In 2020 Lederer GmbH celebrates its 50th anniversary – having established itself as one of the market leaders for stainless steel fasteners and standard parts, special parts by drawing, as well as efficient C-parts management.
A family-owned company from Ennepetal, Germany, Lederer was founded in 1970 and quickly gained a reputation, in a growing market, as a specialist for standard stainless steel fasteners. “For the first 25 years we were a distributor for stainless steel standard parts to distributors and industrial customers,” states Dr Volker Lederer, managing director. “It wasn’t until the 1990s that we started to look at developing our range.”
Initially Lederer branched out to supply special parts to drawing, items in special materials, as well as carbon steel fasteners. However, the real development came when the company looked to introduce C-parts management for its customers. “In the middle of the 1990s we had an industrial customer in northern Germany that decided to consolidate it purchasing into one single supplier,” explains Volker. “We were one of the candidates who could offer the full range of products, but at that time we didn’t have much experience with C-parts management. Nevertheless, we entered our services and the customer chose us as their partner going forward.”
Volker continues: “After a lot of hard work we were able to meet all of the customer’s needs and we realised that C-parts management was a good opportunity for us to create a completely different relationship with customers – a long-term relationship. This would enable us to get away from the competition of pure stainless steel distribution and we therefore decided to develop the C-parts management concept as a new service for the business.”
Today, Lederer’s C-parts management service is able to take into account customers’ special requirements and the company can offer a ‘made to measure’ concept for each individual customers’ C-parts requirements – from procurement and storage to supply and quality assurance. “We can manage all fasteners needs – stainless steel, carbon steel, special materials, non-ferrous metals and plastics – as well as specific manufacturer bounded items such as electrical goods, tools and consumables,” mentions Volker. “We even help with the procurement of suitable shelving systems and the selection of appropriate information channels for the system, including classic analogue, optical (via scanning) or fully digital via RFID technology.”
Two distinct services
Introducing the C-parts management model was a big step for Lederer, but it allowed it to diversify its service and create two different focus points as a business. “We still have our stainless steel specialism and we are still very much committed to our stainless standard items for our distributor customers,” points out Volker. “However, through the development of the C-parts management service, our range now includes special parts by drawing, manufacturer specific C-parts, packaging, labelling and assembly capabilities, as well as complex logistics and Kanban solutions. This has enabled us to build close relationships with our distributor customers and ensure we can provide the products and services they need.”
Regarding its industrial customers, Lederer believes its size is a key advantage. “When it comes to C-parts management for industrial customers we are one of the smaller sized players, which is a big advantage as we can be a lot more flexible and make decisions very quickly and tailor our service,” states Volker. “We look to understand our customers’ needs and then put together a proposal on what we would be able to deliver as a business.”
Volker is clear that Lederer’s main strength in C-parts management is when the order is predominately stainless steel focused. “We know the stainless steel market very well and we know C-parts management very well. In these cases, where stainless steel is the majority of the order, we have a good chance to be competitive. If a customer has a large demand in carbon steel fasteners then we can still provide products, but it is not our prime target.”
Foundations in place
With the development of its C-parts management service, and its continued growth and commitment to distributors, Lederer has also invested in its facilities and the automation of its logistics over the last ten years – helping it to meet the growing demands of customers.
“Going back to almost 14 years ago, we realised we needed to introduce automation, but we didn’t have the necessary space. Luckily, around 2010, we started a conversation with a neighbour and we agreed to buy an additional 15,000m2 of land – to add to our existing 15,000m2. This meant that in 2012 we could start to plan our new logistics centre, which has played a crucial role in us becoming more efficient, more flexible, as well as ensuring safer processes.”
Volker continues: “We invested in a new building for logistics, packaging and outgoing goods, as well as an automatic small parts warehouse, which provides almost 60,000 locations. The expansion of the automatic small parts warehouse, and the conveyor technology, also means a further increase in capacity and speed in picking and shipping. Making such a big investment, and committing to automation, really helped to underline our dedication to being service orientated. When customers now come to see us, they can’t help but be impressed with how modern and innovative we are as a business and it gives them confidence we are able to handle their requirements in the future.”
Ahead in digitisation
Lederer is also leading the way when it comes to digitisation, with the company having its own online shop for the last 15 years – with live availability and prices – as well as offering EDI interfaces and new cloud solutions for customer-specific information and document exchange.
“Our online shop has grown every year and represents around 5% – 6% of total turnover, although the percentage with distributor customers is much higher,” explains Volker. “Customers like to check their individual prices, and check availability, but they are not necessarily placing their orders through the shop. As a business, if you monitor the success of the online shop through the orders that come through it, then I think you get the wrong result. Our shop offers a lot more than just the opportunity to place an order and our customers are definitely using it as a resource.”
Plans for the future
Today, Lederer is characterised by short response times, a worldwide procurement network and fast delivery. In addition, customers appreciate the mixture of experience, personal support, and sophisticated digital processes, that enable Lederer to provide a first-class product portfolio and leading services.
“We have invested a lot of money over the last 10 years and now we have the prerequisite to build on this and be successful over the coming decade,” concludes Volker. “We have extended our warehouse, we have extended our administration building, and we have implemented a new ERP system. We have created the preconditions for future organic growth, but now we need to put everything into action.”
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
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