Sternaliza
General Data:
Company name: STERNALIZA
Sector: Multisector
Year of foundation: 1989
Location (headquarters): Sant Cugat del Valles (Barcelona)
Number of members: 1
Number of members: 238
Number of establishments: 0
Total number of employees (direct and indirect): 1,000
Website: www.sternaliza.com
Brief history of the company:
Francesc Costa, the company’s founder, held various positions of responsibility in industrial companies in the paints, varnishes and resins sector during his professional life, both in national and multinational companies, during the 70s and 80s.
In the late 1980s, he decided to bring together the leading family-owned companies in the paint and varnish sector of the Iberian Peninsula and proposed creating the first industrial purchasing group in Spain. The aim was to increase the competitiveness of SMEs in this sector against the large multinationals that dominated the market. The proposed model consisted of a professional purchasing and services center completely independent of its members.
Initially, its objective was focused on managing the purchases of its members through analysis and negotiation of discounts with suppliers, although new services common to all members, such as logistics or market research, were quickly incorporated.
Over the following years, CCQ, which would eventually become Sternaliza, became a true benchmark in the sector, providing information, knowledge, and value to its members. As a result of this experience, it began developing new CCS projects in industrial subsectors synergistic with paints and varnishes, offering outsourced purchasing and logistics services to its new members.
In the second decade of the 2000s, Sternaliza diversified, understanding that its members needed more services, and above all, more scale. Thus, Sternaliza sought sufficient scale for each product or service to provide this value and dimension.
Currently, we can say that each associate is different, since their needs are unique, and we have adapted to these.
Organizational Model:
Sternaliza’s main departments are:
- Purchasing: focuses its activity on negotiation based on specialization, knowledge, and the optimization of the supply of a wide variety of products and services. Operationally, this department is divided into strategic and non-strategic purchasing, as their objectives and needs are entirely different.
- Logistics and transport: this department searches for and monitors the best transport solution, whether land, sea, air or rail, both nationally and internationally, for all types of products.
- Technical Department: Provides vital support to associates and contributes specialized knowledge in industrial and fine chemistry, facilitating communication between associates’ technical departments and suppliers.
- Administration Department: Using SAP, it controls the flow of raw materials, manages logistics warehouses, and handles the invoicing and re-invoicing of suppliers and associates.
Business Model:
Sternaliza stands out for adapting to the unique needs of each partner, especially in the area of purchasing. They offer everything from partial purchasing management to full outsourcing, tailoring their services to the specific requirements of each client.
Challenge:
The limited number of companies in the industrial chemical sector for the manufacture of paints and varnishes in Spain makes the need to grow in size a critical aspect for the survival of the plant.
Solution:
In the second decade of the 2000s, solutions were developed such as internationalization towards Portugal and France and diversification into subsectors related to the chemistry of paints and varnishes, such as aerosols, detergents, water treatment, plastic injection and extrusion, among others.
To implement this plan, several CCSs were created and different products and services were offered, adapted to the changing needs of the associates, fostering innovation and adaptability.
The transformation towards a diversity of CCS in different subsectors, as a result of the diversification of the central parent company, made it possible to add value in a wider range of products and services, facilitating the exchange of information between similar subsectors and providing a deeper knowledge to the associates.
Tips and Reflections:
Sternaliza emphasizes the strength and knowledge gained through group collaboration compared to individual supplier promises. It highlights the group’s security and each associate’s contribution to the community as factors that strengthen and foster growth for everyone.
Future:
The evolution of the industrial sector will require continued learning and adaptation to the changing needs of its members, and in this environment, size emerges as a key factor in maintaining competitiveness in any product or service and in aspiring to market leadership.