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Are you ready for Invoice Clearance in France?

Are you ready for Invoice Clearance in France?

In recent years, an increasing number of countries have introduced so-called invoice clearance procedures. Before electronic invoices can be sent to the recipient, they must be checked and approved by a central government agency. The primary concern is the correct reporting of tax data. These clearance models are usually referred to as Continuous Transaction Controls…

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…

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…

Inside

“Vrooom“-tastic: SupplyOn 4 Children 2023 brings an unforgettable experience to kids in need

Inspired by the charity project "Münchner Geschenkeregen" in 2020, our marketing colleagues Anja and Lena, together with us vocational trainers, Marco and myself, founded the "SupplyOn 4 Children" initiative last year. We raise money internally to fund a special event for the kids at the Children's Home in Feldkirchen which takes place each year on World Children's Day, September 20. Last year the kids could jump around in the Maxxarena, a huge trampoline park in the east of Munich. This year's plan: go-karting and bowling at the GoKart Arena in Neufinsing.The fundraising platform: a very special trainee projectA fundraising event of this kind needs to be well prepared. After all, our employees can either support a child directly by paying . Or they can make a flexible donation of their choice for food and beverages. All of this is handled through a dedicated platform. Charlotte from our UX team designed this year's website. Our trainees Christos, Lukas, Paul and Tim did all the programming and testing.As part of their vocational training to become IT Specialists, our first- and second-year apprentices took this project completely on their own and even added their own ideas. For example, Paul came up with a feature allowing donors to add their personal greetings to the children. These very touching words were then printed on the children's personalized tickets.All in all, a lot of hard work went into the platform, front-end and back-end were diligently coded—and the result was really something to be proud of: appealing design, user-friendly forms, PayPal connectivity, email notification and reporting were all implemented by the four of them.The response was simply incredible: the same day the web page went live, 80 percent of the planned trip had been funded by donations already. In total, we raised more than 1,800 euros. Thanks to this generous support from SupplyOn employees, the kids of the children's home had a memorable trip full of fun and adventure on World Children’s Day 2023.Go-karting: a fast-paced start to the adventureShortly after three o’clock, the SupplyOn delegation, consisting of the trainers Marco and myself as well as the two trainees Christos and Paul, arrived at the GoKart Arena in Finsing and were welcomed by Nici, Division Manager of the children’s home. She and a colleague were on site there with some of the kids. Outside the entrance was a discarded go-kart where the children took their first souvenir photos. The children's faces were already filled with anticipation. A little later, all the other children and caregivers arrived, and registration for the go-kart race could begin.After the children had registered for their driver's license, the instructions for the upcoming go-kart race were supposed to follow. But first, the children wanted to thank the SupplyOn employees, whose donations made this wonderful day possible. They presented us with lovingly designed cards and boxes of chocolates as a thank-you.Then the go-kart race began. The two trainees also joined in. The first laps were for getting familiar with the karts and you could feel the ambition in everyone. The smallest girl had great respect for the speed, but still she bravely managed lap after lap. Again and again, she waved excitedly and proudly to her caregiver. After the warm-up, the race was on! On the scoreboard, the lap times improved steadily. There was a fierce battle for places. From time to time there were small touches on the barriers, and it was often very tight in the corners. When everyone crossed the finish line, it didn't matter who had the best time. They were all fearless racers and winners! "Let's do it again! That was so great!" they exclaimed enthusiastically.Bowling: simply smashingBut there was no time for another round because the next adventure was waiting: bowling. The kids picked out shoes, found the right sizes, and headed downstairs to the bowling alley. Not one, but three lanes were reserved for the children. The rules were quickly explained, and the appropriate balls were selected.At first, the shots were a little tentative. But with a little practice, the first pins fell. The children became braver, stronger, and more accurate in their throws. Every hit was cheered and celebrated. Another hour with a lot of fun, but also physical exertion, passed and hunger began to set in. This was also taken care of, and we headed to dinner together.Action makes hungry: a delicious end to an eventful dayThe friendly staff at the GoKart Arena had prepared a long table for everyone. Soon, large plates of chicken cutlets and generous portions of French fries were being served. Everyone was obviously enjoying the food. When everything was completely devoured, the landlady returned with two more large portions of fries and a lollipop for dessert for everyone. Even the older "kids", the interns, got one each 😉Three and a half hours passed quickly, and it was time to go home. But not without once again thanking the SupplyOn employees for such an exciting day. "Can we please do this again? It was so much fun!" they asked longingly. So, we were all the more delighted to be able to tell them that we will soon start planning for World Children's Day 2024. In the meantime, thanks to the many generous donations this year, we have a surprise for the backyard of the children's home. What that surprise will be is still under wraps. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it? All we can say is that the children will have a lot of fun with it for a long time to come.
“Vrooom“-tastic: SupplyOn 4 Children 2023 brings an unforgettable experience to kids in need
Inside

