Negotiations in Procurement are often based on experience, intuition and fragmented data. However, the more complex supply chains, markets and price structures become, the more important an objective, data-based foundation becomes. In the webinar "From gut feeling to evidence", Zvjezdan Garic (Director of Supply Chain, Steelco Belimed - Miele Group), Johannes Groll and Florian Findeis (Tacto) show how AI helps to base negotiation arguments on facts - and thus significantly increase efficiency in Procurement .

Initial situation - When experience alone is no longer enough

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Many purchasing organizations are facing the same challenge today: increasing complexity, growing requirements and a high coordination effort in day-to-day business. Price changes, market movements and supplier data are stored in different systems - merging them takes time that is not spent preparing for meetings.

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As a result, negotiations are often based on empirical values instead of clear, comprehensible data. This makes it difficult to provide clear evidence of price developments, substantiate arguments and systematically track negotiation results.

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AI as a tool for fact-based negotiations

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At Steelco Belimed - part of the Miele Group - a key objective was to base negotiations more on data and developments instead of manually compiling information from various sources. This is precisely where the Tacto system provides support: internal purchasing data, price trends and supplier histories are linked with external market and raw material indices and provided in a form that can be used directly for preparation.

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A key advantage for Steelco Belimed: AI agents take over some of the analysis work, monitor price and volume developments in the background and point out anomalies at an early stage. This provides information that is easily overlooked in day-to-day business - and which can be incorporated directly into negotiation strategies and arguments.

The central functions in use at Steelco Belimed:

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• Price and development analyses: Relevant changes become visible automatically - without manual evaluation.
• Market trends in context: External indices supplement internal data and make causes more clearly recognizable.
• Indications for possible argumentation levers: for example, quantities, times or payment terms.
• Central documentation: results, dossiers and analyses are stored in a standardized way and can be traced by the team at any time.
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This makes preparation noticeably easier: instead of collecting information, the team at Steelco Belimed can concentrate more on classifying the data and making a technical assessment. The AI provides the facts - Procurement puts them into the right context.

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From individual gut feeling to structured argumentation

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In practice, Steelco Belimed (Miele Group) uses a combination of AI analyses and negotiation dossiers to base purchasing decisions on clear, comprehensible data.

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The team can analyze price trends, supplier developments and market indices at the touch of a button and thus argue with greater precision - regardless of personal experience.

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What is particularly important is that the AI does not deliver automated decisions, but supports the buyers in their specialist expertise in a targeted manner. Information is checked, categorized and integrated into the individual negotiation strategy.

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This creates a new form of collaboration between man and machine: AI provides the facts and Procurement puts them into context.

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Conclusion

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The example of Steelco Belimed (Miele Group) shows how data-based structures can noticeably simplify the preparation and execution of negotiations. Instead of compiling information manually, standardized analyses and a clear basis for argumentation are available - and results are documented in a comprehensible manner.

In the webinar, Zvjezdan Garic (Steelco Belimed, Miele Group), Johannes Groll and Florian Findeis (Tacto) report on how empirical knowledge becomes a reliable, data-based basis for argumentation - and how AI enables Procurement to act faster, more precisely and in a more fact-oriented manner.

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