Supplier Community Introducing Performance Management for enhanced collaboration On a vibrant and enlightening Supplier Community Event, industry professionals gathered to witness the unveiling of the new cutting-edge SupplyOn Performance Management. The event was designed to introduce this innovative solution, offer a sneak preview, and host a panel discussion with esteemed speakers from Bosch, ZF and Klüber Lubrication. This blog delves into the highlights of the event, the features of the new solution and insights from the panel discussionThe Supplier Community Event brought together suppliers, procurement specialists, and supply chain managers from various industries. The event aimed to foster collaboration, share best practices, and introduce the latest advancements in the development of Performance Management. Held at a state-of-the-art venue, the atmosphere was charged with excitement and anticipation as attendees eagerly awaited the big reveal. Hearing customer voicesThe event opened with a message from Andrei Antipov (Director Purchasing) and Andreas Alber (Senior Manager) from Bosch. They emphasized the importance of digital transformation in collaboration with suppliers and introduced their plans with the new SupplyOn Performance Management. Various functions such as real-time feedback and performance evaluations shall contribute to improving quality and efficiency. With this initiative, Bosch aims to build stronger, transparent and sustainable partnerships with its suppliers. Unveiling a new eraThe centerpiece of the event was the presentation of the new Performance Management. This innovative tool promises to revolutionize how businesses manage, evaluate, and improve supplier performance. Key features of the solution include: Real-Time Data AnalyticsThe solution leverages advanced data analytics to provide real-time insights into supplier performance. Users can monitor traditional key performance indicators (KPIs) such as quality, delivery, cost and service levels, but also several soft facts, strategic KPIs through an intuitive dashboard. Automated ReportingGone are the days of manual data collection and reporting. The solution automates these processes, ensuring accuracy and saving valuable time. Customizable reports can be generated with a few clicks, offering detailed performance summaries and trend analyses. Performance ScorecardsSuppliers receive performance scorecards that highlight their strengths and areas for improvement. These scorecards foster transparency and encourage continuous improvement. Risk MitigationThe solution includes robust risk management features. It assesses potential risks by monitoring suppliers' financial health, compliance with regulations, and adherence to contractual obligations, enabling proactive risk mitigation. Collaboration FeaturesBuilt-in collaboration tools facilitate seamless communication between businesses and their suppliers. Issues can be addressed promptly, and improvement plans can be developed collaboratively, ensuring alignment and mutual benefit.During the event the suppliers had the opportunity to volunteer for involvement in the further development of the solution and provide feedback during testing. In addition, they could also vote in polls on what additional functions they would like to see in the solution. Sneak Preview: Hands-On ExperienceAttendees had the opportunity to have a closer look at the solution through a live demonstration. Guided by myself, Maria-Pia (Product Owner), and the valuable questions from Patricia (Supplier Onboarding specialist) suppliers explored the solution's functionalities and experienced firsthand how it can streamline their supplier management processes. The sneak preview generated enthusiastic feedback, with many attendees expressing excitement about the solution’s potential to enhance their supply chain operations. Panel Discussion: Insights from industry expertsA highlight of Supplier Community Event was certainly our panel discussion featuring industry experts in our area of focus: Monitoring and managing delivery and quality performance.Bruno Paris (Quality Engineer, Corporate Supplier Quality Management) explained ZF's use of several SupplyOn solutions in the area of supplier quality management such as Project Management, Problem Solver and Performance Monitor for managing APQP projects, complaints, 8D and performance data, highlighting that over 4,500 suppliers use their performance monitor for monthly quality and logistics KPI updates for globally monitoring their quality and logistics performance on a monthly basis.Marcus Hylla explained the usage of the Performance Monitor at Klüber Lubrication from a supplier’s point of view. He described how they work with the solution for exchanging data with their customers and expressed the need for an automated solution to save even more time in the future.Among other topics the discussion covered AI's potential in streamlining processes, offering proactive analysis and providing interactive chatbots. I would like to thank all our speakers for revealing insights from many different perspectives. As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of the global supply chain, the new Performance Management solution stands out as a powerful tool to drive performance, reduce risks, and foster stronger supplier relationships. In terms of AI, SupplyOn sees a high potential in making data analysis faster and decision making easier within Performance Management. The Supplier Community Event not only showcased this innovative solution but also highlighted the collaborative spirit and forward-thinking approach that will shape the future of Performance Management.