Career development through Agile Learning: Angila’s experiences

Angila Paikar-Megaiz has been working at SupplyOn for five and a half years as a Scrum Master for Invoicing / Procure to Pay (P2P). She not only works in an agile manner - she also learns in this way: Angila continuously builds up her knowledge via digital learning platforms. In this interview, you can find out about the advantages of self-organized learning and which courses she recommends: How does self-organized learning via digital learning platforms effectively support you in advancing your professional development?I think platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Udemy are amazing because they help me save a lot of time: Instead of reading a lot of books and researching topics in detail first, they allow me to watch the video recordings that are relevant to me in a flexible and condensed way.It allows me to adjust my learning pace, stop or repeat the videos and study when, where and as much as I want. The recordings contain both a theoretical and a practical part. They convey knowledge in a very compact way. Which is very helpful for me at work.What tangible benefits do you see in allowing employees to learn on their own and in an agile way, rather than waiting for formal training programs?Especially in IT software development, today's content will be outdated tomorrow. The latest content on learning platforms is modern and up to date. This helps me stay updated.Continuing standard education programs sometimes contain outdated content. In addition, formal training programs may not be specific enough.Learning platforms allow me to search agilely for the knowledge I need now and retrieve it in a targeted manner.Could you share some of your favorite courses or topics that you've discovered through LinkedIn Learning that have been particularly inspiring to you?I enjoyed the technical courses on Docker and Kubernetes. But there are also some great soft skills courses. Rhetoric classes, for example, that I can recommend to others.How do you integrate self-organized learning into your daily work and how do you find the right balance between learning and your daily tasks?I set appointment blockers for this in my calendar. I actively register for some training sessions and receive appointment invitations. But I also have regular, self-set appointment blockers and learn on an individual basis.Furthermore, my managers support me very much in this. On the one hand, I have annual development meetings in which we set further training goals. On the other hand, they support my method of adding appointment blockers to my calendar.Of course, it's also challenging keeping to my own deadlines and not continuing to work, which I enjoy doing. And there are also phases that are so stressful that I don't attend the learning sessions.However, it has proven successful for me to continuously build up my knowledge in this way, and to acquire knowledge for my work in such a demand-oriented way that I always return to my routine of learning. This way I always stay up to date.Are there particular successes that you can directly attribute to your self-organized learning?Definitely! In my role as Scrum Master, there have been situations where I wanted to know specifically how I can react even better to certain feedback, for example.This is where I did a specific search via LinkedIn Learning and found soft-skill training that helped me with my issue. I immediately put my knowledge into practice, and it worked well.On the technical side, I took self-study courses on DevOps and was able to apply my knowledge here directly for SupplyOn and therefore drive the topic of DevOps forward internally.Thank you, Angila, for the great insights and tips! Angila's report has piqued your interest and you would also like to join a company that promotes self-organized learning? You are committed, curious and want to use your potential and continuously develop personally and professionally? Find out about our current open positions here: SupplyOn Group
Career development through Agile Learning: Angila’s experiences
Industry News

