Joyson Safety Systems is a global leader in mobility safety, providing safety-critical components, systems and technology to automotive and non-automotive markets. Joyson Safety Systems is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA, with a global network of approximately 50,000 employees at 71 locations in 25 countries, who generate annual revenues of approximately $4.8 billion in 2020. It is a subsidiary of Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. The company‘s mission is to provide safety systems solutions of the highest quality and reliability that allow its customers in the automotive sector the design freedom and confidence to drive the next generation in mobility.
Joyson Safety Systems was founded in 2018 through the merger of two global automotive suppliers, creating one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automotive safety, including airbags, steering wheels, seat belts and active and passive safety systems.
Velat Özkilinc, who is Executive Vice President, Chief Purchasing Officer at Joyson Safety Systems (JSS):
“In practical terms, the merger was not between two companies but five. The reason is that one company had four separate regional operations in Japan, Europe, China and America, with their own processes and organizational structures. “There were no common IT systems. In fact, we inherited 13 separate ERP systems alone across the merged companies.”
The Objective
The clear target was to sweep away this heterogeneity and standardize across the JSS group. The various ERP systems are gradually being replaced as the company standardizes on SAP S/4 HANA, a process that is scheduled to be completed in late 2023. “We need the IT infrastructure to speak one common language across the entire group to fulfill the corporate vision of “One Joyson”. The global ERP system SAP S/4 HANA is an impor tant component of that vision, as are integrated solutions that we are deploying in purchasing such as JAGGAER and riskmethods,” says Halidu Gibrilla, who is Manager and Process Owner, SAP S/4 HANA for Procurement & Supplier Risk Management, within the Global Purchasing Excellence team.
The professionalization of the purchasing organization stood high on this agenda. “Today, we have a globally harmonized purchasing function and a set of standard processes. JAGGAER is an important part of our strategy, which is to transform purchasing from an operationally focused organization to one that is strategically focused,” Velat says. “And to achieve this, we need data quality and transparency at both the global and regional level. Without this transparency, you can have the best strategy in the world on paper, but when it comes to executing that strategy, it is impossible.”
Dennis Meier, who is Director, Global Project Purchasing & Purchasing Excellence at JSS, explains further: “Previously we were working with very basic tools such as Excel, PowerPoint and miscellaneous non-standard templates. And with the merger, we had acquired roughly 3,500 suppliers in direct purchasing alone. Consequently, people were spending about 80% of their time doing manual work and chasing after information about suppliers, and only 20% actually making decisions on sourcing and purchasing.” The aim is first to reverse this ratio on the path to world-class purchasing within five years.
Velat puts this in the context of the challenges faced by many companies in the automotive industry. “To be more competitive, to deliver even better value to our customers, we must be closer to our suppliers, exchanging the right information with them just in time. This is of tremendous help to our suppliers in supporting us. Close and transparent collaboration through the supply chain is a must,” he says.
