on march 11, norbert kreitmeir, teamleader purchasing raw materials at schreiner group, presented the award to 3m deutschland gmbh, represented by aric getty, industrial adhesives & tapes business manager west europe. during the meeting at schreiner group&rsquos headquarters in oberschleissheim both parties agreed to intensify their cooperation on an equal footing. norbert kreitmeir is convinced that, by taking this step, schreiner group will be able to supply customers in the general industrials sector as well as the automotive and electronics industries with even better products, as the materials from 3m are primarily used in these markets. &ldquowe need partners that supply materials at the best price and the right quality so that we can offer our customers optimum solutions for their applications,&rdquo said kreitmeier.in 2013, 50 suppliers of production materials &ndash ranging from films, paper and ink through to productionrelated tools such as dies &ndash were again compared in order to assess the balance between costs and quality. the selection of the companies was based on delivery volume and strategic importance. the supplier evaluation itself rests on four pillars quality, logistics, technology and costs. in addition to the absolute rating, the relative improvement compared to the assessment in the previous year is a decisive factor.the &ldquosupplier of the year&rdquo award is part of the &ldquoschreiner preferred supplier&rdquo program that compares schreiner group&rsquos suppliers from strategically important material groups. by presenting the awards schreiner group pursues the overall aim of continually improving the cost structure in the supply chain through close cooperation, early involvement, integration of knowhow and a lean procurement strategy.  since the program was launched in 2012, the overall performance of schreiner group&rsquos suppliers has notably improved, which can be attributed to the supplier development associated with the program.
