Lieferantenmanagement in KMU: Optimierung der Beschaffung durch Portfoliomanagement

Abstract

In the globalised economy, companies are increasingly dependent on their suppliers as they concentrate on their core competencies and therefore rely more and more on external production. This has led to an increase in the proportion of material costs, which accounts for over 50% of total costs in many companies. This high proportion shows that procurement contributes significantly to a company's competitiveness and economic success. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up over 99% of Austrian companies, show deficits in supplier management (SM) and have a lot of catching up to do compared to large companies. This scientific work aims to provide employees in SMEs with a basic understanding of supplier management and to offer initial approaches to the implementation of supplier management in the company. The work addresses the challenges faced by SMEs when implementing supplier management and examines the supply risk of suppliers as well as the necessary steps for applying a supplier portfolio diagram. The created guideline is applied to the example of Rukapol Sicherheitsschuhe GmbH. The methodology of this work is based on comprehensive research and preparation of existing literature and data. The results of this work illustrate the benefits of supplier management in terms of competitiveness and stability on the global market. In this context, companies are dependent on functioning supply chains in order to enable efficient production processes. Small and medium-sized companies face several challenges when applying supplier management, which means that supplier management tends to be less well established in SMEs than in large companies. The supplier portfolio is a method for analysing supplier relationships. The application at Rukapol Sicherheitsschuhe GmbH makes it clear that a structured approach to supplier management is possible by creating a supplier portfolio. The supplier analysis creates transparency about supplier performance and enables the early identification of risks and weak points in the supply chain. This allows suitable measures to be taken to minimise risks. This helps to avoid delivery failures, ensure product quality, and ultimately consolidate the company's stability on the global market. This makes supplier management an effective tool for the sustainable development of small and medium-sized companies in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Gerald Schönwetter (Supervisor)