Bosch is further expanding its digital supply chains. By 2021, the company wants to use cloud and platform solutions to handle more than 85 percent of its global purchasing volume. Bosch is planning, for example, to fully digitalize the receipt of incoming goods together with its suppliers. Another goal is to enable the company’s suppliers around the world to view Bosch’s manufacturing needs in real time, thereby optimizing transportation networks and lowering CO₂ emissions. Across the globe, around 37,000 Bosch associates work in purchasing and logistics; they keep around 280 manufacturing plants supplied with more than 300 million parts every day. Speaking to some 100 representatives of the supplier industry at the awards event near Blaichach, Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, deputy chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, said: “Despite a sluggish economy, we expect our purchasing volume in 2019 to reach more than 40 billion euros”. Over the last ten years, the company’s total purchasing volume – for raw materials, services, and capital goods – exceeded 340 billion euros. This makes Bosch an important customer for its suppliers. To secure mutual success, the Bosch CFO believes it is necessary to deploy innovative purchasing and logistics strategies to achieve cost advantages at an early stage, and to fully digitalize the company’s supply networks. “It’s not just in the realm of competitive prices that we expect an innovative approach from our supply chain partners; we also want them to work with us to conserve natural resources”, Asenkerschbaumer said. Bosch only recently announced its plan to make its manufacturing and administrative operations climate neutral at all locations worldwide by 2020. Bosch wants to set an example here and motivate its suppliers to achieve carbon neutrality as well.
Bosch bestowed its Global Supplier Awards on its 47 best international suppliers for their performance in the production and supply of products as well as the provision of services. A panel of judges selected the award-winners in the categories of indirect materials, raw materials, and components by business sector. A special category of award was presented to suppliers of products, processes, and technologies that offered Bosch a lot of innovation potential. The award in the Innovation category was conferred on three different companies for the first time. Catalytic, a U.S.-based cloud platform operator, won over the judges with a digital DIY procedure for process automation. The ease with which processes can be automated using this procedure promises efficiency gains for users. Bosch also honored Ecoroll, a German manufacturer, for its innovative process in which hydrostatic tools help deep-roll complex contours in small holes to increase a component’s service life. Japan Display, a Japanese manufacturer, won its award for a curved display used in vehicle instrument clusters. Despite having the same dimensions as the previous model, the new model boasts a larger display panel.
A list of all the winners of the Bosch Global Supplier Awards is available here.
