Procurement Summit 2021, Berlin: At this year’s trade fair for purchasing, on September 29 and 30, the focus was on „Digitalization and Innovations in Purchasing“. Thanks to a sophisticated hygiene concept, sufficient distance and the 3G model, many interesting presentations, pitches as well as numerous trade fair exhibitors were on site. Crowdfox was also there with some representatives and gained information about the latest trends, made new contacts and presented the solution for indirect procurement.
Masterclass on process efficiency and price transparency in C-parts management
Managing Director Dirk Schäfer and Wolfgang Lang, founder of Crowdfox, were on stage at this year’s Procurement Summit, as well as other top speaker. Together with Dr. Philipp J. Böckmann, Head of Digital Marketplaces & Consumables, Indirect Procurement at BASF, they spoke about eProcurement in C-parts management: „How can processes and prices be mapped more transparently and efficiently?“.
At the beginning, Dirk Schäfer and Dr. Philipp Böckmann reviewed the cooperation between BASF and Crowdfox: BASF wanted a purchasing system that came as close as possible to the private shopping experience: maximum price transparency, a fast search, and top usability. Until now, BASF’s purchasing was characterized by a very complex, time-consuming tool and process landscape – a comprehensive solution for all areas was missing. After intensive market screening with various pilot projects, the Crowdfox solution won out over the competitors in 2019. After the pre-selection by process, purchasing and IT experts, the final choice was made by the voting of the users.
Crowdfox founder Wolfgang Lang started with an excursus and showed the audience how BASF’s current Guided Buying purchasing platform is structured with all its advantages. He demonstrated how easily and quickly BASF’s requesters can process orders and what role Crowdfox’s UTIN (Unique Trade Item Number) matching technology plays in this process.
After the excursion, the speakers discussed the common challenges encountered during the implementation. Among other things, they had to cope with the handling of laboratory chemicals and the complexity of the BASF Group with a wide variety of requirements at numerous sites.
In conclusion, Dr. Philipp Böckmann emphasized that BASF’s process effectiveness has increased enormously through the implementation of the Crowdfox solution. The time saved by BASF’s requesters per order has decreased significantly. The increase in effectiveness is especially evident when you consider how many orders are processed in such a large company as BASF. The high usability has again been confirmed by the BASF employees, so that now the European roll-out of the Crowdfox solution has been decided.
About Procurement Summit:
Founded in 2018, the Procurement Summit sees itself as an innovation leader in the field of professional events for procurement. The mix of panel discussions, masterclasses and networking reflects a wide range at the event. From startups to purchasing managers from large corporations, the events bring together the most important and innovative decision-makers. The event is organized by Velvet Ventures GmbH, which hosts market-leading modern B2B trade events in various industries.