SupplyOn live in Japan: navigating the future at Aeromart Nagoya 2023

Nagoya, Japan – Following our jubilant celebration of SupplyOn China's 15th anniversary, we wasted no time in setting up shop at Aeromart Nagoya, a leading aerospace event taking place from September 26 to 28, 2023. Aeromart Nagoya holds great significance for Japanese aerospace OEMs, their suppliers, and the broader Asia-Pacific region.A showcase of aerospace excellenceThe event kicked off on day one with presentations and workshops at the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Days two and three saw a flurry of B2B meetings and additional workshops at the Nagoya Trade & Industry Center. The evening of the second day was graced with a captivating cocktail reception at the Aichi Museum of Flight, where industry leaders gathered for relaxed networking.Aeromart Nagoya is more than just an event; it's a nexus for industry leaders, suppliers, and experts to explore the latest aerospace technologies and supply chain trends, fostering continuity and enhancing manufacturing competitiveness. AirSupply: elevating the aerospace supply chainRecognizing Japan's growing importance in the aerospace market, SupplyOn seized the opportunity to present our AirSupply solution, which plays a pivotal role in optimizing supply chain management within the aerospace sector. In an industry where precision and coordination are paramount, AirSupply facilitates seamless collaboration between customers and suppliers. It aligns with the aerospace industry's intricate processes, enabling proactive capacity planning, real-time adjustments to delivery quantities and dates, and comprehensive tracking of orders and deliveries through a common web platform.AirSupply doesn't just strengthen relationships between manufacturers and suppliers. It also improves communication throughout the supply chain, creating more resilient supply chains through early detection and response to potential disruptions.The solution being the industry standard in Europe, we are now taking it to Japan. We are committed to deepening our presence in the Asia Pacific region. Our goal is to enhance collaboration, innovation, and supply chain efficiency in the global aerospace industry.
SupplyOn live in Japan: navigating the future at Aeromart Nagoya 2023
Supplier Community

New event series available: SupplyOn in Short

Two years ago we founded the Supplier Community initiative: It stands for innovation and mutual learning. And after all, it's not just our development teams that work in an agile manner. Within the Supplier Community, we are also constantly improving our offering towards suppliers on the platform. As a result, we recently launched a new series of events called "SupplyOn in Short". Let me tell you how it came about.Turning feedback into actionSince May 2021 we held various events on different supplier topics. And we always asked the audience: what did you like most about the event? The clear winner? The tipps & tricks demonstrated in the application. 😊 As a trainer I loved that result!We took this feedback and thought about how we could continue.Our idea: offering a 45-minute high-level demo on a different SupplyOn solution every month – “SupplyOn in Short” was born.No sooner said than done!We have already held six SupplyOn in Short events since March this year:Vendor Managed Inventory,Order and Line Item Overview,Document Management,Business Directory / Certificate Management,Project Management,Invoicing,… and have already reached over 4,000 users. Insane!We always offer two sessions per topic in order to be able to cover as many time zones as possible. In addition, participants receive the recording of the event afterwards and can share it with their colleagues.Come and join usIf you want to know more about the upcoming SupplyOn in Short sessions, activate the Supplier Forum in your privacy settings. Within the new founded Supplier Academy, you will find all upcoming events. Register for the session on your SupplyOn solution. We are convinced you’ll learn one or another trick.Psst, if you send your topic-related questions upfront, we will ensure to answer them proactively during the session. We look forward to see you soon!
New event series available: SupplyOn in Short
Inside