Supplier Community Due diligence in the supply chain: What do suppliers have to consider? The last Supplier Community Event was all about the importance and impact of current ESG regulations on suppliers. The term ESG is short for Environmental, Social and Governance. The participants got an overview of existing and upcoming ESG laws and guidelines. Our special focus lay on the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG).Therefore, we invited Dr. Martin Rothermel as a qualified speaker to convey this interesting but also very complex topic to our Supplier Community.Dr. Martin Rothermel is a lawyer at Taylor Wessing and a well-known expert on ESG regulations and the German Supply Chain Act in particular. The event was held once in German and twice in English in the morning and afternoon so that as many community members as possible from different time zones were able to attend.First Dr. Martin Rothermel gave a compact and informative overview of the most important ESG regulations.The European Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) came into force in 2023. It requires companies that are already required to report under the NFRD to report on certain sustainability topics in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). By 2025, the CSRD's scope will be extended to companies that align at least two of the following criteria:more than 250 employeesa balance sheet total over €25 millionand/or a net sales exceeding €50 millionThe Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an EU climate protection measure to prevent carbon leakage. CBAM ensures that the same carbon price is paid for imports as within the EU under the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Importing companies must screen their supply chains for CBAM goods and collect emission data from their suppliers. In the current transition phase, there is only a reporting obligation. From 2026, companies will have to purchase CBAM certificates when importing CBAM goods and pay a price for production-related carbon emissions.The German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) came into force on January 1st, 2023. From 2024, it applies to German companies with at least 1,000 employees. The LkSG obliges organizations to comply with human rights and environmental due diligence obligations in their own business operations and in the supply chain. This includes establishing a risk management system and conducting regular and ad hoc risk analyses.The EU is also working on its own directive for due diligence obligations in supply and value chains in the form of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Some of the obligations and the impact on companies go beyond German law. The directive was just recently adopted by the EU Council and the EU Parliament Legal Affairs Committee. It will be voted on in a final vote in the plenary of the European Parliament in April 2024.ESG is the number two topic in procurement after cost efficiency (Deloitte 2023, CPO survey)With our ESG suite, large, small and medium-sized companies can comply with ESG regulations and drive their own sustainability transformation. SupplyOn as a central hub in the supply chain enables holistic and sustainable supply chain management by integrating ESG criteria on its platform.In summary, it can be concluded that ever more regulations at national and international level are obliging companies to adopt sustainable practices and transparent reporting. The demands are high and the development of ESG regulations is dynamic and complex. Companies are facing major challenges. ESG is not a separate issue, but an integral part of business practices, especially in purchasingTherefore, SupplyOn has made ESG a new strategic business area. As an interface between suppliers and customers, SupplyOn aims to integrate ESG to create a holistic and sustainable supply chain management system that benefits all participants.Sunny Chowdhury, Vice President of the new ESG department at SupplyOn and I, as a sustainability expert, presented SupplyOn's sustainability solutions that support suppliers and customers in meeting their individual ESG requirements.As part of the new SupplyOn ESG Suite, companies can use various software solutions to implement requirements from the LkSG, CBAM or the CSRD. The solutions enable the legally compliant implementation of ESG requirements by automating process steps to the maximum, seamless collaboration and data exchange between suppliers and customers and integrated action management. Existing and new customers benefit equally from SupplyOn's experience in supply chain management and its existing corporate network. Further information on the offerings can also be found on the new SupplyOn ESG website. Companies should not perceive sustainability as a threat, but as an opportunity and possibility to generate added valueIn summary, the event was a complete success, confirming not only the importance of the topic, but also the willingness and interest of the suppliers to contribute towards a sustainable transformation. The collaboration with Taylor Wessing also demonstrates SupplyOn's new positioning in the area of sustainability not only as a solution provider, but also a knowledge mediator for the creation of holistic and sustainable supply chain management.
