Jan Broda, strategic purchaser at Stromag GmbH, reports on the challenges and successes of digitalization in the company's purchasing department.
Stromag, a globally recognized market leader in the development and manufacture of innovative power transmission components, has set out to make its purchasing processes more efficient and transparent. The e-procurement solution from simple system made a decisive contribution to this. In this interview, Broda explains how digitalization has not only simplified processes, but also relieved the burden on purchasing and optimized costs.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the level of digitalization as a 4," says Broda looking back. At that time, a lot of things were still done via material requirements in paper form, which unnecessarily delayed the purchasing process.
The step towards digitalization:
The decision to digitize purchasing was therefore only a logical step. The aim was to reduce operational expenditure, increase transparency and reduce process costs.
"By introducing simple system, we were able to significantly simplify purchasing in indirect areas such as MRO items and office supplies," explains Broda.
Particularly noteworthy is the flexible approval process, which could be customized for each cost centre, and the integration of order value limits, which enabled even more precise cost control.
The implementation:
The introduction of simple system was a "learning by doing" experience for Stromag. Without external support, but with internal expertise, the solution was integrated into the processes step by step.
"The employees didn't need any convincing. It was immediately clear how much time and transparency the new system offers," reports Broda.
The digital goods receipt and payment postings in particular were a major advantage. Employees were now able to process orders quickly and directly without having to rely on lengthy in-house approval processes.
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Read it nowResults and measurable success:
The introduction of simple system quickly brought tangible benefits.
"We have achieved considerable time savings in order processing and significantly reduced the costs per order process," explains Broda.
Thanks to the optimized processes, the company was not only able to reduce internal throughput times, but also improve transparency and control over orders. There are currently over 100 active users connected to the system, who can work more efficiently and only access approved suppliers.
Another important advantage: reporting. Thanks to the ease of use, Stromag was able to obtain valuable data for strategic decisions and cost control in just a few clicks.
Future of digitalization and conclusion:
Stromag GmbH is continuing its digitalization strategy and aims to further optimize its processes. The introduction of simple system has not only increased efficiency and transparency in purchasing, but has also brought long-term financial and strategic benefits. "For us, digitalization not only means improving internal processes, but also a step towards greater sustainability and competitiveness," summarizes Broda.
Stromag GmbH is a member of the Netzwerk Industrie RuhrOst e. V. (NIRO). The Netzwerk Industrie RuhrOst e. V. (NIRO), founded in 2006, networks companies in the mechanical engineering and metal and industrial electronics sectors in the Ruhr East region. Around 80 member companies currently benefit from the extensive tangible and intangible advantages in the three areas of opportunity "Sharing knowledge", "Working together" and "Buying together". NIRO is part of the BMWK's "go-cluster" initiative and has the silver label of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI).