The challenge: Balancing a demanding role with time-intensive procurement
As Managing Director of Leguna GmbH, a specialized Austrian producer of high-quality roller-dried milk powders, Hubert Rögl wears many hats. His time is a precious commodity, including managing sales, customer relationships, and procurement. Leguna’s manufacturing process, which can adapt powder properties individually to customer requirements for the chocolate, confectionery, and ice cream industries, relies on a variety of milk components like milk concentrates, cream, butter, and milk powder.
Traditionally, Hubert managed procurement through a manual tender process. This involved “sending an email to a lot of traders and producers,” approximately 20 at a time, setting deadlines, and then sifting through responses. This method was not only time-consuming – “four or five hours in total” for a typical tender – but also left lingering uncertainty about whether he was achieving the best possible market price. “Then you have to compare, you have to note, you have to discuss maybe… and that needs time,” Hubert recalls.
The outcome: Enhanced efficiency, significant savings, and broader market reach
By adopting the Vesper Marketplace, Hubert Rögl transformed Leguna’s procurement process. He dramatically reduced the time spent on transactional tasks, secured more competitive pricing through increased supplier visibility, and achieved substantial cost savings – on one purchase alone, Leguna saved €45,000. This significant margin improvement even allowed Hubert to offer a better price to his own customers.
Key Vesper Marketplace impacts for Leguna GmbH:
- Drastic time savings: Reduced procurement time from 4-5 hours per tender to as little as 1-1.5 hours for comparable volumes on the Marketplace.
- Significant cost savings: Achieved substantial savings, exemplified by €45,000 on a single purchase, enabling more competitive pricing for Leguna’s clients.
- Expanded supplier network: Connected with a new supplier not previously part of his direct network, increasing competition for his bids.
- Increased market transparency: Gained a clearer, real-time view of market prices, allowing for price discovery and confident decision-making.
Transforming transactional time into strategic value
For Hubert, being a “one-man show” in many aspects of the business means efficiency is paramount. The Vesper Marketplace directly addressed his biggest pain point: the sheer amount of time absorbed by the traditional tendering process.
“On a Wednesday, I’m sure that I need three to five hours [for tenders],” Hubert explains. The Vesper Marketplace condensed this significantly. On his initial deals through the platform, he notes, “For the bid, I made them before the trading window opened, I needed 10, 15 minutes maybe, because it was the first time… then it was really fast and I was actually in another meeting when both trades were done.” He elaborates, “For two tenders, which would normally take seven, eight hours, I did it [on the Marketplace] in one to one and a half hours in total”
This reclaimed time is invaluable. Instead of being bogged down in the mechanics of sending out multiple emails and comparing offers, Hubert can now “focus more on the future for other projects.” The Marketplace simplifies the process, allowing him to cover a significant portion of his needs quickly and “delete it out of his head,” freeing up mental space for more strategic activities.
Securing better prices through broader reach and transparency
Hubert’s philosophy on sourcing is open and flexible, a key factor in his ability to maximize the benefits of the Vesper Marketplace. With a background that includes production, he’s adept at ensuring quality while creating opportunities for competitive offers. He clarifies Leguna’s priorities: “For special products we can use different types of milk fats. For us, the milk fat content is the most important factor.” While some buyers focus heavily on specific origins, Hubert notes, “Maybe other buyers see quality differences between [EU] origins, but we don’t see this as a major factor [for our needs],” allowing Leguna to consider offers from a wide range of suppliers across the European Union.
The Vesper Marketplace amplifies this advantage. “The Vesper Marketplace was simple for me,” Hubert states, referring to its user-friendly platform. More critically, it exposed his bids to a wider audience, including suppliers he hadn’t worked with before or who hadn’t responded to his traditional tenders. Sellers also find value in this wider exposure, as it introduces them to additional Vesper-approved buyers, which helps to minimize potential risks when transacting with new counterparties. “It was the first deal with a new supplier I didn’t know before,” Hubert mentions, illustrating this point. Another supplier, who didn’t offer on his simultaneous email tender, did engage via the Marketplace.
This increased competition and transparency directly translated to better pricing and significant savings. The €45,000 saved on one key purchase underscores the financial benefits. “Without negotiation, it was immediate,” he says of the deal-making process on the platform. Without the Vesper Marketplace, Leguna would have been reliant on their traditional tender results, which in this instance, were at significantly higher price levels, or if unhappy would have had to repeat the 4 hour process at a later stage. The substantial savings achieved allowed Hubert to offer more competitive pricing to his own customers, effectively sharing the benefit of efficient procurement without compromising Leguna’s own margins.
For Hubert, the Vesper Marketplace doesn’t just offer bids; it helps “create the right feeling of the real market.” Even when not actively trading, he finds value in observing the market activity. “I watch it, yes, if I have time,” he notes.
A forward-looking approach to commodity trading
Leguna GmbH, with its history dating back to 1927 and its modern focus on specialized roller-dried milk powders, embraces innovation. Hubert sees platforms like the Vesper Marketplace as a key part of the future for commodity trading. “I’m sure that this will be one part of the future for commodities, this kind of marketplace,” he asserts.
For a dynamic company like Leguna, and a busy Managing Director like Hubert Rögl, the Vesper Marketplace provides a clear path to more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective dairy procurement, allowing them to focus on what they do best: producing high-quality, specialized ingredients for their customers across Europe.
