Purchasing and materials management

Purchasing is a shared service provided by the HHLA Group’s management holding company in Hamburg. HHLA Group purchasing supports corporate strategy by means of its professional management of procurement activities. The aim is to establish a consolidated supplier base that is characterised by maximum value added, top quality and optimum life cycle costs.

The strategic purchasing function supports and advises Group companies as part of its holistic management of product groups, suppliers and contracts so that the service and performance requirements of internal customers are met as completely as possible. Market developments relating to new technologies, innovations and the service performance of specific suppliers are considered in close cooperation with the operations and technology departments. In this regard, the purchasing department ensures that all Group requirements for the procurement processes are observed in accordance with the framework guidelines. These guidelines are binding for all employees.

In order to develop viable future solutions for port infrastructure, HHLA remains committed to its strategic and collaborative partnerships with selected suppliers while taking into account both economic and ecological aspects. Products, facilities and processes are systematically enhanced in order to increase the degree of digitalisation. When selecting partners, great importance is attached to reliability, quality, innovative strength, cost structure, economic stability, sustainability and compliance. Compliance with these criteria is monitored by an IT-based supplier management system. All suppliers undergo this process, especially potential new suppliers. This also facilitates a continuous internal assessment. Strategic suppliers are evaluated annually by their internal customers and departments. The evaluations include experience on first contact as well as information about project procurement and processes. As a further enhancement, the details provided are processed in a new “key figures cockpit”, which, for example, plays a key role when preparing for negotiations.

HHLA is continuing to drive the automation of purchasing processes for day-to-day requirements. In the reporting period, 32.9 % of all purchasing processes were handled fully automatically by means of e-procurement systems (previous year: 25.2 %). This enables us to streamline processes and ensure both non-bureaucratic procedures and compliance with process standards. By systematically continuing these optimisation and automation measures, further automation potential is expected for the 2020 financial year. These steps will enable us to drive the further strategic alignment of our purchasing activities.

HHLA’s supply chains comprise capital goods (such as port handling equipment) as well as consumables and other services (such as maintenance). The overwhelming majority of suppliers are from Germany and other European countries. In 2019, equipment and energy accounted for 29.2 % of the Group-wide procurement volume, while information technology (IT) accounted for 14.5 %, construction for 26.7 %, MRO (maintenance, repairs and operations) for 13.9 %, and other indirect services for 15.7 %. The total managed purchasing volume amounted to approximately € 198 million.

Due to its expertise in the procurement of a vast array of heavy machinery and other equipment, the purchasing department helped achieve significant optimisation even outside its managed purchasing volume.

A project launched in 2018 to optimise the department’s strategic alignment was systematically continued, with the ongoing support of an external partner. Following a review of existing structures and processes in 2018, the focus in 2019 was placed on the Group-wide harmonisation and restructuring of selected procurement processes. Purchasing employees are working together with the consultants in various project groups in order to achieve the targets set. An ongoing training and development programme which involves all department staff and takes account of the varied requirements is designed to harness, foster and expand their knowledge and experience in the best possible way.

With regard to the defined initiatives, one notable example is the optimisation of fuel purchasing, where processes and purchase costs have been sustainably improved through the use of a VMI concept (“vendor managed inventory”).

A further result of the programme is an instrument for identifying and presenting the value added by the purchasing department, which was developed by the employees themselves and has been established within the department. This instrument was used to document the results of key procurement projects.