How do companies elevate procurement from an administrative operation to a generator of strategic value? BCG's Wolfgang Schnellbächer discusses unlocking profit through digitization of the procurement function.

Wolfgang Schnellbächer leads Boston Consulting Group's procurement practice in Europe, Middle East, and South America. He is an expert in procurement, transformation, digital procurement, supply chain management, and production.

Wolfgang’s client work at BCG focuses on large-scale transformations, direct and indirect category management, digital procurement solutions, procure-to-pay, and operating models of procurement departments.

Before joining the firm, Wolfgang worked for six years at McKinsey & Company as a member of the procurement global leadership team, where he concentrated on indirect optimizations and built the procure-to-pay service line.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

EDUCATION

  • PhD, University of Stuttgart
  • Master’s in Economics, University of Mainz

Publications and Videos

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Technology Conventions: Unlocking Potential for Suppliers with Limited Competition

The article illustrates, how purchasing functions can cross-functionally unlock potential for suppliers with limited competition – leveraging three new Procurement tools: Technology Conventions, Virtual Technology Conventions, and Technology Fairs.
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Supercharge Savings by Getting Closer to Suppliers

To optimize their cost-cutting efforts, smart companies are turning to their suppliers.
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Taming Tail Spend

Digital can help procurement teams gain a much deeper understanding of their purchases—and cut costs significantly.
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Getting Quality Right with Digital Procurement

Deploying technology solutions along with conventional best practices can greatly mitigate the risk of future failures.
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Meeting the Need for Procurement Speed

Conventional approaches alone can’t do it. New digital solutions must also play a role.
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Jump-Starting the Digital Procurement Journey

Contrary to popular belief, the most successful digitization efforts do not begin with technology decisions. Focus instead on business and procurement objectives.
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Delivering on Digital Procurement’s Promise

Data and advanced analytics, automation, and blockchain technologies can provide considerable value—if you know how to leverage them.
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Pushing the Value Envelope in Procurement

Chief procurement officers must balance two equally important imperatives: sustaining traditional value drivers and adopting new digital approaches.
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