Kärcher, based in Winnenden near Stuttgart, is undoubtedly one of the world’s leading suppliers of cleaning solutions for a wide range of applications. In order to maintain the highest quality standards, the selection and continuous testing of suppliers is an important factor for success.
In the video, Mark Feller, responsible for central quality management at Kärcher, and Rainer Schuller from cluetec explain the steps to successfully digitizing supplier audits.
The starting point was traditional, paper-based processes that required a significant amount of documentation. With increasing complexity and a growing number of audits, it became necessary to make these processes more efficient.
The video shows how Kärcher, in collaboration with cluetec, has introduced a cloud-based solution that enables structured data collection, automated reporting, and effective action management—secure, transparent, and future-proof.
| Aspect | Statement | Time reference |
|---|---|---|
| Project launch | Digital tender, 15 suppliers | 15:30–17:00 |
| ROI | 0.4 → License costs amortized after 5 months | 47:30–49:30 |
| Time saving | 1,400 hours/year for 160 audits | 47:00–48:00 |
| Automation | 85–90 % documentation is omitted | 49:30–51:30 |
| Action tracking | Previously manual, now automatic | 42:00–45:00 |
| System availability | SLA: 99.9% = 8 minutes of downtime per year | 52:00–53:30 |
To further improve its supplier selection process, Kärcher relies on cluetec Audit software. Potential suppliers are assessed and classified according to the proven VDA 6.3 standard. To this end, hundreds of audits are planned centrally each year and carried out on site at the supplier’s premises by the company’s own auditors. The entire product development process is evaluated using defined checklists. The data collected is transferred to an internal analysis tool using the cluetec Audit BI Connector and is available for detailed evaluation.
Deviations are tracked centrally via action management and processed by the supplier itself. To this end, those responsible are given access to the areas of the system that are relevant to them.
In addition, a custom interface between cluetec Audit and the SAP module Ariba was developed for Kärcher. The connection enables the direct import of master data on suppliers into the cluetec Audit digitization platform.
In the future, cluetec Audit will be used in other areas and rolled out as the global standard for digitized audits at Kärcher.
Product in use: cluetec Audit Designed as a global standard for digitized audits at Kärcher Digitization of audits for supplier selection Customizing standard software to individual customer requirements Connection to SAP module Ariba Connection to company-owned tool via BI-Connector Cost and time savings by replacing paper-based and Excel-driven processes
Customizing of the software
Replacement of manual processes
Connection to SAP system
Cluetec Audit BI-Connector
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