In many industrial companies, supplier evaluation has evolved independently at each location over the years. Every plant uses its own criteria, its own KPIs, and its own evaluation logic. As a result, there is no comparable view of suppliers across the entire group, and the same supplier is rated differently at different locations. How can global supplier management and development succeed when many locations are working with just as many different evaluation approaches?

Marco Wendt (Director Corporate Purchasing Supplier Development at Kern Liebers), Lilly Kämmerling (Product Development at Tacto), and Collin Stollenmaier (Customer Development at Tacto) show in this webinar how Kern Liebers is standardizing its supplier evaluation across all locations and consolidating it into a central decision-making basis using AI agents.

38 locations, 38 evaluation approaches

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The starting point at Kern Liebers is typical for a globally positioned corporation. In practice, 38 different evaluation approaches existed across 38 locations, each with its own metrics and KPIs. A uniform, cross-location view of suppliers was missing, and the same supplier was rated differently depending on the location. Negotiating power remains untapped, risks are identified late, and decisions are based more on gut feeling than on comparable facts.

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The path to global supplier management

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The first step toward standardization is a clean configuration. Responsibilities are defined, and a common template with evaluation criteria and weightings is set up, which can be adjusted as needed. Tacto automatically calculates all hard KPIs, such as delivery reliability, quantity accuracy, and complaint rates, from existing data. The key is the central data foundation, where information from the ERP, supplier inquiries, and buyer evaluations converges in one place.

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Holistic evaluation with all KPIs

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On this basis, a holistic view of every supplier is created. The evaluation incorporates operational KPIs such as delivery reliability and quantity accuracy, as well as quality metrics like complaint rates and quality notifications. This is supplemented by subjective criteria such as innovation capacity and relationship quality, sustainability and ESG requirements like CO2 values and Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) compliance, as well as stored documents, certifications, and financial risks. In this way, hard and soft factors are combined into a consistent, cross-location comparable picture.

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Supplier development with AI agents

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At Kern Liebers, the standardized evaluation is becoming a strategic lever for supplier development. Instead of treating the evaluation as a mandatory exercise, the group uses the central decision-making basis to derive, monitor, and document targeted measures. Specialized AI agents continuously monitor supplier performance and provide alerts as soon as corrective action is required. This transforms the evaluation from retrospective reporting into a forward-looking management tool.

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Conclusion

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The Kern Liebers case study illustrates that a standardized supplier evaluation across all locations is the foundation for targeted supplier development. Only when scattered individual assessments are consolidated into a central decision-making basis can you bundle negotiation power, identify risks early, and strategically develop your suppliers. The key is to consistently standardize existing data and delegate ongoing analysis to AI agents.

Marco Wendt (Director Corporate Purchasing Supplier Development at Kern Liebers), Lilly Kämmerling (Product Development at Tacto), and Collin Stollenmaier (Customer Development at Tacto) show how Kern Liebers transformed 38 different evaluation approaches into a group-wide supplier assessment. In this recording, you will learn how the company configures its evaluation, consolidates all relevant KPIs in one place, and uses AI agents to turn the assessment into a strategic lever for supplier development.