Safran has introduced a digital technology designed to smooth processes between its buyers and all its suppliers. The technology is digiBuy, a collaborative app brought in by Safran’s purchasing division to manage relationships between its buyers and suppliers, and all stakeholders in Safran’s supplier relationships, such as supplier quality correspondents and supplier performance managers.
digiBuy was rolled out in July with a base module of functions, and the app will be progressively deployed worldwide across all Safran Group companies by the end of 2024, with a focus on responsible procurement.
Safran says the app will facilitate and smooth out trade between Safran and its suppliers, using a simplified interface that consolidates all the essential information and improves collaboration between parties.
digiBuy will provide a global, centralised vision of data concerning each of Safran’s suppliers. The information will be updated partly by appointed supplier correspondents in each company, which will enable better control of invitations to tender. The app will also serve as a contract management platform between Safran and its suppliers to improve collaborative monitoring.
The digiBuy app applies to production purchasing (within each company and centrally with the Group Purchasing Performance Division) and to non-production purchasing. The app will feature a web portal for suppliers and a specific Supplier Relationship Manager module for buyers.
Using digiBuy, Safran suppliers will be able to undertake tasks such as uploading general company documents (depending on the country and type of purchase) related to the services to deliver and in progress; update and ensure the integrity of data to raise the quality of communications; communicate directly with Safran correspondents using instant messaging; submit tenders more simply and efficiently; negotiate and conclude contracts; and sign contractual documents on the DocaPoste ‘e-signature’ platform, with the benefit of digital continuity from digiBuy.
That first wave of the roll-out which started in July 2022 with a module of basic functions can be accessed by around 400 users at Safran (Safran Landing Systems, Safran Purchasing and the Group Purchasing Performance Division at present), along with 4,000 suppliers. At the time of writing, in mid-October 2023, almost 1,000 suppliers are already using the app.
Further functions will be phased in, with a second module covering sourcing itself, then a third module for contract management added in early 2024, incorporating digital continuity with the electronic signature platform. In total, over 2,000 users in the Safran Group and 30,000 suppliers worldwide will have access to the platform by the end of 2024.
