Volkswagen cooperates with the world’s largest and most innovative companies as the brand heads towards becoming the leading volume supplier. Procurement is responsible for the global purchasing of components, raw materials and machines needed for vehicle manufacture as well as supplying the factories with consumables, services and capital goods. The procurement process is a standardized process that is organized Group-wide and carried out in close cooperation with the various Group brands.
Procurement
Press releases
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Volkswagen publishes Responsible Raw Materials Report 2021
The Volkswagen Group is striving to lead the automotive industry from the front in the field of responsible raw material sourcing. In 2021, the Group published its first Responsible Raw Materials Report. It detailed Volkswagen’s methodology and activities within a newly implemented due diligence framework. This year’s report takes a first look back on significant achievements and offers an outlook on the challenges ahead. -
Volkswagen Group, BASF, Daimler AG and Fairphone start partnership for sustainable Lithium mining in Chile
Several companies have initiated a “Responsible Lithium Partnership” aiming to work towards responsible natural resource management, including lithium, in Chile’s Salar de Atacama. This cross-industry partnership is funded at its inception by Volkswagen Group, BASF, Daimler AG, and Fairphone. The partnership intends to foster a dialogue among local stakeholders, generating and synthesizing scientific facts and seeking solutions in a participatory manner. -
Volkswagen engages in improving working conditions in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo
As a responsible company, Volkswagen is actively engaging in improving artisanal cobalt mining conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the living conditions for people in the surrounding communities. Cobalt is an important raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries. Artisanal mining involves risks to the environment and people. Volkswagen has joined the “Cobalt for Development” initiative and is thus supporting efforts to minimize these risks. -
Volkswagen honors top suppliers
For the 18th time, Volkswagen has presented the Volkswagen Group Award to its top suppliers throughout the world. A total of eight companies in six categories reflecting future-oriented topics were honored. This year, the awards were presented to the winners by mail instead of in person as is usually the case. Frank Witter, CFO of the Volkswagen Group and interim Board Member with responsibility for Procurement: “We would like to thank all the award-winning companies for their outstanding dedication. Our tremendous success with the transformation of the Volkswagen Group towards e-mobility is also due to close cooperation with strong, innovative suppliers.” -
Volkswagen supports its 40,000 suppliers with instructions for protective measures in production
In connection with the resumption of production, the Volkswagen Group has developed measures ensuring the maximum level of health protection for its employees and is now implementing them at its plants. In order to provide the best possible support for the resumption of production and logistics processes in the coronavirus crisis by its more than 40,000 suppliers and several hundred logistics contractors throughout the world, the Group is making its concepts available to them with immediate effect. -
Personnel changes in the brand Board of Management
Alexander Seitz, most recently CFO at Audi, becomes the Board member responsible for Controlling and Accounting at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand effective March 1, 2020. In this function, he succeeds Dr. Arno Antlitz, who in turn becomes the Board member responsible for Finance at Audi. Furthermore, Murat Aksel, most recently Senior Vice President Purchasing and Supplier Network Americas at BMW, will take up the position of Board member for Procurement at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand effective July 1, 2020. Aksel succeeds Dirk Große-Loheide, who moves to Audi as the Board of Management member responsible for Procurement effective from the earlier date of April 1, 2020. These upcoming changes ensure the dissemination and constant exchange of knowledge and experience in top management functions, as elsewhere, within the Volkswagen Group and across brand boundaries. -
Volkswagen to be the first company to use low-emission LNG drive for overseas car freighters from January 2020
Volkswagen Group Logistics is the first company to use two car freighters powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) in overseas traffic. The two charter ships of Siem Car Carriers were launched last Friday in Xiamen, China. -
Volkswagen uses hackathon for solutions for more transparency in the supply chain
For human rights and environmental protection: As part of the Berlin Startupnight on Friday, September 6th, around 100 participants from Volkswagen, adidas, Zalando and Deutscher Bahn as well as five start-ups met for a hackathon at the DRIVE! Volkswagen Group Forum. The aim was to develop digital solutions to make it easier to monitor compliance with human rights and environmental protection along deeply staggered supply chains. The goods and services involved are sourced via such supply chains with up to nine stages in various countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. -
Volkswagen Group commits suppliers to sustainability
As of 1st July 2019, the Volkswagen Group will introduce a worldwide Sustainability Rating for its suppliers. This enables the company to assess the sustainability conduct of its business partners in its supply chain with regard to risks relating to human rights, environmental protection and corruption. -
From mine to factory: Volkswagen makes supply chain transparent with blockchain
Optimizing supply chains, eliminating sources of error, guaranteeing social and ecological standards – these are the goals of the collaboration between the Volkswagen Group and Minespider. Together with the blockchain specialist, a pilot project is to be set up to achieve transparency in the the global supply chain for lead. Blockchain technology makes it possible to trace the raw material back to the point of origin by means of digital certificates. The Volkswagen Group plans to use this technology for further raw materials and their supply chains. -
Volkswagen Group secures lithium supplies
The Volkswagen Group and Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. registered in Jiangxi (China) have signed a memorandum of understanding on long-term lithium supplies for battery cells. Under the agreement, Ganfeng will supply lithium to the Volkswagen Group and its suppliers for the next ten years. Volkswagen is thus already securing a significant share of its lithium requirement for batteries. -
New management at Volkswagen Group Components
The new Volkswagen Group Components brand is using its cross-brand and international structure to fill some of its management positions. As of 1 March 2019, Heiner Lanze has taken over as Head of Procurement of the newly independent business unit. He succeeds Stephan Beyse, who, as part of a regular rotation, now holds the position of Head of Procurement of Genuine Parts in Kassel. From 1 May 2019, Frank Engel will become Executive Vice President of Components, Logistics, Quality for all Volkswagen Group China's component activities. Christian Bleiel will succeed Mr Engel to become Head of Component Production for the Group brand ŠKODA AUTO. At the same time, Andreas Salewsky, as Mr Bleiel’s successor, will become the new head of the component site at Salzgitter. -
Producing for the future: Volkswagen Toolmaking opens highly advanced 3-D printing center
The Volkswagen brand’s Toolmaking unit is adding a highly advanced 3-D printing center to its facilities in Wolfsburg. With the opening of the center, the unit is bringing the most highly advanced generation of 3-D printers to the Volkswagen Group, which will allow the production of complex vehicle parts in the future. In addition, with the new center, Toolmaking is implementing a key point of the pact for the future concluded in 2016 and expanding its production competences with subsidies from the Innovation Fund II. -
Volkswagen and suppliers start countdown to ID.
