Logistics and procurement
Uniform IT standards for Group logistics
The integration of the ceramics business into Group logistics continued in 2016, with efforts focusing on a full integration of reporting activities and the introduction of the Geberit Logistics Operation System (G-LOS). At the end of 2016, the logistics infrastructure of the ceramics business comprised 14 distribution sites of varying sizes across Europe.
At the Pfullendorf logistics centre – the central logistics centre of the original Geberit – SAP EWM, a new storage management system, was introduced in January 2016 and defined as the new standard for IT systems in Group logistics.
Logistics centre expansion project on track
The logistics centre in Pfullendorf in south Germany is the logistics hub for almost all Geberit sanitary technology products. With a view to future growth and the continued optimisation of existing logistics processes, the decision was made in 2014 to further expand the capacities of this centre and invest around EUR 40 million by 2017. In January 2016, only nine months after the groundbreaking ceremony, the topping-out ceremony for the new 19,200-square-metre logistics space took place and the installation of extensive and complex storage and conveyor technology began. In the last quarter of the reporting year, employees received training on the new systems and all necessary test runs were completed. The project is on track both in terms of timing and finances, with commissioning scheduled for spring 2017.
Continued optimisation of transport management
Since the introduction of integrated Group logistics in 2010, central transport management has played an important role as the interface between plants, markets and transport service providers, enabling cost- and resource-efficient transport solutions in the process. Transport between the company’s own production plants, for instance, is combined with customer deliveries. This reduces the number of empty kilometres and increases truck capacity utilisation Strategy Green Logistics. In the reporting year, the implementation of Geberit processes and standards also continued in relation to transport service providers for ceramic products and bathroom furniture. Furthermore, Geberit’s key transport service providers are required to report regularly on reductions in energy consumption and emissions.
Ceramics business suppliers integrated
Structured like a network, the Corporate Purchasing department is responsible worldwide (except in the USA) for procuring raw materials, semi-finished and finished products, commercial products, and services.
In the reporting year, an uninterrupted supply of raw materials and semi-finished products to all plants was largely guaranteed. Temporary bottlenecks only arose in relation to externally purchased sanitary ceramics appliances and a number of actuator plates made of metal.
Beside minimising lost working time as well as costs, the primary purpose of comprehensive supplier management is to safeguard supplies.
All business partners and suppliers are obligated to maintain comprehensive standards. This applies to quality, socially responsible and healthy working conditions, environmental protection and the commitment to fair business practices. The basis for cooperation is the Code of Conduct for Suppliers. This Code is aligned with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and is binding for every new supplier. The suppliers to the ceramics business acquired in the previous year are also required to abide by these standards. By the end of 2016 more than 80% of the most important 250 suppliers to the former Sanitec had signed the Code, bringing the number of suppliers that had signed the Code in total to 1084 by the end of the reporting year. This represents over 90% of the Geberit Group’s purchasing volume.
In 2017, a “Supplier Integrity Line” is to be launched, thus allowing suppliers to anonymously report via a third party any violations of the Code of Conduct for Suppliers by Geberit employees.