Unipart Rail

UK Employees: 700 (2019)

Turnover: £149m (2019)

Unipart Rail is a provider of engineering, manufacturing and supply chain management solutions. Unipart Rail addresses the challenges of the rail industry across the asset lifecycle by working collaboratively with their partners to deliver technology and supply chain solutions that improve performance, reduce risk and cost. Part of the Unipart Group, the global business brings together manufacturing, logistics and consultancy in a set of products and services that create imaginative solutions for its customers.

Serving the World’s Railways with Supply Chain Collaboration

Delivering Operational Procurement Improvements

Maintaining close relationships with vendors was a key requirement for Unipart Rail that led to the introduction of a supplier engagement programme to work with strategic partners. The need for an improved supplier experience was identified as a priority requirement that led to a review of supplier interactions and the recommendation to invest in an SAP Supplier Portal. Unipart Rail also wanted to optimise supplier relationships and improve data accuracy by allowing suppliers to gain direct integration with their SAP system. Additionally, Unipart Rail wanted to introduce automation to streamline processes and allow the procurement department to focus on more value-add activities. . After an in-depth review of supplier portals, the it.mx Direct Spend Portal^ADD was selected due to its seamless integration to SAP ERP and its attractive price point.

The Supplier Portal went live in October 2020 and has already been rolled out to 350 vendors which accounts for 40% of the order book. Unipart Rail has seen improvements to supply chain collaboration with vendors now interacting with a modern self-service portal.