THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PROCUREMENT AT THE SARACAKIS GROUP OF COMPANIES

The Saracakis Group of Companies was founded in 1922 and operates in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and Cyprus. Its multi-faceted activities include offering innovative products and services, and it serves as the exclusive importer and distributor of a wide range of passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as agricultural and construction machinery from globally recognized manufacturers.

Since its establishment, the Group has been managed by the founding family and is now entrusted to the third generation. It stands as an emblematic example of entrepreneurship and operational excellence, thanks to a modern operating model built on values such as open communication and transparency among its 1,090+ employees.

As the Saracakis Group continues to grow and manage an extensive network of suppliers and products from 20 globally recognized brands, the need for a more efficient and strategic approach to supply management emerged.

Before adopting the Therefore solution, the process was manual, creating major challenges such as increased bureaucracy, reduced transparency, high administrative costs and limited data analysis capabilities.

By implementing a digital procurement process, the Group aimed to enhance supplier management, improve decision-making through real-time access to information, and reduce administrative costs.

Switching to a digital system enabled:

• automation of repetitive tasks,
• improved compliance with procurement policies, and • greater collaboration between departments.

The ultimate goal was to improve cost monitoring, increase flexibility, and strengthen the ability to adapt to the ever-changing market conditions.

After evaluating various solutions, the Saracakis Group of Companies chose Canon’s Therefore software for its integrated, flexible and scalable nature.

The critical parameters that influenced this decision included:

• Easy implementation and seamless integration with existing operational systems.
• Cloud-based architecture, offering remote access and improved team collaboration.
• User-friendly experience.
• Enhanced compliance and data security, ensuring all procedures meet internal and legal requirements.
• Proven return on investment, supported by success stories in both Greek and global markets.

Canon’s commitment to providing continuous software updates also played an important role, giving the Saracakis Group of Companies confidence that the solution will evolve to meet future needs.

The integrated solution built around the software enabled critical processes to be automated, improved supplier management and created a unified platform that allowed for faster decision-making.

The strategic partnership with Canon provided the Group not only with innovation, but also with ongoing support, thereby strengthening the Saracakis Group of Companies’ confidence in its future development.

With measurable improvements in accuracy, speed and transparency, the company continues to drive operational excellence going forward, setting new standards in the digital transformation of procurement.

The Saracakis Group of Companies has achieved:

• Up to 20% reduction in procurement costs.
• Improved supplier management, significantly enhancing negotiating power.
• Accelerated procurement cycles, speeding up request processing by up to 50%.
• Full compliance with internal procurement policies.
• Data-driven decision-making, improving accuracy of economic forecasts and planning.
• Increased Employee Efficiency.
• Improved record-keeping and cost visibility through extensive reporting and integration with other platforms.

Additionally, as a cloud-based solution, Therefore provides teams with the flexibility to securely access data from anywhere, enabling collaboration across different locations.