1. General strategy

• Stimulate competition between a limited number of robust suppliers by technological families
• Increase the contribution made by suppliers in every stage of the purchase: payment conditions, cost transparency, service, innovation, quality, punctuality, productivity…
• Involve buyers and suppliers upstream of the product development processes  
• Optimise the panel of suppliers using global purchasing contracts.

2. The strategy by technological family is organised as follows: 

• Site requirements 
• World market analysis
• Cost model for the components purchased
• Strengths and weaknesses of current suppliers
• Targeted strategy
• Panel and targeted market shares
• Objectives and measurable action plans

The application of these purchasing strategies by the sites (i.e. the use of the selected panel) is not optional: the sites must select panel suppliers for their new projects.
If the purchases of a single technology on a site cannot be globalised, the sites are responsible for establishing a simplified strategy for these purchasing families. Once a pertinent strategy has been presented and validated, the corresponding suppliers will be added to the panel.

This is how the 312 suppliers in the panel have been selected so far.
The panel changes, of course, depending on the performances of each supplier and the offers made by competition and has a turnover of approximately 15% per year.
Once the panel is defined, the project buyers “challenge” the suppliers in order to obtain the very best conditions for developing their project. The market share of the panel suppliers is adapted according to the following criteria: punctuality of deliveries, quality and price developments... This process develops on a stage-by-stage basis, when the suppliers are offered new deals.