As a family-run company and leading manufacturer of packaging machines, Gerhard Schubert GmbH is committed to sustainability and forward-looking action for future generations. An important component of the company’s Mission Blue sustainability strategy is collaboration with regional suppliers. Five of them were recently honoured by Schubert for their outstanding performance last year with the “Supplier Award”. Procurement time and reliability played a key role in the assessment.

In the so-called “Supplier League”, Schubert measures its suppliers against competitors who offer the same range of goods and evaluates them using a point system. The benchmark for exceptional performance is primarily a procurement time and availability of high-quality materials and parts within a maximum of 3-4 weeks. Oliver Palmert, Head of Supply Chain at Gerhard Schubert GmbH, knows how much this means for companies: “Especially in the current market, where supply bottlenecks and shortages of raw materials are commonplace, extremely punctual and reliable delivery can never be taken for granted. It calls for steadfast discipline, which Schubert continuously works on with its partners to permanently improve the joint customer-oriented procurement strategy within the supply chain.”

Those who achieve the ambitious goals are honoured with the coveted Schubert “Supplier Award”. The first-place awards in the respective product groups for 2022 were given to the following suppliers: Walter Ohr Frästechnik, for the machining product group; Hofmann Blechbearbeitung GmbH, for the sheet metal working product group; ADS Drehservice GmbH, for the plastics product group; Grau und Wagenblast GmbH & Co.KG, for the surface product group, and layer manufactory GmbH, for the 3D printing product group.

In addition to receiving a certificate and a glass trophy, all employees of the winning companies are invited by Schubert to a hearty breakfast. Oliver Palmert highlights: “This gesture is very important to us in order to recognise the special achievements of those who also work for us outside Schubert at supplier companies. Some of these people have been working closely with us for several decades and are key contributors to our successful company.” The award is also widely recognised in the industry. Suppliers are therefore free to publish their certificate on their communication channels and advertise with it.

The Suppliers’ League has a special status not only for the participating companies, but also for Schubert – also when it comes to the topic of sustainability. Marcel Kiessling, Managing Director Sales/Service at Gerhard Schubert GmbH explains: “As part of our Mission Blue sustainability initiative, we have defined specific sustainability goals and fields of action. One of these is climate-neutral production at Schubert. A key factor in achieving this is reducing our CO2 balance, i.e. our ecological footprint. In addition to the many measures we are taking to achieve this, we rely on local suppliers, because regional supply chains shorten transport routes and protect the environment. For us, value creation is generated as close to home as possible.”