Join forces and fight climate change

Beginning of July, SupplyOn hosted a Supplier Community Event on the topic of Company Carbon Footprint (CCF) to promote the importance of measuring and reducing carbon footprints within the supply chain. The event was a collaborative initiative of Continental, Bosch, Schaeffler, and Vitesco Technologies, and was run and supported by SupplyOn.The event focused on encouraging suppliers to accurately measure and report their carbon emissions. The tool to do so is provided by SupplyOn through a survey, which allows the information to be obtained very efficiently. The data collected that way is crucial in determining the environmental impact of the supply chain and can help identify areas for improvement. The event aimed to raise awareness about the importance of carbon footprint measurement and provide guidance on calculating and tracking emissions.Throughout the session, experts from the participating companies emphasized the necessity for sustainable business practices. Andrej Antipov from Bosch highlighted the alignment between all companies involved, emphasizing the shared goal of implementing CO2 reporting and reduction measures across the supply chain. As part of Bosch’s climate action activities, the company keeps an eye on emissions in the upstream and downstream stages of its value chain (scope 3). Bosch has the goal to cut such CO2 emissions by 15 percent in absolute terms by 2030 compared with the baseline year 2018.Veronika Leutgäb from Continental discussed their commitment to renewable energy and the importance of suppliers having a roadmap toward using electricity from renewable sources. Continental has joined the global RE100 initiative committing to using green electricity and expects its suppliers to do the same. By increasing the use of renewable energy, CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced throughout the supply chain.The event provided a platform for companies to learn from each other and exchange best practices for measuring and reducing carbon footprints. It was an opportunity for suppliers to understand the expectations of their customers in terms of environmental impact and to work towards aligning their practices with sustainability goals.A major step in driving environmental awareness among business partnersSupplyOn's CCF event marked an important step in promoting environmental consciousness and sustainability within the supply chain. By encouraging suppliers to accurately measure and report their carbon emissions, companies can work together toward creating a greener and cleaner supply chain for a sustainable future.Continental further emphasized its commitment to sustainability and indicated that they are working on enhancing its supplier evaluation process to give greater weightage to sustainability aspects, including carbon neutrality and responsible value chains.Markus Oberender also emphasized that Vitesco Technologies is interested to learn about the general strategy and roadmap of suppliers, e.g., when will they start using only renewable energy and when do they plan on becoming carbon neutral.The Schaeffler Group set itself the goal of achieving climate-neutral operations and reducing CO2 emissions in both in-house production and the supply chain by 2040 – for example, by using renewable energies. Sophia Schmid, from Schaeffler, expressed the importance of the CCF survey in gaining transparency from their suppliers. The survey results will be considered in future supply chain evaluations, underlining their commitment to sustainable sourcing decisions. Vitesco Technologies supported that expression by emphasizing the seriousness of the topic. For them, this will be one of the major issues for the next years. Therefore, the sooner the suppliers start the better.Overall, the event was a huge success, showcasing not only the collaboration of industry leaders in promoting sustainable business practices but also the commitment of their suppliers to support this joint effort. The collaborative endeavor of SupplyOn, Continental, Bosch, Schaeffler, and Vitesco Technologies highlights the importance of measuring and reducing carbon footprints in creating a more environmentally conscious supply chain.
Join forces and fight climate change
Inside

SupplyOn Channel Partner Ecosystem helps Chinese manufacturing companies achieve digital transformation

In the current economic predicament, one of the ways out for manufacturing companies is through supply chain thinking, research and practice. For more than 20 years, SupplyOn has not only provided leading supply chain solutions for intelligent collaboration and visualization in the industrial sector, but also has a leading global customer base in the industry and the best industry ecosystem with more than 140,000 active suppliers.From SupplyOn's point of view, the successes and awards that have been and are being achieved cannot be separated from the various forces behind the company, including a progressive corporate culture, executives with forward-looking strategic thinking, excellent teams and so on. SupplyOn aims to build a "Channel Partner Ecosystem" in China by sharing our many years of success and experience with our partners, and the participation of our partners will also become an irreplaceable source of strength behind SupplyOn's continued success.The so-called "Channel Partner Ecosystem" is initiated by SupplyOn, which fully considers the interests of the channel and utilizes the "Channel Leading Strategy" to vigorously promote and provide effective suggestions to partners, aggregate services, complement capabilities, and achieve mutual benefit and a win-win situation. In short, based on the general environment of digital transformation, SupplyOn will actively share expertise and experience in supply chain solutions with partners, and both parties will cooperate to develop and further expand their business scope.Stronger together: mutual benefits and win-win results are the key to successSupplyOn will continue to expand and support its channel business in China, provide high-quality services to customers, accelerate the promotion of SupplyOn solutions and services, and actively support more Chinese high-quality manufacturing enterprises in their global layout.SupplyOn is always actively seeking like-minded partners. If you want to take advantage of digital transformation to embark on a journey of intelligent solutions, we welcome you to join the SupplyOn Channel Partner Ecosystem. SupplyOn will help you build a professional team, support your customer practice and connect efficient empowerment markets through online and offline channels. The first channel partner meeting will be held in October in Shanghai.If you would like to become our channel partner, please click here.
Qian Yang · August 10, 2023 - reading time < 2 Min.
SupplyOn Channel Partner Ecosystem helps Chinese manufacturing companies achieve digital transformation
Inside

