Rising tariffs, volatile raw material prices, and increasingly fragmented trade policies present new challenges for procurement departments in the industry. While A-parts are usually closely managed, there is often a lack of capacity for systematic analysis and negotiation for the majority of B- and C-parts. This is precisely where Vogelsang comes in: with data-driven AI agents that proactively identify savings potential and deliver measurable results.

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In the webinar, Klaus Warmbrunn (Head of Procurement, Vogelsang) and Florin Wendehost (Marketing & Growth Manager, Tacto) demonstrate how Vogelsang systematically achieves savings with the help of AI-powered procurement analysis and the negotiation cockpit, despite a volatile market environment with over 15,000 items from approximately 800 suppliers.

Global Trade Policy as a New Constant in Procurement
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The webinar first contextualizes the current tariff landscape. Since February 2025, US special tariffs on steel and aluminum (25%), staggered China tariffs (up to 145%), and the Turnberry deal between the EU and the US (15% on EU goods) have rapidly succeeded one another. The EU has responded with reactivated protective tariffs worth 26 billion euros and an escalation package via the Anti-Coercion Instrument (95 billion euros). The result: every negotiation, every cost calculation, and every supply chain decision takes place under structural uncertainty. For procurement, this means that manual processes and static price lists are no longer sufficient.

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15,000 Parts, 800 Suppliers: Why B- and C-Parts Make the Difference

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Vogelsang is an internationally positioned mechanical engineering company with approximately 1,300 employees. Until a few years ago, procurement was relatively relaxed. However, since COVID, the Ukraine conflict, and current tariff disruptions, cumulative purchase prices have risen by around 30%. While strategic A-suppliers are closely managed, there is simply a lack of capacity for the large volume of B- and C-parts: on average, one strategic buyer is responsible for 120 suppliers. Potential savings remain unrecognized, and price discrepancies are only noticed during invoice verification. This very problem was the trigger for introducing Tacto as a procurement intelligence platform.

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Systematic Savings Through Proactive AI Insights

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Vogelsang started with the Procurement Analytics module and feeds all orders and invoices into the platform daily. AI agents in the Savings Radar analyze the data in real-time and provide proactive insights: significant price increases are detected, unfavorable ordering patterns (e.g., daily micro-orders instead of volume bundling) are identified, and more cost-effective alternatives are highlighted. These insights are validated in the negotiation cockpit, which automatically draws on relevant market indices for steel, energy, and wages, providing a fact-based foundation for arguments. Two concrete practical examples illustrate the impact: For a strategic A-supplier, AI insights uncovered price differences and structural deviations that ultimately led to a data-driven supplier change with better terms. For a C-supplier with low individual volume, the AI detected a striking price development that would never have been noticed in day-to-day business. The subsequent renegotiation resulted in savings of approximately one-third of the affected purchasing volume.

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From Analysis to Platform: SRM and Engineered Parts as the Next Stage

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In addition to procurement analysis, Vogelsang is increasingly relying on the SRM module as a central supplier file. Certificates, evaluations, and documents are structured and bundled per supplier, and expired certificates are automatically reported. Supplier evaluations can be completed in five minutes and made directly available to the supplier. The next expansion stage includes risk management at the item level and the control of single-source dependencies. Furthermore, the webinar introduced a new function for engineered parts: AI agents automatically extract material, tolerances, and manufacturing processes from PDF and STEP files, cluster similar parts across the entire portfolio, and derive autonomous target prices.

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Conclusion

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Vogelsang's practical example illustrates that systematic savings in procurement are not a matter of chance, but a data-driven process. The key lies in combining proactive AI insights that reveal potential with a structured negotiation process that replaces assumptions with facts.

Klaus Warmbrunn, Head of Procurement at Vogelsang, and Florin Wendehost from Tacto demonstrate how an internationally operating mechanical engineering company with 15,000 items and 800 suppliers uses AI agents to systematically identify and realize savings potential for B and C parts. The result: six-figure savings realized in less than a year and a robust pipeline of further potential.