Purchasing Range of services

As part of our supplier management, we select, monitor, evaluate and develop our suppliers in order to maintain an efficient and reliable supply chain. This includes identifying potential suppliers, developing an appropriate field of materials and supplier strategy, negotiating conditions and contracts, and continuously assessing performance and compliance with quality standards. The aim is to minimise risks, optimise costs, and ensure the quality of products and services. We improve our competitiveness by working closely with our suppliers.

The strategic purchasers at ml&s ensure the long-term planning and alignment of procurement activities in order to, among other things, reduce costs and optimise supplier relationships. This includes the selection of strategic suppliers, negotiations of price agreements and framework contracts, along with the sustainable development of supplier partnerships. The tasks of strategic purchasing also include continuously analysing the procurement market, assessing risks, and implementing innovation and sustainability strategies. As such, strategic purchasing provides an essential contribution to the success and competitiveness of our companies.

Our operational purchasing department is responsible for the daily procurement routines in the company. The tasks include ordering production materials, auxiliary materials, other goods and services, and monitoring delivery times and quantities. Logistics concepts are developed in collaboration with strategic purchasing in order to optimise and digitalise procurement processes. It is also the first escalation level in the event of scheduling conflicts and miscommunication situations.

Our supplier quality management monitors the delivery quality and processability of the products. In the event of deviations and anomalies, our suppliers and customers will be involved in a process that is targeted and characterised by mutual trust. The aim is to avoid errors or to recognise them in good time via open, professional, and solution-oriented communication. To that end, we have established a quality management system consisting of goods receipt, incoming goods inspection, internal defect management, a defect notification process, and supplier audits or production site visits. We also provide support in supplier selection, product qualification, and sample construction processes.

Through regular further training, our skilled workers, technicians and engineers have been qualified as specialists and trainers for IPC standards or VDA 6.3 supplier and process auditors and are happy to share their knowledge of the supply relationship.

Every strategic purchaser at ml&s is also a project purchaser and, in this role, takes care of purchasing matters in the respective customer teams. This ensures an efficient project start-up as part of the NPI process, for example. In addition, on request we will engage in regular dialogue and close communication with our customers' purchasing managers, especially in order to jointly counteract tense market situations. This has enabled us to successfully overcome the multiple crises of recent years.

As part of our material compliance management, we ensure that your products and the materials used comply with the relevant legal and regulatory requirements. This includes the monitoring of substances used in products to ensure that they do not have any harmful effects on health or the environment. We also ensure compliance with regulations regarding certificates of origin, recycling and disposal guidelines, and guarantee the documentation and communication of this information along the supply chain. We additionally provide support for calculating the carbon footprint, and seek to steer our supply chains in a sustainable, environmentally friendly direction.