SchaeferInsight is a consulting company
helping suppliers win business with German customers
by understanding how procurement decisions are made.
SchaeferInsight
Meetings take place — yet decisions do not materialise.
Understanding procurement decisions is key to winning German customers.Based on 17+ years of procurement leadership
and first-hand responsibility for supplier decisions,
working with more than 12,000 suppliers worldwide.Bhawna Schaefer, Founder SchaeferInsight.Discuss your growth opportunities in Germany.
[email protected]
Why companies struggle to win business in Germany
Many suppliers assume that success in Germany depends mainly on product quality, pricing, or technical capability.In reality, many opportunities stall despite strong products because suppliers misunderstand how procurement decisions are actually made inside German companies.Without understanding these decision logics, even strong suppliers struggle to turn sales opportunities into real contracts.
When do companies call us?
Months of meetings with German customers.Engineering discussions move forward.Yet procurement never makes a decision.Many opportunities in Germany stall not because of the product —
but because suppliers misunderstand how procurement decisions are actually made inside German companies
and how German buyers evaluate suppliers.
How procurement decisions in Germany actually work
Procurement decisions rarely depend on a single factor.
In German companies, several dimensions must align before a supplier is selected.Understanding how German buyers evaluate suppliers is often the key to winning German customers.
These dimensions form the basis of how German buyers evaluate suppliers.
Communication
Commitment
Total Cost
Credibility
Process Fit
Risk
Stakeholders
About Bhawna Schaefer
Bhawna Schaefer has more than 17 years of international procurement experience, including leadership roles.She held direct responsibility for supplier decisions involving more than 12,000 suppliers worldwide.She has worked with a broad supplier landscape — from global manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers to small specialist companies entering the German market.This experience provides direct insight into how suppliers are evaluated and selected by German buyers.Her procurement career includes leadership roles at Mubea and VDI, project purchasing at Kiekert, and earlier experiences with Daimler and Ford.Today she helps suppliers understand how purchasing decisions are actually made inside German companies —
and how aligning with these decision logics increases their chances of winning business.
ImpressumAngaben gemäß § 5 TMGBhawna Schaefer
SchaeferInsightHannah-Hoech-Str. 22
51375 LeverkusenE-Mail: [email protected]Website: https://www.schaeferinsight.comVerantwortlich für den Inhalt nach § 18 Abs. 2 MStV:
Bhawna Schaefer
Hannah-Hoech-Str. 22
51375 Leverkusen
DatenschutzerklärungDiese Website dient der Bereitstellung von Informationen über die Beratungsleistungen von SchaeferInsight.Beim Aufrufen der Website werden durch den Hostinganbieter technische Daten verarbeitet (z. B. IP-Adresse, Zeitpunkt des Zugriffs). Diese Daten sind erforderlich, um die Website bereitzustellen.Wenn Sie per E-Mail Kontakt aufnehmen, werden Ihre Angaben ausschließlich zur Bearbeitung Ihrer Anfrage verwendet.Verantwortliche Stelle:
Bhawna Schaefer
Hannah-Hoech-Str. 22
51375 Leverkusen
[email protected]