Sustainability Report 2012 - Generali Versicherung AG

SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICSOF SUPPLIERSNumber of suppliersCountryNumberOf whichEurop Assistance2011 2012 2011 2012Italy 21,904 22,480 7,706 7,715Austria 3,204 3,287 2,884 2,963Czech Republic 4,510 4,554France 6,964 6,793 5,000 5,000Germany 121,815 109,388 106,111 97,153Spain 20,002 20,720 19,603 20,333Switzerland 4,396 4,304 1,464 1,464TOTAL 182,795 171,526 142,768 134,628In the countries within the Sustainability Report scope, theGenerali Group conducted business with 171,526 suppliers,showing a decrease of 6.2% on the previous year. This drop isattributable to both the improvement in the supplier databasesystems, which resulted in the elimination of duplications, anda greater use of suppliers capable of providing various types ofproducts and/or services.The presence of certain companies of the Europ Assistancegroup, whose suppliers accounted for 78.5% of the total, isat the root of the high number of suppliers. This derives fromthe specific activity undertaken, which envisages the provisionof various types of services and the consequent availability ofsuppliers (car hire companies, roadside assistance providers,plumbers, smiths, electricians, carpenters, clinics, hospitals,diagnostic centres, analysis laboratories, ambulances, doctors,nurses, physiotherapists, etc.) throughout the country.It is partly for this reason that most Group suppliers offer servicesconnected with Group business, while a much smaller numberof suppliers provide various services in support of companybusinesses (cleaning, maintenance, transport, etc.) and thesupply of goods.Procurement expensesCountryExpenses(thousand euros)Of which withlocation of operationin the country2011 2012 2011 2012Italy 645,228 616,229 90.8% 88.4%Austria 42,931 42,202 93.0% 92.1%Czech Republic 121,937 113,341 90.8% 97.0%France 323,000 270,519 96.6% 89.4%Germany 361,019 364,429 97.2% 92.3%Spain 97,430 110,169 89.8% 85.2%Switzerland 67,900 66,908 83.3% 85.0%TOTAL 1,659,445 1,583,797 93.0% 89.8%Procurement expenses decreased by a total of 4.6% in 2012.On average, 89.8% of procurement expenses occurred withoperators located in the same country, and in many cases in thesame region or town where the offices of the Group companiesare located, demonstrating the fact that in selection, priority isgiven to national suppliers and, specifically, enterprises capableof providing goods and/or services throughout the country.This policy also has positive effects on the social and economicfabric of the communities where Group companies operate, asit creates jobs and stimulates economic growth. At the sametime, selecting local suppliers reduces the impact of companyactivities on the environment, an objective which in some casesalso contributes to the selection of suppliers that implementecological criteria, such as optimisation of deliveries and theuse of green vehicles, or offer the possibility to offset emissionsrelated to the services provided.The decrease in the percentage of expenses for local procurementwas also affected by the fact that the purchases of IT goods andservices are managed at Group level, by Group ICT Procurement,which is in charge of establishing commercial relationships withglobal suppliers, taking advantage of economies of scale.DIALOGUE WITH SUPPLIERSIn Germany, the Group participated in Econsense, aforum for sustainable development, which Germancompanies and organisations participate in with the goalof promoting sustainable development and corporatesocial responsibility. The Forum has developed a seriesof principles concerning the supply chain, called GASP(General Accepted Sustainable Supply Chain Principlesof Econsense into the RFI - Request For Information).Generali has integrated these principles into itspurchasing processes, including 30 questions in itssupplier qualification questionnaire, broken down into 5categories: governance, ecology, society, policies andmanagement.In Italy, during 2012 a meeting was organised withseveral of the main suppliers, where the new section ofthe Generali Group Italy Supplier Portal was presented.This section is dedicated to exchanging orders andinvoices, in order to dematerialise documents in theorder-invoice cycle, increasing transparency, providingvisibility to the data shared with suppliers, and enablingon-line cooperation to manage orders and invoices. Thesuppliers involved were pleased with the development ofthe portal and satisfied with the engagement initiative,suggesting possible developments and functionalitiesfor the platform. Another meeting was held in April 2013,involving approximately 80 suppliers. In the first part ofthe meeting, suppliers were provided with training onissues of environmental and social responsibility, andthe Group’s approach to these issues was described(purchases of green materials, energy from renewablesources, separate waste collection and respect of labourrights also applied to the supply chain). In the second part,the Supplier Portal was presented and its features wereillustrated. Also in this case, suppliers were highly satisfiedwith the tool, and especially with the possibility of real timedialogue with the Group Procurement department andof eliminating paper in exchanging communications andinformation, with resulting financial savings and benefitsfor the environment. To assist suppliers that decide to usethis tool, the Group has set up specific training courses,which will be held in the country.108 | Assicurazioni Generali - Sustainability Report 2012