Proportion of regional suppliers Regional proximity promotes the region's economy and environmental protection
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Defined as a key topic for EVVA GRI 204: Procurement practices; 413: Local communities UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), No 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Management approach – our why:

Regionality = Sustainability

The pandemic and the war in the Ukraine have caused many things to be reassessed. Regionality has gained special importance. Lean global supply chains continue to exist, but supplier proximity has become increasingly important. Before Corona, EVVA was already focusing on a high level of added value and regionality, because

  • this makes us more independent of distant suppliers, which increases security of supply and reduces potential delivery difficulties in times of crisis. This regional value chain strategy has guaranteed us and our stakeholders a very high security of supply during the pandemic
     
  • the shorter transport routes mean less CO² emissions and thus contribute to climate neutrality
     
  • working with nearby suppliers helps to keep jobs in the region


All these benefits can compensate for, or at least cushion, the higher costs of regional procurement channels. A high proportion of regional suppliers therefore has an impact on the economy, the environment and society. EVVA and its stakeholders have therefore rated "the proportion of regional suppliers" as essential for the company. As practically all materials and product components for the international EVVA Group are purchased through the headquarters in Vienna, EVVA defines suppliers within a radius of 1.000 km as regional sources. That’s why we talk about "regional" suppliers rather than "local" ones. More on that in the target below.


Analysis (figures rounded)

The “Logistics & Purchasing” department at the EVVA headquarters is responsible for the group’s central purchasing and has analysed its regional proximity of suppliers:

  • To be able to manufacture high-quality mechanical and electronic access systems, EVVA co-operates with around 400 suppliers. They satisfy our need for raw materials for production (mainly brass) as well as product components and tools, etc.
     

Share of suppliers by materials

  • Of our top 100 suppliers, 57 come from Austria (41 of them from Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland). Around 54% of the purchasing volume of the headquarters is realised near Vienna (distance less than 500 km). Approximately 93% of the top suppliers come from the region of Central/Eastern Europe (distance less than 1000 km).


Share of regions in total purchasing sales

  • EVVA purchases the vast majority of materials and components from European suppliers. And approx. 4% of the material and components are from Asia (mostly India), such as key bows, key fobs or Nirosta parts for electronic handles
     
  • Very stable and long-standing business relationships: EVVA has been associated with its main suppliers for decades, often over several generations. In figures: EVVA has been in close business contact with 70% of regional suppliers for at least 25 years


Challenges

As the above list shows, EVVA cannot obtain all the parts required for production from regional sources. For certain product categories there is practically no competitive local industry anymore. The production of fittings for electronic access systems, for example, is labor-intensive and the purchase of raw materials is more expensive than buying finished products. At the beginning of the 2000s, the European hardware industry migrated to Asia, particularly to China. But this also brought with it difficulties arising from different corporate cultures, working methods, communication and distance. These challenges were compounded by the lack of transparency in supply chains. EVVA has therefore taken a new approach in terms of fittings:

Strengthening the hardware industry – from Asia back to Europe

In 2023, EVVA rebuilt a former fittings production facility in Lithuania together with one of its European suppliers from the fittings industry (d line in Denmark). EVVA and d line were thus able to shorten reaction and delivery times, bring raw material processing back to Europe and ensure quality standards in their own production. The further advantage: the supply chains are more transparent and closer.

Our targets

Fulfilment date: 2024 (former time target 2023 extended to 2024)

How: This target was adapted in 2021 because the EVVA definition of "regional suppliers" has also changed. So far, only Austrian suppliers have been designated as regional. The original target was to increase their share of purchasing sales from 50% to 60% by 2023. EVVA reassessed the regionality and defined suppliers within a radius of 1000 km from the Vienna headquarters as regional. There are two reasons for the redefinition: On the one hand, in the sense of a “Europe of the Regions”, with which the EU would like to support regional self-reliance. With regard to CO² emissions, a supplier from nearby Bratislava is no less regional than a supplier from the more distant Austrian Vorarlberg. On the other hand, because many of the essential material manufacturers for EVVA, with whom we have maintained very close business relationships for decades, come from Central and Eastern Europe. With the help of these regional supply chains, we aim to keep 95% of our purchasing turnover within the 1000 km radius by the end of 2024. We are currently at 93%.

We want to achieve this target, for example by no longer procuring electronic components such as motherboards from overseas.


Positive effects: According to calculations by EVVA's Logistics & Purchasing department, 1 million euros of EVVA's purchasing turnover remain in the region, helping to secure or expand supplier jobs. Due to the shorter transport distances (less air freight from Asia) around 25 tonnes of CO² are being saved.

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