In order to further exploit the opportunities offered by digitalisation, at HANSA-FLEX the purchasing processes for supplementary materials will, in future, be simplified by an e-procurement platform. In the near future and initially only in Germany, the platform will enable all branches, production areas and specialist departments to procure articles such as work clothing, office materials, hygiene articles and tools with the greatest possible convenience. The existing product range was defined in advance by various specialist departments and negotiated with selected suppliers in indirect purchasing operations. The platform enables targeted searches in various product groups, and guides users to the desired articles with just a few clicks.

“All in all we have reduced the procurement process for supplementary materials by more than half, from the initial notification of requirements to the posting of incoming goods,” explains Klaas Henning from Supply Chain Management, who has been responsible for the platform launch as project manager since the beginning of March 2018. “We can significantly reduce the time and effort involved in arranging individual orders, and we benefit from increased process reliability and data quality as well as from the bundling of our purchasing volumes in indirect purchasing.” The platform is currently being tested in practice in two regions. It will be rolled out successively throughout Germany in the further course of the year. “The aim is to make the procurement process in business operations just as simple for users as their private purchases are. The platform is a real joint project from which everyone at HANSA-FLEX will benefit,” says Edwin Maringka, Head of Materials Management.