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Cost & process optimization: Bringing digital spark to industrial heat treatment

THE CUSTOMER – Seco/Warwick
A company offering a wide range of solutions for high-temperature machining. It has branches on 3 continents and a customer base in 70 countries.

THE GOALS

  • THE PROCESSES
    Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of purchasing processes;
  • THE POTENTIAL
    finding savings potential in indirect categories;
  • THE DECISION
    indepth analysis of centralization vs. decentralization scenarios for procurement processes.“
PROJECT EXECUTION & FINAL OUTCOMES

OptiBuy consultants analyzed the purchasing processes inside the organization using our proprietary methodology. They also investigated the history of purchases, their cost structure, and the dependencies between foreign subsidiaries and headquarters in Poland. We prepared a list of recommendations for internal procedures and spend categories, supplemented with suggestions for centralizing and harmonizing global activities.

Opinion of the project leaders

GEA’s top management’s high-level of involvement, admirably, was of funda- mental value for the entire project. Along with the group’s internal efficient communication, executive support became a key success factor for the excellent cooperation and swift change introduction. Therefore, for the overall project’s performance and final outcomes.

Bartłomiej Bącik

Partner, OptiBuy

Within the first project, OptiBuy consultants supported SECO/WARWICK in cost optimization in indirect categories with solutions implemented in travel, translations, packaging or banking services. Framework agreements with suppliers helped us secure the supply chain while reducing indirect costs. However, the biggest challenge of the previous project was to find the best model of cooperation with suppliers, with the highly dispersed structure of individual plants and the specificity of the company’s operations. Together we successfully developed an approach that proves to be effective in the long term. That is why we continued our cooperation with OptiBuy.

Katarzyna Kowalska

Head of Purchasing Dept. Seco Warwick

Results

  • Improved cooperation between the subsidiary and the headquarters in Poland allowed to significantly improve customer service processes

 

  • Cost reduction recommendations were implemented in most of the analyzed categories, including: insurance, telecommunications services, fleet, professional services, transport

 

  • An IT tool was implemented to streamline internal purchasing processes – increasing the efficiency of buyers and reducing the time needed to process orders and contracts.

See also

GEA
Global sourcing of machine parts
GEA – one of the largest worldwide suppliers of machinery, plants, and technology for food processing industries. Provid-ing sustainable solutions for sophisticated production pro-cesses in diverse end-user markets, GEA is present across over 50 countries, employs over 18 000 people and has reported a revenue of 4,8 bln EUR in 2019.
See more
GIESECKE+DEVRIENT
Global procurement process, compliance and technology harmonization
Founded in 1852 by Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient, Giesecke+ Devrient (G+D) has expanded operations to include banknote processing, smart cards, identification systems, e-payments and IT security. With representation in 33 countries, the firm is the world’s second-largest supplier of banknotes.
See more

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for your decision-making?

  • REACH OUT

to acquire more info on our services and to discuss paths towards your ultimate goals.

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