Policy
Purchasing and Industrial Department: synergies for greater competitiveness
To sharpen its competitive edge, maintain the level of its expertise and guarantee its industrial development, DCNS merged its Purchasing and Industrial Departments in 2007. Result: a structured response can now be provided throughout the entire supply chain in the following areas, in particular:
- What activities should be subcontracted out, to which suppliers and at what cost?
Improvement in the supply service rate – upstream forecasts, reliability of suppliers’ deadlines, centralization of equipment
By buying better, DCNS boosts its competitive advantage.
- Savings of €500m:
this is the target for third-party cost reductions pursued by DCNS for the 2007 – 2010 period.
- Cutting costs by 10 - 20%. Buying better means, first of all, improving the supplier selection process but also anticipating, i.e. planning, and improving the management of, inventory.
The 3 keys to Purchasing according to DCNS
“Better,” “less,” and “useful” are the key words of the Group’s Purchasing policy that, as a result, acquires a more strategic dimension than ever.
Reducing the amount of purchases and promoting greater productivity: these two approaches are prioritized to allow DCNS to achieve its objectives, namely: savings of €500m over a period of 3 years. Better forecasting makes it possible to “buy better.” The Group has adopted a single inventory management software package that makes it possible to share inventory items. “Buying less” means subcontracting out only when really necessary. By working more efficiently, it is possible to carry out in-house certain tasks previously completed by third parties and, in the process, limit the amount of subcontracting. Lastly, “Useful buying” is based on a partnership between DCNS and its suppliers that generates real value thanks to the development of innovative solutions, improved specifications and the reduction of non-quality. The costs of our ships rapidly stay fixed as our studies progress.
All upstream action consequently has greater leverage on the reduction of the target costs. As such, it is important to attract the services of the very best partners as early as possible in the pilot study phase. Accordingly, DCNS has adopted an official approval system for suppliers active in strategic purchasing segments.
To enjoy access to the innovation and cost-reduction potential offered by our partners and suppliers, DCNS maintains a constant monitoring activity with, in particular, its key suppliers and within the framework of its projects by focusing on the function to be provided, the result to be achieved and by ranking constraints in order of importance.
New product and re-use are not mutually exclusive. The fact of re-using material reduces non-recurring costs, makes it possible to make products more reliable and to rationalize maintenance policies. Re-use is also compatible with a policy geared to the development of DCNS product lines.