TECHNOTRANS SE, headquartered in Sassenberg (NRW), is one of Europe's leading suppliers of thermal management and fluid technologies for industrial applications. Since its foundation in 1970, technotrans has stood for engineering skill, 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, electromobility, medical technology, plastics processing, printing and lasers.technotrans has an annual turnover of around 240 million euros (financial year 2024) and over 1,500 employees worldwide, operating at six production sites in Germany, the USA and China as well as additional 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.

TECHNOTRANS' purchasing organization was confronted with a highly fragmented supplier base and limited data transparency following the coronavirus-related market distortions.

A large number of small and irregularly used suppliers led to inefficient procurement processes and hidden cost drivers, particularly in the refrigeration/mechanics, electronics and production parts and semi-finished products Categories . The aim was to consolidate the supplier structures, create a central database ("single source of truth") on prices, risks and relationships and automate Procurement processes to a greater extent. In particular, the use of AI was to be used as a lever to identify, prioritize and systematically realize potential savings based on data. At the same time, order quantities, quantity contracts and framework agreements should be reviewed and adjusted in order to sustainably strengthen efficiency and strategic management in Procurement .

Procurement at TECHNOTRANS was to develop from an operational function into a modern, AI-supported organization. The aim was to harmonize established structures, create transparency across all locations and use artificial intelligence to enable data-based decisions that are based on a reliable foundation rather than individual experience.

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Together with Tacto, a central purchasing database was created that integrates all supplier, price and volume data. This "single source of truth" now forms the foundation for efficient, strategically managed purchasing processes and enables a uniform view of Categories, cost trends and supplier relationships for the first time.

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As part of the transformation, the supplier processes were harmonized with AI-supported mechanisms. Price changes, conditions and key performance indicators are now automatically recognized, evaluated and continuously monitored by AI agents - deviations or negotiation potential are thus made visible at an early stage.

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The AI-supported analysis of purchasing data revealed previously hidden savings potential. Thanks to intelligent consolidation, optimized sourcing strategies and automated price monitoring, savings of over 400,000 euros have already been achieved - while at the same time improving process quality and negotiating position. Particularly in the Categories mechanics, electronics and production parts, the combined negotiating power led to price reductions of up to 3%.

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With its data-driven procurement transformation, TECHNOTRANS has created a basis for positioning procurement as a long-term value driver.