Case Study
Schlemmer Group
01
The Situation
The Schlemmer Group is a global powerhouse in supplying innovative solutions to the Automotive, Industrial, and Appliances sectors, with headquarters located in Poing, Germany. As a key player in these highly competitive markets, Schlemmer has experienced accelerated global growth, driven by customer demand for a more diverse and technologically advanced product portfolio.
This international expansion brought fresh challenges: the need to identify new, cost-effective suppliers, enhance procurement agility, and ensure all sourcing initiatives adhered to the group’s stringent sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards. With the complexity of global supply chains increasing, Schlemmer sought a partner with deep expertise to support several high-profile strategic procurement projects across multiple regions.
02
The Transformation
Schlemmer appointed Pro Outsourcing to lead a range of procurement transformation initiatives, focusing on global sourcing and new product introduction (NPI). Our team applied best-in-class procurement methodologies, blending global market intelligence with procurement sourcing excellence to deliver immediate value.
Key transformation activities included:
· Comprehensive market research: We conducted in-depth global market assessments to identify competitive and sustainable sourcing regions aligned with Schlemmer’s quality, compliance, and operational requirements.
· Global supplier identification and qualification: We sourced and qualified suppliers in diverse international markets, ensuring full alignment with Schlemmer’s strict sustainability, CSR, and ethical sourcing guidelines.
· Supplier auditing and risk mitigation: Pro Outsourcing carried out rigorous supplier audits across several territories, ensuring manufacturing capabilities, environmental compliance, and global delivery capacity were validated before supplier onboarding.
· Request for Quotation (RFQ) management: We managed a full RFQ process for multiple product lines, enabling data-driven supplier selection based on value, quality, and long-term scalability.
The transformation centred on de-risking the global supply chain while embedding procurement excellence into Schlemmer’s sourcing processes.
03
The Result
The procurement transformation programme delivered by Pro Outsourcing yielded significant benefits:
· Identification of optimal global regions for sourcing key new product lines, ensuring both cost-effectiveness and compliance with Schlemmer’s sustainability and CSR benchmarks.
· Successful onboarding of new strategic suppliers, capable of manufacturing to exacting standards and delivering across Schlemmer’s international distribution network.
· Delivery of substantial cost savings on both newly sourced and existing product lines, while simultaneously enhancing supply chain resilience.
This enabled Schlemmer to improve supply chain efficiency, reduce time-to-market for new products, and strengthen their global competitiveness.
“…Schlemmer engaged Pro Outsourcing to perform market research, product/supplier sourcing & new product introduction. The suppliers needed to meet strict sustainability and corporate social responsibility criteria and have the ability to manufacture and deliver on a global scale to support the Schlemmer worldwide distribution network. Pro Outsourcing combine world class procurement knowledge with practical advice on how to put that knowledge into practice for improved performance and results We are more than happy with the result and continue to utilise their services for our strategic procurement needs…”
Hermann Biedermann
Vice President Markets Industry