Webinar Recording: From Excel to Digital Supplier Assessments – Why SRM is an Essential Complement to ERP for ASSMANN

Excel lists, manual assessments, scattered supplier data—many procurement departments are reaching their limits as complexity grows.

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ASSMANN Office Furniture shows how an SRM system as a complement to ERP enables a strategic shift in supplier management. Procurement managers report how they achieved greater transparency, efficiency, and collaboration in procurement through digital supplier assessments—and what the next step toward price analysis looks like.

Today's procurement faces complex challenges: As the number of suppliers increases, so do the demands on transparency, efficiency, and strategic control. Yet many procurement departments still rely on traditional methods such as Excel lists to evaluate suppliers, track measures, and document metrics. What appears pragmatic at first quickly becomes a risk as complexity grows: manual supplier assessments are error-prone, time-consuming, and difficult to scale.

Even at ASSMANN Office Furniture, a leading manufacturer of office furniture, the company reached its limits with an ERP system and Excel.

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In the webinar, Charlotte Böß and Hannes Hartmann (Strategic Procurement Managers at ASSMANN) reported how their company transitioned to a digital Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) system—and why they believe that the ERP system alone is not sufficient to efficiently implement digital supplier management.

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The Challenge: Manual Supplier Management with Excel

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Like many mid-sized companies, ASSMANN initially managed supplier assessments, scorecards, and KPIs using Excel spreadsheets. This approach had several limitations:

• Lack of Centralization: Different departments and locations had their own spreadsheets, leading to inconsistent data
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• Manual Data Entry: Updating supplier data and scorecards was time-consuming and error-prone
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• Limited Visibility: Management had difficulty obtaining a comprehensive overview of supplier performance across the company
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• No Automation: Alerts, notifications, and escalation processes had to be handled manually
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• Scalability Issues: As the supplier base grew, Excel became increasingly unwieldy
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ASSMANN recognized that this approach was not sustainable for long-term procurement management. They needed a solution that would enable them to consolidate supplier data, automate processes, and create transparency across the entire organization.

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The Solution: Digital SRM with Tacto

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ASSMANN decided to implement Tacto, a dedicated Supplier Relationship Management platform. This system complements the existing ERP system and adds specialized capabilities for supplier management.

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Key advantages of the Tacto solution:

• Centralized Supplier Data: All supplier information, contracts, and assessments are stored in a central database
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• Digital Scorecards: Automated supplier scorecards provide real-time visibility into supplier performance
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• Workflow Automation: Standard procurement processes can be automated, reducing manual effort
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• Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Multiple departments can access and update information in real-time
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• Compliance and Documentation: All supplier assessments and decisions are automatically documented for audit purposes
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After implementing Tacto, ASSMANN experienced significant improvements in procurement efficiency and transparency.

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The Results: Improved Efficiency and Strategic Focus

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The transition to digital SRM brought several tangible benefits:

• Time Savings: Procurement staff saved considerable time by eliminating manual data entry and consolidation tasks
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• Better Transparency: Management now has real-time visibility into supplier performance and compliance status
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• Consistent Standards: All suppliers are evaluated using the same criteria, enabling fair and comparable assessments
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• Strategic Focus: With administrative tasks automated, procurement staff can focus on strategic supplier development and negotiation
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• Risk Reduction: Better documentation and automated alerts help identify and mitigate procurement risks
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But ASSMANN did not stop there. With the foundation of centralized, clean supplier data and digital assessment processes now in place, the company is ready for the next step: leveraging this data foundation for intelligent price analysis and further cost optimization.

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The Next Step: Data-Driven Price Analysis

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With reliable supplier data and scorecards in place, ASSMANN can now move to advanced analytics:

• Price Benchmarking: Compare supplier pricing against market benchmarks to identify negotiation opportunities
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• Spend Analysis: Analyze spending patterns by supplier, category, and location to identify consolidation and savings opportunities
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• Market Intelligence: Understand price trends in the market to inform purchasing decisions and forecast future costs
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This progression—from manual assessment to digital SRM to advanced analytics—is the path many leading companies are taking to transform procurement into a strategic business function.

In the live webinar, Charlotte Böß and Hannes Hartmann (Strategic Procurement at ASSMANN) together with Kristina Ulrich (Customer Development at Tacto) show how ASSMANN mastered the transition from manual Excel processes to structured Supplier Relationship Management (SRM). They explain why the ERP system alone is not sufficient to efficiently implement supplier assessments—and how the introduction of Tacto enables central data, automated workflows, and individual scorecards to create a new level of supplier management quality. With a focus on transparency, strategic control, and cross-departmental collaboration, ASSMANN creates the foundation for the next step: data-driven price analysis for further procurement optimization.