OREANDA-NEWS. Continental and Schaeffler have been cooperating in purchasing for six years. The two suppliers to automobile manufacturers and the industrial sector are highlighting this strategic collaboration by inviting 37 suppliers from eleven countries to Herzogenaurach for their third joint Premium Supplier Day. These premium suppliers supply many Continental and Schaeffler sites throughout the world.

Third joint Continental and Schaeffler Premium Supplier Day. Nine companies were given Premium Supplier status and are now part of the Premium Supplier Circle. Download Image

Continental and Schaeffler have a total of more than 1,200 strategic suppliers; 110 were evaluated and assessed according to a list of requirements with ten criteria. Nine suppliers have met these strict requirements in 2015 and have been added to the Premium Supplier Circle. The status of 28 existing premium suppliers (from a total of 32) was also confirmed.

Schaeffler and Continental’s selection criteria include both a suitable product portfolio and high performance in terms of quality as well as good logistics services with a global and regional presence. In addition to this, the demands on the joint suppliers are also increasing: Development times are becoming shorter while products are becoming more complex. The demands on quality management are increasing, as is pressure with regard to costs. These challenges can be more effectively overcome through cooperation in purchasing between the two suppliers and close collaboration with the premium suppliers.

Inclusion in the Premium Supplier Circle gives the suppliers significant advantages: Premium suppliers are included in the joint purchasing strategy and involved in product development projects at an early stage.

This provides the opportunity to work on collaborative innovations, to follow trends, and to exploit synergies.

In his presentation, Oliver Jung, Chief Operating Officer at Schaeffler, stressed that, “Individual suppliers must satisfy extremely high demands in order to become a Continental and Schaeffler premium supplier. This small circle of our best suppliers has been further strengthened at this third Premium Supplier Day through the addition of nine companies.”

G?nter Fella, Senior Vice President Purchasing, Continental Automotive, added: “The current challenges in the automotive industry in the fields of safety, the environment, and IT can only be met through innovative products and systems. Active support from our suppliers in the respective developmental process is therefore a decisive factor.”

Continental and Schaeffler have a joint purchasing volume of nearly 16.2 billion euros. Cooperation in purchasing allows synergies to be exploited and costs to be reduced. Nevertheless, both companies operate on the market as independent entities.

The nine new Continental and Schaeffler premium suppliers are:

BASF SE, Germany
Etampa AG, Switzerland
Anton H?ring KG, Germany
KAMAX Automotive GmbH, Germany
PennEngineering, USA
Porite Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taiwan
G.A. R?ders GmbH & Co.KG, Germany
Scheuermann + Heilig GmbH, Germany
Schunk Sintermetalltechnik GmbH, Germany