In today's competitive environment, companies are looking for innovative solutions to make their procurement processes more efficient. The AI-powered procurement dashboard at Swabian Machine Tools is an outstanding example of how digitalization of procurement processes can help companies optimize their supplier relationships and procurement processes.

Insights into Swabian Machine Tools

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Swabian Machine Tools is one of the leading manufacturers of high-precision machining systems, primarily used in the automotive industry. With annual sales of approximately 500 million euros and three locations worldwide (Germany, USA, China), procurement plays a crucial role. With a procurement volume of approximately 240 million euros, the company faced the challenge of ensuring efficiency and cost control in procurement. The procurement organization is divided into strategic and operational areas, with digitalization making a significant contribution to optimization. Tacto supports the company with a modern, AI-based procurement platform.

At the beginning of the digitalization project, Swabian Machine Tools faced several challenges: many steps in procurement were time-consuming and manually controlled, there was a lack of central overview of suppliers, offers and price requests, and due to high manual effort there was little time for strategic procurement decisions. The goal of Swabian Machine Tools was therefore to build a central procurement dashboard that bundles all relevant supplier processes in one place and enables the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to make data-driven decisions.

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Building the Central Procurement Dashboard and the Role of Artificial Intelligence

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Swabian Machine Tools built the procurement dashboard step by step, starting with a basic spend analysis, followed by integration of supplier data and price requests. Finally, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LKSG) was also integrated into the system. The central platform enables Swabian Machine Tools to manage the entire supplier lifecycle – from onboarding to offboarding.

Artificial intelligence supports Swabian Machine Tools in various areas: it continuously monitors supplier creditworthiness and performance and sends automatic alerts for critical changes. By analyzing historical data, the system suggests improvement opportunities in supplier negotiations and supports the procurement manager in preparation. Another area of application is cost modeling, where AI relates price developments to raw material indices and thus identifies cost savings potential.

Through the use of the AI-supported procurement dashboard, Swabian Machine Tools has already achieved significant efficiency gains. The time for price requests has been reduced, and with a better data foundation, informed decisions can be made more quickly. A particular advantage lies in improved negotiating power with suppliers, as price development is precisely monitored and renegotiations can be initiated in a timely manner.

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Conclusion: A Look into the Future

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The collaboration between Swabian Machine Tools and Tacto demonstrates how AI-based procurement platforms can help make procurement processes more efficient while increasing supply chain transparency. With the procurement dashboard, Swabian Machine Tools has already taken an important step into the digital future, and further development of the system will enable the company to assert itself even more strongly on a highly competitive market.

In our live webinar "Central Control of All Supplier Processes at Swabian Machine Tools" with Matthias Schlotter, Head of Procurement at Swabian Machine Tools, and Robert Kaiser, procurement expert at Tacto, we show you what the AI-based procurement dashboard of the future can look like and how it enables you to make your procurement processes more efficient while simultaneously strengthening supplier relationships through data-driven insights and decision support.