About one year before the start of production of the fully electric ID., Volkswagen has announced further details of its electric offensive. Throughout the Group, up to 15 million vehicles based on the Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) are to be built in the first wave, compared with 10 million vehicles according to previous plans. Up to 2023, the brand will be investing more than €11 billion in e-mobility, digitalization, autonomous driving and new mobility services, including more than €9 billion in the ID. family. The electric offensive was also a topic at the MEB Supplier Event. Yesterday, more than 30 CEOs from the key component suppliers came to Wolfsburg to usher in the hot phase of preparations for the ID. together with Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, and members of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management. -
TRATON AG and Hino join forces in e-mobility and plan to establish procurement joint venture
TRATON AG and Hino Motors Ltd. (“Hino”) today announced new details on their strategic partnership. Both partners have agreed on two strategic initiatives: to join forces in e-mobility and the plan to establish a procurement joint venture. -
Volkswagen strengthens its rules to ensure sustainable, socially compatible raw material procurement
The Volkswagen Group is currently engaging in intensive discussions with its suppliers to determine how the sustainability of the supply chain, especially for raw materials used in electric vehicles, can be improved. Specifically, the objective is to bring environmentally compatible vehicles onto the road that have been produced with respect for human rights and in accordance with environmental and social standards throughout the supply chain. This starts with raw material extraction and ends with the finished product. This is why the Volkswagen Group has made its corporate guideline more stringent and now requires greater transparency in raw material procurement from its suppliers. -
FAST strategy conference: Volkswagen Group lays foundations for the future with its suppliers
With its "Volkswagen Future Automotive Supply Tracks" (FAST) initiative, the Volkswagen Group is aiming for more intensive strategic interchange with its suppliers with a view to forging ahead even more strongly with future-oriented technologies. At the first "FAST Summit" strategy conference, held in Berlin, the FAST partners discussed key topics and projects of the next few years with Board of Management members and representatives of the Volkswagen Group and its brands. Together with its suppliers, the Volkswagen Group is laying the foundations for the future of the automobile. -
FAST corporate initiative: Volkswagen Group Procurement has defined further strategic partners
Volkswagen has nominated a total of 55 strategic partners for 61 fields of competence under its "Volkswagen Future Automotive Supply Tracks" (FAST) initiative. The aim is to jointly implement technological innovations for customers worldwide even faster than in the past. A key prerequisite for that is early involvement in the innovation process and synchronization of both the corporate strategy and the production network between the strategic suppliers and the Group. -
The FAST corporate initiative: Volkswagen Group Procurement nominates strategic partners
The Volkswagen Group has nominated the first 44 suppliers who will be collaborating with the Group on a new common strategic level under the joint FAST initiative. These suppliers were chosen for their outstanding performance in their respective field of competence based on a systematic selection process. Volkswagen Group Procurement is responding to the challenges currently facing the automotive industry by working together with its suppliers under the "Future Automotive Supply Tracks" initiative (or FAST for short) and will implement technical innovations even faster. -
"Volkswagen FAST" initiative: Volkswagen Group redefines cooperation with suppliers
The Volkswagen Group had invited its key global suppliers to Wolfsburg today for the kick-off event of the new Volkswagen FAST (Future Automotive Supply Tracks) program. Dr. Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft responsible for Procurement, launched the new corporate initiative together with development and procurement board members of the Group brands.
Stories
Outstanding performance: Volkswagen celebrates the best apprentices of 2021
50 Volkswagen Group graduates have been presented with the “Best Apprentice” award. The winners come from 42 locations in 19 countries. The best in class from 22 apprenticeship trades, including the job families Industry and Electronics, Commercial Jobs and IT, Logistics, and Automotive Engineering, were celebrated.
Is lithium replaceable?
Why is lithium so important for the production of electric car batteries? How will Volkswagen secure a sustainable supply chain? We provide the answers and explain with five graphics the importance of this well-sought after alkali metal.