Supplier Community Supplier Community Event: Customer voices and supplier feedback on Transport Management The Supplier Community Event on the topic of Transport Management was a complete success. Valuable tips and tricks paired with practical insights from Bosch Building Technologies and ZF Friedrichshafen — discover all the highlights of the event here. As Manager for Supply Chain Collaboration and Transport Management, Martin gave the opening speech of the event. He pointed out the benefits for suppliers when using the solution: seamless communication centralized in one place and traceable for both sides at all times. This is because the demand and ordering processes intertwine:almost all FPAs (Forwarder Pick-up Advices) are based on previous demand notificationsand the ASNs (Advance Shipping Notification) are then based on the FPAsThis eliminates both media breaks and double entries. Insights from customer voicesChristian Schwab (Head of E2E-Logistics) demonstrated the comprehensive and successful use of the Transport Management solution at ZF Friedrichshafen: both inbound and outbound transports are managed centrally, regardless of the type of transport — whether land or sea freight. ZF relies on the cooperation of suppliers and a holistic approach. Around 50 plants are currently fully connected to the solution, handling around 1,000 shipments per day. Impressive figures, but there is more to come: Christian is planning further expansion towards a seamless, worldwide usage.Alexander Radtke (Vice President Logistics) presented the use of SupplyOn Transport Management at Bosch Building Technologies - from the initial motivation to the planning and strategy for 2024: Nowadays, the solution is used in inbound and resource planning, in manufacturing as well as to improve the ecological footprint. Alexander incorporates supplier feedback into further solution development. On request, the booking of transports was recently optimized and simplified for suppliers. The goal for 2024: 100 % coverage of inbound transport.Life hacks around Transport ManagementIt wouldn't be a Supplier Community Event if tips & tricks for even more efficient use of the solution weren't also on the agenda. Daniela and Matthias ran through typical scenarios from everyday supplier business and revealed helpful life hacks on…Using views and filters sensiblyCopying, cancelling or deleting FPAsSetting up warningsPrinting labelsAutomation with EDISpeaking about effective usage, Andreas, Manager for EDI, presented the benefits and requirements of an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) integration. Here, one system sends data automatically to another, avoiding manual data entry. This saves time and effort and is also less prone to errors. New feature, yes or no? Suppliers votedWho could give a better outlook on the further development of the solutions than Mirjam, the Product Manager herself? Firstly, she presented the planned new functions. She then asked the audience to vote on whether an address book feature for carrier data would be helpful and should be realized. The majority of the community voted in favor of introducing the function. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for taking part in the poll and look forward to incorporating user feedback into the development of the solution. However, it is not only during the Supplier Community Events that suppliers have the opportunity to contribute to product development. As Mario, founder of the Supplier Community and Head of Supplier Management, reported, suppliers can currently vote for the next feature to be implemented in the Supplier Forum.We would like to thank everyone involved in this event for their contribution to making it a complete success and are already looking forward to the next one!
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!
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:
Supplier Community The first Supplier Community Event for suppliers in the Aerospace industry In addition to numerous events about various SupplyOn solutions, we also hosted one for our aerospace suppliers.News, tips and tricks on SupplyOn solutions were on the agenda — this time for AirSupply and Invoicing.Christian, our Vice President SCM & Finance Solutions, gave an exciting keynote speech, which was then followed by our product experts providing insights into the solutions.How can I customize my AirSupply dashboard according to my needs?How can I decide which email notifications I receive, how often they are sent to me and when?How can I schedule my downloads in the future?Saskia and Wolfgang answered these questions all about the AirSupply solution.Ludwig then showed the suppliers how the Invoice Clearance process will be supported in Invoicing in the future and how suppliers in France and Spain will be able to send their invoices to the central government agency via SupplyOn.In the second part of the event, we moved from the product demo into practice: representatives from two companies discussed the usage and benefits of AirSupply in their processes - and how the benefits can be further increased. Why was this so exciting? In the panel discussion, we looked at both sides of the coin - the customer's view as well as the supplier's view.One of the invited companies - Airbus Aerostructures GmbH (formerly PAG) - fulfills both roles and uses SupplyOn on both the purchasing and selling sides. That's why two representatives from Airbus Aerostructures - Jan-Hendrik Drees, Supply Management in the role of the "buyside" and Christoph Bertz, HO Ordering Process & DP Account Management, in the role of the "sellside" - met Benjamin Klotzbücher, Sales Manager at Georg Martin GmbH, an innovative supplier to Airbus Aerostructures, in the SupplyOn Studio.All three panelists agreed on the quintessence of the discussion: AirSupply offers the great advantage that any company, regardless of size and IT resources, can use the solution and benefit from it. However, it is also clear that the benefits increase with the depth of the integration of AirSupply into the company's own processes, and that a back-end integration, such as the one implemented at Airbus Aerostructures, is only worthwhile above a certain order volume. Nevertheless, even for smaller companies, a potential for added value can be identified and leveraged with less effort, for example by exploiting the greater transparency or by making intelligent use of the structured digital data with as many customers as possible on the same platform.Airbus Aerostructures has written a remarkable success story in this regard by approaching its customers with the clear intent to collaborate via AirSupply in the future or to expand the scope of its usage. As a result, Airbus Aerostructures is now using SupplyOn AirSupply very successfully with 20 customers.We would like to thank all contributors for a highly rewarding event with interesting outlooks, helpful information on usage and an exciting panel discussion with a wide variety of viewpoints and insights into the everyday life of a customer and supplier! Stay tuned and find out everything about the next events with new guests and topics here.
