The Allianz Suisse Group is one of the leading insurance companies in Switzerland. The group is engaged in insurance and pension plans, employing approximately 3,600 employees. In Switzerland more than 930,000 individuals and over 100,000 companies count themselves as Allianz customers. In Sourcing & Procurement, Allianz relies on the data provided by Dun & Bradstreet.
In recent years Allianz has built up a professional purchasing department in Switzerland. This development was driven by the increasing demands of financial market supervision, by awareness of reputation risk management, as well as a clear commitment by the company to take a leading role in supplier management within the financial industry.
Allianz accepts a conscious attitude to potential risks as a global full-coverage insurer. Sourcing & Procurement takes this into account when choosing their business partners.
Aspects such as market transparency, security, ecology and continuous risk assessment before any business relationship are therefore indispensable preconditions for a trend-setting purchasing process in the financial services sector according to Thomas Volkert. As Head of Sourcing & Procurement of Allianz Suisse, he and his seven employees are responsible for all cross-functional procurement initiatives.
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The primary focus of procurement is not only the classic one of cost reduction. Allianz wants to ensure with their strategic purchasing and cost-saving mentality that they generate lasting value for the organization and its customers. The best possible performance for a fair price - that is Allianz’s goal. Thomas Volkert emphasized:
«Suppliers are strategic partners and innovators who go the extra mile with us, beyond simply the costs.»
The data from Dun & Bradstreet and especially the Scoreare part of the Vendor Integrity Screening of Allianz Suisse, which screens each potential supplier prior to their inclusion in the portfolio. The process includes the credit-rating as well as a structured analysis of the management with regard to compliance, conflicts of interest and unsolicited commercial and political ties.
«To know and actively regulate our supplier portfolio and its risks the best possible way we have been using this market data successfully for years in order to minimize its inherent dangers as much as we can. As additional added value we derive from Bisnode’s reports thanks to the D-U-N-S® number are information on company linkages, industry risks, size and the founding date of our suppliers. For us, the reports of Dun & Bradstreet are a further component of our risk-minimised procurement», concluded Thomas Volkert.