“Sustainability, innovation and quality of service” were the key elements Pirelli focused on for its 2018 Supplier Awards, the annual occasion when the company honors nine suppliers from its global supply chain of more than 10,000. The Pirelli Supplier Awards reward those suppliers that shine for their ability to make the Pirelli supply chain even more sustainable and enhance qualitative excellence.

On Aug. 31, Pirelli recognized those suppliers that distinguished themselves over the past year with awards presented by Chief Purchasing Officer Matteo Battaini and Chief Sustainability and Risk Governance Officer Filippo Bettini. A ceremony was held at Pirelli’s headquarters in Milan. The awards were given to nine suppliers in the areas of raw materials, services and machinery.

For the 2018 ceremony, the company presented a specific award for sustainability in addition to recognizing supplier partners for innovation and quality of service. Pirelli says its supply chain has been constructed to guarantee product innovation, process digitalization and long-term competitiveness, where respect for the environment and attention to the value of people are considered primary levers of growth.

In addition to presenting supplier awards, Pirelli celebrated another honor. The tiremaker said its efforts toward a sustainable purchasing strategy were recognized by the confirmation that Pirelli’s supply system was in compliance with the UNI ISO 20400 rule, conferred in February 2018 by SGS Italia S.p.A. – one of the leading companies for inspection, verification, analysis and certification services. According to Pirelli, this makes the company the first in the automotive industry to have received this confirmation of compliance. The ISO 20400 constitutes the most important international guideline in the matter of supply chain sustainable governance, where the economic, social and environmental responsibility are integrated into the company’s strategies, organization and purchasing processes.

The winners of the Pirelli Supplier Awards 2018 include:

• Glanzstoff Sicrem Spa (Italy), suppliers of textile reinforcements – recognized for the criteria of “Quality” and “Speed,” plus the prestigious Sustainability prize, which Pirelli said it deserved because it produces rayon using only cellulose from plantations certified for sustainable agroforestry management
• JSR Corp. (Japan), a supplier of synthetic rubber awarded for the criteria of “Innovation” and “Service Level”
• Thai Eastern Innovation Co. Ltd (Thailand), PT. Kirana Megatara Tbk (Indonesia) and PT. Prasidha Aneka Niaga Tbk (Indonesia), all suppliers of natural rubber awarded for “Quality” and “Service Level”
• VMI Holland (Holland), a supplier of tire assemblers and machines for semi-processed components for the criteria of “Quality” and “Global Presence”
• MDM (Italy), an integrated marketing and communication agency awarded for the criteria of “Innovation” and “Speed”
• APPIAN (USA), a supplier of a business process management platform and related consultancy services awarded for the criteria of “Innovation” and “Speed”
• Warehouse Service, Inc. (USA), a logistics services supplier awarded for the criteria of “Speed” and “Innovation”

Battaini commented, “Pirelli has built its business model, focused on high value, on product innovation and process digitalization. To pursue this strategy it is not only necessary to choose suppliers that are leading companies, but also to build with each of them a partner relationship. It is essential that they share values such as innovation, quality, customer care, product and process sustainability and attention to brand value. And, in an ever more dynamic market context, goals must also be shared, such as cost rationalization, speed of adapting to new technology and implementation of best practices in sustainable management.”

Today Pirelli’s procurement involves the management of around 10,000 suppliers for a total expenditure of 3.2 billion euro (approximately $3.7 billion USD) in 2017, mainly on raw materials (46 percent), services (36 percent), machinery (13 percent) and consumption materials (3 percent).