Customer Background

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is one of Germany’s largest banks, serving as a central institution for savings banks in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saxony. With over 10,000 employees and total assets amounting to €324 billion, LBBW offers a comprehensive range of financial services to corporate clients, retail customers, and public sector entities. The bank focuses on sectors such as industrial technologies, information technology, telecommunications, and life sciences, aiming to provide tailored financial solutions that foster economic growth and innovation.

The Challenge

LBBW faced significant hurdles with its outdated supplier management and sourcing system. The legacy platform was cumbersome, lacked user-friendliness, and struggled to scale with the bank’s growing needs. Procurement processes, including tendering and supplier evaluations, were labor-intensive and time-consuming. Additionally, the supplier onboarding process was inefficient, deterring suppliers due to a poorly designed user interface. Compounding these issues were escalating regulatory requirements for financial institutions, which demanded greater transparency and compliance within the supply chain. These challenges underscored the necessity for a modern, intuitive solution that could seamlessly integrate into LBBW’s complex IT infrastructure, enhance user acceptance, and provide comprehensive visibility into the supplier base.

The Solution

In search of a transformative procurement solution, LBBW turned to Prospeum. Attracted by its modern technology stack and robust integration capabilities, the bank saw potential in Prospeum to revamp its procurement operations. The implementation process was collaborative and tailored; Prospeum’s team worked closely with LBBW to customize the platform, ensuring it aligned with the bank’s specific workflows and regulatory obligations. Key features that addressed LBBW’s needs included:

• User-Friendly Interface: An intuitive design that simplified complex procurement tasks, enhancing user adoption among internal teams and external suppliers.

• Comprehensive Supplier Management: Tools that streamlined supplier onboarding, evaluations, and annual reviews, fostering a more efficient and transparent supplier ecosystem.

• Regulatory Compliance: Capabilities that ensured adherence to financial industry regulations, providing full transparency across the supply chain.

• Seamless Integration: An integration hub that connected effortlessly with LBBW’s existing IT systems, incorporating additional data points from third-party applications to enrich procurement insights.

The Results

The adoption of Prospeum yielded substantial improvements for LBBW:

• Unified Procurement Platform: Consolidation of all strategic procurement activities into a single application enhanced operational efficiency.

• Reduced Onboarding Effort: A remarkable 80% decrease in the time and resources required for supplier onboarding accelerated the process significantly.

• Increased Supplier Participation: Achieving a 90% onboarding rate for suppliers indicated a positive reception and ease of use of the new system.

• Enhanced Supply Chain Transparency: Improved visibility into the supply chain bolstered compliance and risk management efforts.

• Integrated Data Ecosystem: The integration hub facilitated seamless data flow between Prospeum and LBBW’s existing systems, enriching procurement data and insights.

• Regular Supplier Assessments: Institutionalizing annual supplier evaluations ensured consistent performance monitoring and compliance.

• Robust Risk Management: Comprehensive tools for assessing and mitigating supplier-related risks enhanced the bank’s overall risk posture.

• Cost Savings: Efficient management of large-scale projects through streamlined tendering processes led to notable cost reductions.

“Implementing Prospeum has revolutionized our procurement operations. The platform’s user-centric design and seamless integration capabilities have not only enhanced efficiency but also ensured compliance with the stringent regulatory standards of our industry.”

Eva Kochliaridou, Head of Group Procurement at LBBW

Conclusion

LBBW’s partnership with Prospeum exemplifies how financial institutions can leverage modern procurement solutions to overcome legacy system challenges. By embracing Prospeum’s innovative platform, LBBW achieved measurable improvements in efficiency, compliance, and cost savings, setting a benchmark for procurement excellence in the banking sector.