity and the need for political guidelines for sustainable business, were also discussed intensively.Award-winning sustainabilityIn three categories, the jury of the Sustainability Kongress honored the most innovative concepts, initiatives and companies among all applicants.Sustainability AwardCategory ProcurementWinner: Deutsche BahnFinalists: EnBW, MieleCategory OperationsWinner: thyssenkrupp Material ServicesFinalists: GEA, SiemensCategory R&DWinner: TE ConnectivityFinalists: Knorr-Bremse, BlueMovement BSHBuilding Public Trust AwardCategory Non-Listed CompaniesWinner: Robert BoschSupplyOn sincerely congratulates all winners and finalists, including SupplyOn customers BMW, Bosch, Deutsche Bahn and Siemens.Sustainability at SupplyOnAs the standard for supplier collaboration, SupplyOn supports its customers and their suppliers in achieving their sustainability goals. This applies in particular to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Scope 3 topics, ranging from surveys on the Company Carbon Footprint (CCF) and the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) to solution modules with regard to the Supply Chain Corporate Due Dilligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, LkSG).
Arvid Holzwarth · October 25, 2022 - reading time < 3 Min.
Sustainability Kongress 2022: solving the challenge of sustainable business operations
Use Cases

Bosch Thermotechnology China improves its inventory management capability with SupplyOn

Bosch Thermotechnology provides all activities involving heating technology and hot-water solutions. Bosch Thermotechnology has a number of major international and regional thermotechnology brands and supplies people with state-of-the-art technologies worldwide. In times of scarce energy resources, the topic of efficient heat generation is of existential importance. Innovations from Bosch Thermotechnology have been setting trends for centuries.As a buyer company, Bosch Thermotechnology is constantly exploring the efficient digital collaboration, in order to realize the fastest delivery speed, lower logistics cost and higher product quality throughout the whole supply chain.Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a management strategy that aims to obtain the lowest cost for both the buyer and the suppliers, by setting the maximum/minimum inventory level in a mutual agreement to let suppliers manage the inventory. SupplyOn's VMI provides Bosch Thermotechnology in China with a mature system to address these challenges. With the completion of the project in August 2022, an important milestone has been reached that represents a major leap ahead for Bosch's information management.End-to-end VMI managementBefore the SupplyOn VMI project was launched, Bosch Thermotechnology and its suppliers in China faced some problems, such as missing or delayed information at logistics control points, or supplier performance monitor difficulties. The VMI solution provided by SupplyOn helps Bosch Thermotechnology China to recognize the existing and potential business pain points, and then offers reasonable actions.End-to-end Management: SupplyOn VMI receives master data and business data from the ERP. Suppliers creates planned receipts and ASN on the SupplyOn platform, and send the delivery information back to the ERP.Inventory Monitor: According to the daily inventory, demand and planned receipt, VMI automatically calculates the projected inventory. Once the actual or projected inventory exceeds the maximum or minimum inventory level, the system will send an early alert to both Bosch and the supplier to notify the supplier of timely replenishment and explain the reason to Bosch.Alert management: Apart from inventory alerts, the VMI system also provides ASN alerts. When the actual delivery quantity and arrival time are inconsistent with the ASN's planned quantity and time, the system will also automatically send the alert email to notify Bosch and its suppliers to find and solve the problem in time.Replenishment Method: Both Inventory Projection (IPR) and Replenishment Planning Monitor (RPM) are supported. For the IPR process Bosch sends an inventory report and gross demand messages. Based on this information the projected inventory is calculated and displayed over time. For the RPM process Bosch sends inventory report messages and the suppliers create the ASNs based on today's inventory and agreed Min/Max inventory level.Supplier Performance Monitor: Development of a performance assessment form exclusively for Bosch, with which users can analyze the VMI consignment supplier lifecycle based on suppliers, time range, product categories and other dimensions.Key factors of project successThe right suppliers and materials are critical elements for the success of a VMI project.The suitable suppliers:Supply Chain Management Capabilities: For suppliers who have little production capacity or poor production plan execution ability, even if the SupplyOn VMI automatically calculates the replenishment quantity and delivery time, suppliers still cannot follow the process.Long-term partnership: Consignment suppliers typically have a close relationship with Bosch. When consignment suppliers implement the VMI system, they will be responsible for the inventory management and ownership. So Bosch has the obligation and confidence to provide the consignment suppliers with core business data such as demand and inventory.The suitable materials:Relatively stable demand: when buyer's demand fluctuates greatly, the bullwhip effect is then produced, which will cause great pressure on the supplier's replenishment plan.High demand frequency: For products with low demand frequency, using Excel to manage supplier replenishment has the higher input-output ratio than using VMI.The benefitsEnd-to-end transparency of supplier inventory managementReduced transportation costsEarly warning of inventory riskCost savings through lower inventory levelsCustomer reviewThe SupplyOn VMI solution is an intuitive supply chain platform based on a global business network. This provides maximum support for Bosch Thermotechnology and its suppliers in a more efficient digital collaboration.At the same time, we also want to thank the SupplyOn project team. During the implementation of the project, both teams communicated and collaborated closely, overcame the impact of the pandemic and the difficulties of the project. The entire team worked in a very professional and dedicated manner.— WANG Yukun, Project Manager, Bosch Thermotechnology China
Rupeng Hong · October 6, 2022 - reading time < 4 Min.
Bosch Thermotechnology China improves its inventory management capability with SupplyOn
SCM Insights · Technology

Advanced analytics: from data-driven to outcome-driven analytics

 The obsession to know the futureHuman beings have been and always will be obsessed with knowing the future with the wonder that if they know what will happen they can make better decisions and achieve better results.In business, the obsession is the same. In the last 15 years of my working experience, I have seen, participated in, and delivered work on contributing to forecast modeling and analytics. What I learned is that as soon as the prediction is out, it is by definition not the truth nor the reality of the future, but rather an estimation of what will or might happen. Whatever the method, a prediction is just a prediction, that’s it. In best cases, it becomes a support for decision-making but it should not be the only criteria to make decisions. (more…)
Jorge Alvarado da Piedade · September 21, 2022 - reading time < 8 Min.
Advanced analytics: from data-driven to outcome-driven analytics
Inside

Job responsibility and part-time work: is both feasible at the same time?

Different phases of life come with different needs. In order to facilitate work, family and private life, we offer our employees various part-time options — from classic part-time, usually starting at 20 hours, to temporary interim part-time. Consequently, we offer many of our job opportunities also on a part-time basis.Ferdinand joined SupplyOn in the summer of 2019. After an extended corporate career, he switched to us as Product Manager Invoicing, a completely new field for him. (more…)
Cornelia Staib · September 15, 2022 - reading time < 5 Min.
Job responsibility and part-time work: is both feasible at the same time?