“ When we digitised the interface to the suppliers ... three per cent said they weren ’ t able to work with emails ! I couldn ’ t believe it ”
“ When we digitised the interface to the suppliers ... three per cent said they weren ’ t able to work with emails ! I couldn ’ t believe it ”
— Jan Grothe , SVP Procurement Infrastructure , Deutsche Bahn
company and people like to do business with us because we always pay – and in times like these , that is quite valuable . So , we have started initiatives to renegotiate contracts that will work for us and the suppliers .”
“ This certainty is very valuable for a lot of suppliers right now and as some of our contracts last up to eight years , that can provide suppliers with perspective . With huge volumes , of course , they are in a position to lower ( their ) prices .
“ On the other hand , the solution is innovation on both sides , so we do not just have to procure the same thing for a lower price . I would ask the suppliers to introduce better solutions for the same function .”
DB has roughly 20,000 suppliers , which creates its own challenges , and is one reason why Grothe prefers to work with long-term strategic partners . In the last few years , 80 per cent of DB ’ s business is procured from just 500 suppliers – whereas it was previously more than 3,000 .
Grothe makes dealing with thousands of suppliers sound straightforward , and while it is clear he cannot handle them all personally , he does like to get hands-on and ensure everything is on track and meeting the high standards set by DB .
“ I really like to see and meet personally from time to time ,” he says . “ Once a year , I do a whole day , spending time working with a key supplier . This may be on a construction site , on a safety issue , or in
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