Purchasing

Purchasing is a determining factor in the profitability of a business. As such, Groupe SEB’s Purchasing Department is an increasingly powerful negotiating partner for suppliers, negotiating not only on price but also on quality, punctuality etc. Groupe SEB’s panel of suppliers is made up of companies that have been carefully selected and tested, as much in terms of their performance (delivery deadlines, quality, cost etc.) as their social and environmental credentials (environmental impact, human rights issues etc.).

Production purchases cover both materials (metals, plastics, paper/ cardboard for packaging) and components (parts, sub-assemblies) for manufacturing. For several years, production purchases have benefited from a centralized structure, organised by project and market. 
 

Non-production purchases (transport and logistics, services, IT systems, travels etc.) also currently follow a centralization process, covering a much broader range of expenditures and a far larger international area. The consequence being improved qualification of approved suppliers and cross-functional implementation of a Group-specific purchasing process with a panel of approved suppliers.
 

For the purchase of sourced finished products, in 2010 the Group created a Finished Products Purchasing Department and a Finished Products Purchasing function for business areas with larger, dedicated teams within the SEB Asia subsidiary in Hong Kong. Convincing results were seen in the very first year:

• Strengthening of quality procedures for the purchase of finished products, thanks to guaranteed technical and methodological assistance from Group Teams at suppliers.
• Upstream, early integration of suppliers in product development processes to ensure a greater fluidity in product creation.
• A reduction in the number of suppliers of finished products - 52 suppliers at the end of 2010, compared to a previous list of 100.

And beyond purchasing, strict management, through stringent control of both operating costs and working capital requirements, is an integral part of the Group’s day to day life.