Supplier Community 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 yourself...Not only do we have cutting-edge equipment, but also guest speakers from Schaeffler and Continental Automotive:Prof. Dr. Florian Schupp, SVP Purchasing & SM Automotive at Schaeffler, provided deep insights into Schaeffler's climate neutrality targets in his keynote speech. He reported on the "Supplier Sustainability Innovations Automotive Europe Summit", introduced the concepts behind the action areas Green Materials, Green Production, Green Energy, as well as Green Data, and demonstrated how CO2 values influence the selection of new suppliers and thus Schaeffler's sourcing process. Also, the collaboration with existing suppliers is changing at Schaeffler as they are expected to hand over CO2 values together with the ASN (Advance Shipping Notification) in the future. In addition, certificates will be requested in order to be able to ensure that ESG* targets can be met. A 25 % reduction of Scope 3 emissions seems to be a quite ambitious, but feasible target for 2030, that builds also on the contribution of our suppliers. Therefore, the focus is on suppliers and the purchasing function to make a significant contribution to achieving the sustainability goals.Prof. Dr. Ing. Florian Schupp, SVP Purchasing & SM Automotive at Schaeffler.Insights for suppliers after the eye-opening keynote: With regard to sustainability in supply chains, there are many new aspects to consider in the future. Communication between customer and supplier will be intensified - and also this exchange between Schaeffler and its business partners will take place via SupplyOn. Corporate Carbon Footprint Readiness SurveyVeronika from Continental Automotive Purchasing took over next. In the first step, she illustrated Continental's CO2 targets and strategies. Together with Wolfgang, Director Consulting North America, from SupplyOn, she presented a joint project between Bosch, Continental, Schaeffler and Vitesco: The Corporate Carbon Footprint Readiness Survey via SupplyOn.The jointly developed questionnaire is designed to provide customers with insights into their suppliers' CO2 data.Our goal is to create 100 % carbon neutrality along our entire value chain. As a first step, we will request our suppliers to switch to 100 % renewable energy by 2030. In addition, the availability of reliable carbon footprint information on both on company as well as on product level will become essential in the future.Veronika Leutgäb, Sustainability Management at Continental Automotive Purchasing A SupplyOn PCF tool for suppliersBut we didn't just have information on corporate carbon footprint for the audience. Korbinian, Vice President Portfolio Strategy and Marketing, gave exclusive insights into the development of a new SupplyOn solution for product carbon footprints. This will help suppliers to manage and share requested data with their customers. Michael, the lead Product Owner shared specific use cases of the planned solution and encouraged attendees to participate in testing and designing it. Top 5 SupplyOn features for suppliers in 2022Saving the best for last, our trainer Regina demonstrated the top five supplier features in 2022 on the platform, click by click:Dashboard / Navigation DrawerE-Mail NotificationOrder Line Items OverviewFormat DescriptionsCertificate Management We hope that suppliers were once again able to take away valuable information - on both SupplyOn solutions and on the subject of CO2 — and we are already looking forward to the next Supplier Community Events! * ESG: Environment, Social, Governance
Supplier Community Hold your breath, please! Suppliers get Deep Dive Sessions on SupplyOn solutions Have you ever heard of Deep Dive Sessions? No? That' s exactly how I felt. Since I have nothing to do with scuba diving, I thought it had nothing to do with me as a trainer. But I was wrong about that. Why? Let me tell you... (more…)
Supplier Community Supplier Community Day: suppliers decide on the next SupplyOn feature A 90-minute game, eleven skilled players and a worldwide audience: Soccer vibes at the Supplier Community Day — yet there are still two months to go until the World Cup :D Click here for the match report: (more…)
Supplier Community Supplier Community Day: SupplyOn solutions for quality processes at close quarters Just like last time, we had several surprises for our audience. For the first time, we had a speaker on board from the customer side who presented ZF Friedrichshafen's digitalization strategy for feasibility studies in the sourcing process. Secondly, in two video clips, we revealed a potential expansion of the existing service portfolio on which our product managers are currently consulting. But first things first. Find out more about the highlights of the last Supplier Community Day below: (more…)
