Procurement as a Value Lever: Why Performance Requires More Than Just Price Negotiations

In this episode, Lothar Färber discusses how procurement is changing in a global high-tech company. After all, modern procurement organizations do more than just negotiate prices. They secure technology, build supplier partnerships, and make a measurable contribution to competitiveness. The discussion focuses on Carl Zeiss AG as one of Europe’s leading high-tech companies, the balance between costs, innovation, and partnership, and the question of why performance and efficiency programs often fail not because of the methodology itself, but due to a lack of prioritization, leadership, and execution. Our guest is Lothar Färber, Head of Procurement at Carl Zeiss AG. He oversees a procurement volume of approximately 1.6 billion euros and provides insights into a procurement landscape that spans high-tech, digitalization, global sourcing, and transformation.