Kärcher: Crystal clear evaluation of suppliers

Kärcher, based in Winnenden near Stuttgart, is without doubt one of the world’s leading suppliers of cleaning solutions for a wide range of applications. The selection and continuous testing of suppliers is an important success factor in maintaining the highest quality standards.

Insights into practice: Digitization of supplier audits at Kärcher

In the video, Mark Feller, responsible for central quality management at Kärcher, and Rainer Schuller from cluetec explain the steps to successful digitization of supplier audits.

The starting point was classic, paper-based processes with a high level of documentation. With increasing complexity and a growing number of audits, the need arose to make these processes more efficient.

The video shows how Kärcher worked with cluetec to introduce a cloud-based solution that enables structured data collection, automated reporting and effective action management – secure, transparent and future-proof.

Aspekt	Aussage	Zeitangabe
Projektstart	Digitale Ausschreibung, 15 Anbieter	15:30–17:00
ROI	0,4 → Lizenzkosten nach 5 Monaten amortisiert	47:30–49:30
Zeitersparnis	1.400 Stunden / Jahr bei 160 Audits	47:00–48:00
Automatisierung	85–90 % der Dokumentation entfällt	49:30–51:30
Maßnahmentracking	Früher händisch, heute automatisch	42:00–45:00
Systemverfügbarkeit	SLA: 99,9 % ≈ 8h 45 min Ausfallzeit/Jahr	52:00–53:30

Digital supplier selection and VDA 6.3 audits: Kärcher relies on central planning and SAP integration

To further improve the supplier selection process, Kärcher relies on cluetecAudit software. Potential suppliers are audited and classified according to the proven VDA 6.3 standard. To this end, hundreds of audits are planned centrally each year and carried out by the company’s own auditors on site at the supplier’s premises. The entire product development process is evaluated using defined checklists. Recorded data is transferred to an in-house analysis tool using the cluetec Audit BI Connector and is available for detailed evaluations.

Deviations are tracked centrally via the action management system and processed by the supplier itself. Those responsible are given access to the areas of the system that are relevant to them.

In addition, an individual interface between cluetec Audit and the SAP module Ariba was developed for Kärcher. The connection enables the direct import of supplier master data into the cluetec Audit digitization platform.

In the future, cluetec Audit will be used in other areas and rolled out as a global standard for digitized audits at Kärcher.