Online Webinars
Webinar recording: Saving is a matter of purchasing - How SUSS MicroTec was able to realize targeted cost savings with Tacto
Summary
Cost pressure is hitting even high-tech manufacturers with high capacity utilization. SUSS MicroTec is faced with the task of containing rising material and process costs, securing margins - and not falling into the trap of "AI fatigue".
In the webinar "Saving is a matter of purchasing - How SUSS MicroTec was able to realize targeted cost savings with Tacto", Marc Heß (Strategic Purchaser, SUSS) and Torben Hinrichs (Customer Development, Tacto) show how data- and process-transparent Procurement becomes a lever for economies of scale, risk diversification and real savings.
Initial situation - cost reduction despite full order books
SUSS is producing at full speed, but at the same time wants to control purchasing costs and risks. Three separate purchasing organizations procure identical parts at different conditions. Before the software solution, supplier and price data was stored in four different systems. Compliance and ESG obligations increase the documentation effort. Without an integrated view, there is a risk of duplicate orders, price outliers and wasted time.
The goal: full transparency of quantities, prices, risks and deadlines - bundled in a strong, centrally managed Procurement system.
How SUSS uses Tacto
- Price and quantity analyses: The platform shows price and order trends per Category, supplier and item and automatically highlights outliers.
- Savings tips: Tacto Intelligence provides proactive AI-supported savings tips and quantifies the potential. This could be a cheaper alternative supplier, volume bundling or volume splitting.
- Preparation for supplier meetings: Ready-to-print one-pagers combine index comparison, cost model and argumentation guide for each meeting.
- Onboarding & document management: One-click master data, guided workflows and a live status display replace email ping-pong.
Litigation costs - the eternal search becomes a click
The combination of single source of truth, automatic deadline monitoring and guided supplier monitoring saves around one full working day per buyer per month:
"With Tacto, everyone gains a complete working day per month - time that now flows into value-adding tasks." - Marc Heß, Strategic Buyer at SUSS MicroTec
From data chaos to cost clarity
- Collect data - merge purchasing and ERP information cleanly.
- Create comparability - mirror prices at Categories, supplier and item level.
- Recognize outliers - positive and negative lists show the most conspicuous movements.
- Gaining insights - understanding the causes of price increases at transaction level.
- Renegotiate - take findings with you, make results visible.
Prepare negotiations better
As soon as a cost driver is identified, Tacto allows you to create a supplier dossier in seconds: historical price and quantity curves, index comparison, benchmarks and concrete counterarguments. The purchasing team enters every discussion with hard facts instead of gut feeling - and negotiates in a targeted manner.
Practical examples - an excerpt from the weekly tips
Example: Thermal labels
- AI signal: bundle volume with alternative supplier
- Realized effect: € 2,640 p.a.
Example flow controller
- AI signal: Strong price differential with an alternative supplier
- Realized effect: € 7,501 p.a.
More than just euros - positive side effects
- Global transparency: Orders for all plants appear in one view.
- Eliminate process errors: Maverick buying and duplicate orders are detected early.
- Food for thought instead of routine: regular tips question familiar procurement channels.
- Strategic freedom: routine activities shrink, negotiating levers are actively used.
Conclusion
With Tacto, SUSS MicroTec makes savings measurable: a central database, automated workflows and AI-supported notifications help to uncover potential before it gets lost in day-to-day business. Cost reduction becomes a continuous routine - and Procurement advances from a clerk to a recognizable value driver.
Marc Heß from SUSS MicroTec and Torben Hinrichs from Tacto show in the webinar how SUSS MicroTec uses Tacto to bundle all price, quantity and supplier data on a central platform, establish automated document workflows and receive AI-supported savings tips. This frees up one working day a month for each buyer for value-adding tasks, negotiations are based on reliable dossiers instead of gut feeling, and initial measures - from bundled thermal labels to cheaper flow regulators - deliver noticeable cost effects. The result: more transparency, fewer process errors and a purchasing function that is demonstrably becoming a value driver.