New features developed in Program Increment 2023-02

Time flies! Twelve weeks have gone by again: We present the work of our development teams in the solutions Supplier Quality Management, Invoicing and AirSupply. Supplier Quality ManagementThe goal of the last three months was to create more transparency for the customer and supplier in the Technical Review solution by means of a new status display in the navigation area: As a result, the users can now easily identify the categories in which questions have already been answered. They can also immediately check which categories contain questions that have been accepted, not accepted, or tentatively confirmed. InvoicingThe user interface of SupplyOn Invoicing has been rebuilt from the ground up — both in terms of design and functionality: Users can now see a lot faster which functions are available to them and how they can use them.Thanks to the revision of the invoice validation, it is now possible to identify and correct potential validation errors more easily.All lists, such as the invoice list, now have a full table view with extended display options. For example, the users can more easily show and hide columns, sort, move or filter them as needed.Even non-registered suppliers can now view the processing status of invoices in the Payment Status Overview. They no longer have to contact the customer's support team and get the information they need much faster.Find more information about the new user interface here. AirSupplyThe last few months have also been dedicated to making it even easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to use the AirSupply SCM solution. The Easy Starter Package includes process simplifications as well as a streamlined message format that can be implemented even without any mapping experience. The new preconfigured software enables a stable and encrypted exchange oforder data,order confirmation dataand forecast data. In the Scaled Agile Framework, one development period seamlessly follows the next. So stay tuned to find out which new features we will develop in the next Program Increment.
Lena Zuber · August 2, 2023 - reading time < 2 Min.
New features developed in Program Increment 2023-02
Inside

Kicking for a cause: SupplyOn at the Charity Company Championship 2023

On Saturday, July 22, 2023, the SupplyOn soccer team was once again in action for a good purpose. Like last year, the Charity Cup was held at the Nymphenburg Sports Park. In 2023, however, with the whole package and not cut back as in 2022. More precisely this meant 24 teams in total divided into four groups. The first two teams in each group made it to the second round.Max and Flo, the founders of the Charity Cup, put a lot of effort into organizing a great event. Everything was thought of - the course of the tournament and the care for the players were great. The weather played along and so there was a nice atmosphere similar to a summer party. This year's patron was Jimmy Hartwig, this time not only by video message, but live on site. He stayed for the whole day and kept making short motivational announcements in between, reminding the participants that it's all about having fun and to take care of each other. He was also available for photos and conversation - a great guy.Although there was no victory for SupplyOn SC, there were some close scores. Once again, we were unable to practice before the tournament. What remains are fond memories and the look ahead to another participation in 2024.Of course, we are always happy to welcome new teammates! 🙂Sporty greetingsSteffenMore information about the organizer (in German):www.charitymeetschallenge.comwww.muenchnergeschenkeregen.de
Kicking for a cause: SupplyOn at the Charity Company Championship 2023
Supplier Community

Supplier Community Event: sustainability and ecosystems shaping the near future of supply chains

