Product management in the circular economy: a process as simple as it is effective
Osnabrück. With the "Return your mold" initiative, KME Special Products & Solutions GmbH (KME SPS) not only prevents unnecessary paths in the circular economy, but also offers its customers an additional option to improve the cash flow situation.
For the world's leading supplier of customized copper and copper alloy products and solutions, optimizing the recycling rate is a top priority. "For us, it is not just a question of environmental responsibility to continuously subject all corporate processes to a sustainability audit," states Dr. Bernhard Hoffmann, CEO at KME SPS. "As we continue to develop our processes, we ask ourselves how we can make them even more efficient while making a valuable contribution to the environment and our customer relationships." One result of this continuous improvement process is the "Return your mold" project.
In the future, KME SPS will involve its customers more closely in the copper cycle and take over the recycling of molds that have already been used. This service not only prevents increased capital commitment due to the rising price of copper, but also helps to manage the volatility in the price of copper, which has increased sharply in recent years. In doing so, customers generally receive a better value for the coke oven copper than when selling through scrap dealers, most of whom offer mixed pricing for a wide variety of scrap.
At the same time, the business process is designed to be as simple as it is effective: The weight of the scrap mold delivered by the customer is credited to an individual metal account, which is used to offset the material input for subsequent orders. Tom Beyer, Sales Manager at KME SPS, emphasizes: "The material is immediately at the customer's yard. That means less effort and administration with a corresponding reduction in copper scrap inventory." According to Beyer, the project is currently being rolled out in selected regions worldwide. "We are proactively contacting the relevant customers these days." On the basis of the accompanying info folder, however, it quickly becomes clear what it is all about at its core - for KME SPS and customers alike: a highly attractive win-win situation.