The BERNER Group hosted an international supplier day at its headquarters in Künzelsau.
International partner event
BERNER honors suppliers for exceptional performance
The BERNER Group hosted an international supplier day at its headquarters in Künzelsau. Representatives from 35 selected companies were invited, including the ten top suppliers from the B2B trading company's global network, particularly innovative suppliers and ambitious start-ups. Participants from Germany, Europe and Asia enjoyed a varied program. The highlight was the presentation of the "BERNER Group Supplier Awards 2025" for exceptional performance over the past twelve months.
"Our brand should not only shine with our customers, but also with our suppliers. We want to show them that partnership is a reality for us. That's why we organized an event that serves to celebrate, but above all to further develop our business relationships," emphasizes Michael Götz, Vice President Procurement International at the BERNER Group, who was responsible for the event together with his team.
In deliberately interactive formats with specialist presentations, an in-house trade fair, panel discussions and workshop sessions, the experts exchanged views on current challenges, market trends and topics such as resilience, innovation, sustainability, data management and competitiveness. "The aim is to learn from each other and grow together," explains Michael Götz. "I want our suppliers to be proud to work with BERNER – and for us to be their first port of call when it comes to new ideas, products or solutions."
At the end of the day, host Michael Götz, together with CEO Peter Schmidt and Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) Robert Kühl, presented the winners of the "BERNER Group Supplier Awards 2025". An internal jury had selected the winners based on a comprehensive list of criteria. Numerous suggestions were submitted for this purpose on a cross-functional basis, e.g. from product management or logistics. "The awards were based on our six corporate values," reports Robert Kühl. "They are a central part of our company DNA and serve as a guideline and compass for strategic decisions as well as for our operational business."
The winners are:
- b.brave: Innovation Award – Hubitools S.A.
- b.hungry: Game Changer Award – Fastbold Group
- b.responsible: Sustainability Award – ITW LLC & Co. KG
- b.real: Reliability Award – Peter Kwasny GmbH
- b.proud: Partner Award – Linkwell Industry Co., LTD.
- b.connected: Continuity Award – GHH Hong Kong Limited
"The Supplier Awards are much more than a formal honor. They are a sign of our appreciation, because our partners do great things," says BERNER CEO Peter Schmidt. "We are on the right track. This is evident from everything we have already achieved together. However, I am convinced that there is much, much more potential in our partnerships. Let's get to work! And let's do it just as our company founder Albert Berner once did: with courage, determination, pioneering spirit, commitment and creativity."