A network in a world of networks: the latest Supplier Community Event revolved around supply chain ecosystems, digital twins, circular economy and much more: It's all about sustainability and our responsibility to the younger generation — in his keynote, Stefan (Executive Board, SupplyOn) described the change of consciousness that is currently happening in everyone's minds.The approach for the implementation of climate strategies? Moving away from all the individual concepts by large companies. Instead, striving for a common open and standardized approach along the multi-tier chains.And how? Together with some of our global customers, we have designed a solution based on two pillars:Connecting the supply chain ecosystems of the OEMs with all business partners along the supply chain all the way down to raw material suppliers, taking into account new industry standards such as Catena-X.And thereby making use of the concept of the digital twin.In this video, we explain how these two variables - supply chain ecosystems and digital twins — are related to each other: Our next speakers Brynja (Portfolio Manager Sustainability) and Tim (Product Manager Carbon Footprint) addressed the topic of decarbonization. They first presented a joint initiative of some of SupplyOn's customers on the Company Carbon Footprint. The idea is to gather supplier data on companies' CO2 emissions.But it is not only the company level that is of interest here. Brynja and Tim showed how customers can share carbon emissions on products level in a standardized way with the new Product Carbon Footprint solution. A sustainable supply chain must also be resilient to potential disruptions: Michael (Product Owner) went on and presented his Capacity Management solution. He showed how the supplying companies can use it to see the customers' future demands and planning. This way, they identify bottlenecks much earlier than in the past and avoid interruptions in supply.Just like resilience, the digital twin plays a part in Stefan's path to end-to-end sustainability along the multi-tier chain. The Parts Traceability solution works according to this exact principle. Daniel, (Vice President for Transport Management & Analytics Solutions) presents how customers collaborate with their business partners in the solution on twin related data. This transparency of production on both the customer and supplier side (Manufacturing Visibility) also significantly minimizes delivery and quality risks.However, nothing beats concrete use cases. That's why our guest speaker Mallik (Senior GM) reports on how Schneider Electric is tackling the challenge of end-to-end traceability with the help of SupplyOn Parts Traceability. Thank you for your valuable contribution, Mallik!SupplyOn: an open platformThomas (Vice President for SRM & Portal Solutions) continued with a special announcement: Currently, suppliers can only use SupplyOn by invitation from their customers. This is the case, for example, in the Supply Chain Collaboration solution: Customers typically invite their business partners to electronic data exchange here. The focus is also on direct, so-called single-tier exchange; the integration of sub-suppliers only comes into play in exceptional cases.With regard to ESG, however, we have to think in a new way. Because all tier levels have to be involved here - and with as little effort as possible. SupplyOn will open up the platform in the future so that suppliers can start independently. On the one hand, this means that it will be easy for suppliers to register sub-suppliers as well as for suppliers to register their customers. In addition, suppliers can also exchange data via interfaces with business partners who use a different ESG tool. The only prerequisite is that the exchange of ESG data must take place in a standardized manner.For many of you, this approach of open platforms and ecosystems surely reminds you of Catena-X — and with good reason! Because that is exactly the vision behind it — the connection of individual data rooms to a network of networks.And how does SupplyOn fit into the Catena-X landscape? Florian (Portfolio Manager Ecosystems) told the audience in the next agenda topic. He presented three options for this:Portal-to-portal integration (log in with SupplyOn credentials and use Catena-X applications) Certified data exchange (collaborate with business partners using other Catena-X applications in the three SupplyOn solutions already presented:)CO2/Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)Parts TraceabilityDemand & Capacity ManagementPortal integration of 3rd party software from Catena-X directly in SupplyOnSupplyOn in ShortYou don't speak to several hundred supplier users every day! That's why trainer Regina took the opportunity to use the last few minutes of the event to present her new training initiative "SupplyOn in Short". Every month, she takes a close look at a different SupplyOn solution together with interested suppliers. She answers questions from the audience and shows how to use the solution most efficiently.An event full of reveals and new impulses! We hope our viewers enjoyed it as much as we did.Did you miss the event? No problem! Here you can watch the recording of the event:
Lena Zuber · July 3, 2023 - reading time < 5 Min.
Supplier Community Event: sustainability and ecosystems shaping the near future of supply chains
Industry News

Fly like you drive – 2023 mid-year recap: supply chain digital transformation insights

