TECHNOTRANS SE, headquartered in Sassenberg (NRW), is one of the leading European providers of thermal management and liquid technologies for industrial applications. Since its founding in 1970, technotrans has stood for engineering expertise, precision and energy efficiency “made in Germany”.

The company develops and produces system solutions for cooling, temperature control and filtration for industries such as mechanical engineering, electric mobility, medical technology, plastics processing, printing and lasers. With an annual turnover of around 240 million euros (fiscal year 2024) and over 1,500 employees worldwide, technotrans operates at six production sites in Germany, the USA and China as well as other sales and service branches in Europe, Asia and North America.

The focus is on combining technological efficiency and sustainability: TECHNOTRANS focuses on the development of energy-optimized cooling and temperature control systems that measurably reduce CO₂ emissions in industrial processes.

Following the market disruptions caused by the pandemic, TECHNOTRANS's procurement organization faced a highly fragmented supplier base and limited data transparency.

Particularly in the categories of cooling/mechanical components, electronics, and manufactured parts and semi-finished goods, a large number of small and irregularly used suppliers led to inefficient procurement processes and hidden cost drivers. The goal was to consolidate supplier structures, establish a central database ("Single Source of Truth") for prices, risks, and relationships, and increase automation in procurement processes. AI was to be leveraged as a key tool to identify, prioritize, and systematically realize cost savings opportunities based on data. At the same time, order volumes, volume contracts, and framework agreements were to be reviewed and adjusted to sustainably strengthen efficiency and strategic control in procurement.

TECHNOTRANS's procurement function needed to evolve from an operational role into a modern, AI-powered organization. The goal was to standardize legacy structures, create transparency across all locations, and leverage artificial intelligence to enable data-driven decisions based on reliable information rather than individual experience.

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Working with Tacto, a centralized procurement database was built that integrates all supplier, pricing, and volume data. This "Single Source of Truth" now serves as the foundation for efficient, strategically managed procurement processes and provides a unified view of product categories, cost trends, and supplier relationships for the first time.

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As part of the transformation, supplier processes were standardized using AI-powered mechanisms. Price changes, terms, and performance metrics are now automatically detected, evaluated, and continuously monitored by AI agents—making deviations and negotiation opportunities visible early on.

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AI-powered analysis of procurement data revealed previously hidden savings opportunities. Through intelligent consolidation, optimized sourcing strategies, and automated price monitoring, savings of over $430,000 have already been realized—while simultaneously improving process quality and negotiating position. Particularly in the mechanical components, electronics, and manufactured parts categories, consolidated buying power led to price reductions of up to 3%.

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With this data-driven procurement transformation, TECHNOTRANS has established a foundation to position procurement as a lasting value driver.