Digitalization of processes is often a challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but it offers significant potential to increase efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness. In a recent Tacto webinar, Caroline Rügerl and Roland Rüssmann demonstrated how the company Ströbel successfully made the leap into the digital world using Tacto's software.

Background: Who is Ströbel?

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Ströbel is a mid-sized company headquartered in Germany that offers packaging solutions for the food, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. With approximately 65 employees and annual revenues of around 15 million euros, Ströbel operates as an SME focused on both production and trading. The company faces the challenge of making its supply chain sustainable and transparent while managing multiple suppliers and meeting increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.

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The Challenge: Supply Chain Complexity in SMEs

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Like many industrial SMEs, Ströbel struggled with several key challenges:

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• Supplier Management Across Borders: With numerous suppliers both domestically and internationally, managing compliance, quality standards, and sustainability metrics became increasingly complex.
• Regulatory Compliance: Meeting requirements such as REACH, RoHS, and emerging standards like the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) demanded systematic documentation and monitoring.
• Data Silos: Information about suppliers, certifications, quality issues, and pricing was scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and paper documents, making it difficult to get a clear overview.
• Resource Constraints: As an SME, Ströbel had limited IT resources and personnel dedicated to procurement management, making it difficult to implement complex solutions.

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The Solution: Digital Supplier Management with Tacto

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Tacto's platform provided Ströbel with a centralized solution for managing all supplier-related information:

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• Unified Data Management: All supplier information, certifications, quality metrics, and sustainability data are now stored in a single, accessible system.
• Automated Compliance Tracking: The platform automatically tracks regulatory compliance and alerts the team when certifications need renewal or when new standards apply.
• Transparency Across the Supply Chain: Real-time visibility into supplier performance metrics, quality scores, and sustainability ratings enables better decision-making.
• Efficiency Gains: By eliminating manual data entry and consolidating information, Ströbel reduced administrative overhead and freed up time for strategic procurement activities.

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Results and Benefits

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Within the first months of implementation, Ströbel achieved significant improvements:

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• Enhanced Visibility: Leadership and procurement teams now have real-time insight into supplier performance and compliance status.
• Reduced Compliance Risk: Systematic documentation and automated tracking ensure that all regulatory requirements are met consistently.
• Improved Supplier Relationships: Transparent communication about expectations and performance metrics strengthened partnerships with key suppliers.
• Scalability: The system is easily scalable, allowing Ströbel to add suppliers or expand into new markets without increasing administrative burden.

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Ströbel's experience demonstrates that even small and medium-sized enterprises can successfully digitalize their supply chain management and achieve measurable benefits in efficiency, compliance, and sustainability.

In our webinar "Digitalization Project along the Supply Chain at SMEs: How Ströbel Ensures Efficiency and Transparency along the Supply Chain" with Roland Rissmann, Procurement/Import at Ströbel, and Karoline Rückerl, Product Expert at Tacto, we show you how to create transparency and efficiency along the supply chain using a tool, as well as how to manage and evaluate the quality and sustainability standards of your suppliers in one system.