Welcome to Procurement News, part of our ongoing aggregate news series covering recent supply management headlines and trends pertinent to Chief Procurement Officers and other procurement leaders. Contact us with your news story here.
CPO News
Audi Announces Vachenaur Head of Procurement
INGOLSTADT, Germany — Audi announced that Renate Vachenaur, a former BMW executive who has been at the Volkswagen Group subsidiary since 2021, will take the helm as head of procurement, as reported in Automotive News Europe.
In her new position, Vachenaur will serve on Audi’s management board, reporting to CEO Markus Duesmann. She replaces Dirk Grosse-Loeide, who was promoted to head of procurement at the VW Group.
According to Duesmann, “Particularly in procurement, these past three years have shown how important effective leadership is for safeguarding our business to the greatest extent possible in tumultuous times. I’m grateful to Dirk Grosse-Loheide for his outstanding work and I wish him great continued success in his job at the Group level.
“At the same time, I’m very much looking forward to welcoming Renate Vachenauer onto our Board of Management. She has a great deal of expertise in the field of digitalization and electromobility, which will make a significant impact on our success in the coming years,” Duesmann added.
Supply Management News
REI Co-op Sets High Bar with Its New Product Impact Standards
SEATTLE — REI Co-op announced the release of its new Product Impact Standards, setting a new benchmark to advance more sustainable and inclusive business practices in the retail industry.
The company stated that the standards provide a platform to engage REI’s 1,000+ brand partners as the co-op addresses its most significant environmental impact and opportunity: the products it sells and the supply chains behind them.
According to Chris Speyer, VP of Product, “The standards keep the co-op and over 1,000 of our brand partners accountable as we address the issues that are most important to our community,” he said.
“The products we carry represent our greatest opportunities to support better ways of doing business. We want our members and customers to know the products they purchase at REI are helping to build a better retail industry,” Speyer added.
REI’s Product Impact Standards, among the first of their kind in the retail industry, are designed to evolve over time to ensure the co-op proactively engages partners on the industry’s most important topics, the company stated. Key updates in 2023 include:
- Elevated expectations requiring brands to measure their greenhouse gas emissions and set emissions reduction targets. REI has formally committed to our own emissions reduction target via the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
- New expectations to advance equity across outdoor gear and apparel, specifically regarding price equity across size ranges, inclusive sizing and inclusive offerings for diverse hair types.
- Updated chemicals management expectations, in part to ensure wide industry alignment with new state laws regarding the use of PFAS.
Read the full announcement here.
US-Led “Fab 4” Meet on Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience
TAIPEI — According to Taiwan’s government-controlled Central News Agency (CAN), the “Fab 4” or “Chip 4” alliance (United States, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea) met on February 16 to discuss setting up an early warning system for the semiconductor industry to strengthen its supply chain’s resilience.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs says the meetings “stressed the importance of creating an early warning system that covered all aspects of the semiconductor supply chain, including raw materials and equipment, given how complicated it is.
“The early warning system is critical, the official said, given the major chip shortages that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the four sides involved to communicate effectively to predict when other supply chain issues could occur.”
The MOEA official said the U.S. representative discussed the complementary nature of the alliance, including the manufacturing prowess of Taiwan and South Korea, the expertise in equipment supplies and IC design of the United States, and Japan’s capabilities in IC material supplies.
The U.S.-led Chip 4 alliance is widely seen as a U.S. initiative to contain Beijing in the cutting-edge sector.
US Levies Tariffs on Russian Products
WASHINGTON — On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden Administration announced several actions that support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable. Among those actions is increasing tariffs on Russian products.
According to the White House release, “Today, the President will sign proclamations to raise tariffs on certain Russian products imported to the United States, building on previous efforts to strip Russia of its international trade privileges. These measures are designed to target key Russian commodities generating revenue for the Kremlin while reducing U.S. reliance on Russia.
These measures are carefully calibrated to impose costs on Russia while minimizing costs to U.S. consumers. Today’s action will result in increased tariffs on more than 100 Russian metals, minerals, and chemical products worth approximately $2.8 billion to Russia.
It will also significantly increase costs for aluminum that was smelted or cast in Russia to enter the U.S. market in order to counter harm to the domestic aluminum industry, which is being squeezed by energy costs as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
These sanctions, export controls, and tariffs are part of our ongoing efforts to impose strong additional economic costs on Russia. We will continue to work with our allies and partners to use all economic tools available to us to disrupt Russia’s ability to wage its war and degrade its economy over time.”
Read the full announcement here.
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