Mercedes 2004 Annual Report Download - page 82

Global procurement volume of €101.4 billion. In the year 2004,
DaimlerChrysler purchased goods and services for a total of
€101.4 billion (2003: €99.7 billion). The Mercedes Car Group
accounted for 38% of our total purchasing volume, the Chrysler
Group 32%, Commercial Vehicles 26% and other units 4%.
In order to manage this purchasing volume efficiently and to
ensure proximity to the suppliers as well as to our manufacturing
facilities, our procurement is organized on a global scale with
activities all over the world.
Intensified involvement in Asia. As part of the expansion of our
activities in Asia, in the year 2004 we realigned our purchasing
offices in Singapore and Tokyo and opened a new purchasing
office in Beijing. The purchasing offices are not only responsible
for procurement in the respective regions, but also have the
function of improving transparency on Asian procurement markets.
Increased corporate value through procurement processes.
In cooperation with our suppliers we are currently concentrating
on three areas of action for achieving the best overall results:
Global Scale, Global Processes and Global Supply Base.
With a global procurement volume of €101.4 billion, we offer our
supply base global-scale opportunities. In addition, increasing
volume by bundling purchasing volumes worldwide helps us
to optimize costs. We define and implement strategies for each
commodity to set directions and lay the foundation for future
procurement actions.
A key method for managing our global strategies is the Material
Strategy and Innovation Council (MSIC). This global council
aligns engineering, procurement, cost analysis and research and
technology across business units to facilitate global material cost
reduction, commonization and innovation.
Under the heading of Global Processes, we focus on all of
our activities with the aim of standardizing processes worldwide
to provide suppliers and divisions with a globally integrated,
cost-optimized network. With the supplier portal we provide
access to all DaimlerChrysler supplier applications via one
common framework with a single sign-on.
In the context of the Global Supply Base, we optimize the
distribution of procurement volumes between the various suppliers
taking cost-risk aspects into consideration. For this purpose, we
engage in intensive dialogue with existing and potential suppliers.
In top level meetings we discuss individual performance and
capabilities with our suppliers to agree on measures for continuous
improvement.
Extended Enterprise®strengthens strategic supplier
relations. To strengthen the global aspect of our procurement
activities and maintain business relations with the world’s
best suppliers, we have developed the Extended Enterprise®
supplier program further.
Within the framework of Extended Enterprise®and with the aid of
a scorecard model, we analyze and evaluate the procurement
and supply performance of our suppliers from a global perspective.
Total purchasing of goods and services worth €101.4 billion |Performance-based
supplier relations secure our competitiveness |Enhanced risk management due to
suppliers’ challenging economic situations
Global Procurement and Supply
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