Managing both automotive and aerospace, as well as complex manufacturing, has kept me busy attending back-to-back conferences in 2023. It's only fitting to title my latest blog post with a nod to an old advertising colleague and friend, Steve O'Connor, who used to host an annual "Ski Like You Drive" event in Wisconsin (the Vail of the Midwest, sort of). It's fascinating to observe the strong connection between these industries, which share many suppliers. Automotive manufacturing, with its faster production and shorter lead times, is often at the forefront of transportation technology. Now, as Jetson's-style flying cars become a reality, they are becoming even more intertwined.As we approach the mid-year mark, it's clear that 2023 has flown by, driven not only by the series of conferences in the aerospace and automotive sectors but also by the surge of inquiries about our supply chain solutions. Now more than ever, organizations are seriously engaged in digital transformation efforts, with tight deadlines to meet. One customer aptly described the current situation as a "two-year backlog." After the uncertainty caused by the global pandemic, we face the same old challenges, along with new ones and ongoing unknown risks.A hectic yet exciting year so far: conference insightsThe Stellantis Town Hall Meeting kicked off my conference circuit. Hosted by MEMA (Original Equipment Suppliers) in the Detroit area, this conference provided an overview of Stellantis' future vision and strategies. It was a half-day session followed by an opportunity to meet the team and network with industry professionals.Next up was the PNAA’s Annual Aerospace Conference, called Advance 2023. This well-attended conference brought together hundreds of aerospace professionals from over 350 companies at the Lynwood Convention Center in Seattle. It was a great occasion to reconnect with old friends and explore the current and future state of aerospace, including technology advancements and supply chain challenges such as shortages, more visibility, transparency, and our ecosystem. Technology and tools were top of the list of subjects, and the message was clear for need for partners in the supply chain. I managed to contain myself and not stand up in the audience, wave my arms, and yell, "Hello, come talk to me about SupplyOn". Global discussions were in play, with a close eye on our overseas counterparts.Circling back to the East, I visited the South Carolina Automotive Conference in Greenville, South Carolina. The hot topic here was sustainability, an increasingly crucial aspect of the automotive industry. It was an excellent opportunity to learn from industry pioneers and explore the latest advances in sustainable practices. The conference also featured a display of Clemson University's autonomous vehicle, which showcased cutting-edge 3D printing technology.In between the conferences, meetings, workshops, and proposals we held our Annual SupplyOn North American Summit in South Carolina, near our North American headquarters. The summit was led by our Global CEO, Markus Quicken, and our North American CEO, Derek Baggerly.  We concluded our summit with a tour of the BMW factory, complete with robots, exoskeletons, and hydrogen-fueled golf carts. This summit also kicked off customer and shareholder visits to North America. What’s unique and special about these visits is the engagement with our customers and the inclusion of their feedback into our technology roadmap. This is one of the key reasons I call SupplyOn the “Goldilocks” company: just right the right size to support customers like BMW and Airbus but also the right size to be agile, flexible, and accessible in order to partner genuinely.Next up was the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) SMC Conference, hosted by Boeing in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference always provides an intimate setting for OEMs and suppliers to get together. Honestly, these events feel like part family reunion/part work happy hour but with very informative and inspiring sessions—topics surrounding supply chain challenges with parts, policies, governance, ESG, and future predictions.Aeromart followed shortly after AIA in Montreal, Canada. This conference toggles back and forth between Montreal and Seattle each year, further building our alliance. Discussions centered around supply chain challenges, future needs, labor shortages, visibility, transparency, and leveraging technology and tools. SupplyOn had a prominent presence at the conference, hosting a booth and delivering a workshop by our CEO, Derek Baggerly, to bring the buzzwords to business case. Sustainability, transparency, visibility, and ecosystems, to name a few.Throughout 2023, the demand for our supply chain software has been overwhelming, leading me to prioritize partnerships and skip a couple of conferences. However, this high demand signifies the growing importance of digital transformation in supply chains. As we move forward, transparency, visibility, collaboration, and sustainability remain key drivers in meeting the needs of 2023 and beyond.Looking forward to the Paris Air ShowWrapping up the mid-year recap, I'm excited to attend my first Paris Airs Show. This is an important event, particularly with the increased interest from North America. I'm honored to be a part of the show and look forward to engaging with industry professionals, learning more about aerospace organizations, and enjoying the airshow. Stay tuned for the show's highlights, the rest of 2023, and more!
Fly like you drive – 2023 mid-year recap: supply chain digital transformation insights