Published on September 14, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>
Companies invest a lot of money in research and development. At the same time, suppliers, specialists, and technology partners possess skills that could be crucial for their own products.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the question is not just: What can we develop ourselves?
\nBut also: What skills can we utilize from the outside?<\/p>\n
I believe that many companies are missing out on potential right here.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> With sophisticated technologies, a good idea alone is not enough. It must become a solution that can be manufactured, scaled, and reliably integrated into a product.<\/p>\n This often requires skills that no company fully possesses in-house.<\/b><\/p>\n I experienced this very clearly in technologically demanding projects at ZEISS. The technical solution wasn't the only crucial factor. Equally important was the skill set brought by the participating partners, where their skills needed further development, and how we could effectively combine the different competencies.<\/p>\n That's precisely why I don't see innovative capacity solely as an internal competency. It's also a network competency.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> A company can have an excellent development department and still miss out on innovation opportunities if it does not know the capabilities of its suppliers or uses them too late.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div> In many companies, the process still works like this: Development defines the solution. Purchasing is then brought in to find suitable suppliers, negotiate prices, and ensure supply. Because once the solution is fully determined, alternative technological approaches are often no longer even considered. The most important question is: Which technological capabilities of our suppliers can we use for new solutions?<\/b><\/p>\n This changes the role of purchasing: it no longer just looks for suppliers for a fixed solution, but helps to find new solutions.<\/p>\n The purchasing department doesn't need to become a developer. But it should work together with development and strategy to understand what skills are needed and which partners can contribute them.<\/p>\n A publicly visible example of this is the long-standing collaboration between ZEISS and ASML in semiconductor technology. There, the partners jointly develop highly complex systems for semiconductor manufacturing. For me, this partnership demonstrates one thing above all: some innovations only become possible when companies acquire capabilities they don't possess themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> 1. Include shopping earlier 2. Systematically consider technological capabilities 3. Rethinking supplier development This won't turn every supplier into an innovation partner. That would be neither sensible nor economical.<\/p>\n<\/div> For technologically crucial partners, it's therefore about more than just current delivery capacity. It's also crucial what new solutions we can develop together \u2013 and whether this allows us to progress faster or unlock opportunities that would not be available to us alone.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div> Procurement doesn't develop innovation itself. But it can ensure that the company has access to the right skills.<\/p>\n And that, in my opinion, represents a strategic role that is still underestimated.<\/b><\/p>\n Because a company's innovative power doesn't end at the factory gate. It extends as far as the network whose capabilities it actually knows how to utilize.<\/p>\n<\/div> \ud83d\udc49<\/b> <\/b>More on this topic:Innovation is also a network achievement<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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<\/span>The shopping often arrives too late.<\/h3><\/div>
\nThis might work for standardized services. For strategically important technologies, it's often insufficient.<\/p>\n
\nPerhaps a supplier knows a better method. Perhaps a specialist possesses a technology that hasn't even been discussed internally yet. Perhaps a solution can be developed more quickly or with less risk through collaboration.
\nA company can more easily identify such opportunities if it involves the supplier market in its development process at an early stage.<\/p>\nWhat companies can learn from this<\/h3><\/div>
\n<\/b>The purchasing department should be involved as soon as possible technical solutions are discussed, and not only when the specification is finalized.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>When it comes to strategic technologies, it's also important what capabilities a partner possesses, what developments they are driving forward, and how these can be used for one's own products.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>It should not only eliminate weaknesses. It can also serve to jointly build skills that a company needs for new products and technologies.<\/p>\nThe actual task of purchasing<\/h2><\/h3><\/div>
\nLearn more about how we systematically develop supplier relationships and technological capabilities on our supplier management page:
\n\u2192 Strategic supplier management:<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>