Seizing opportunities together with our suppliers
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." – Henry Ford
Nokia Supplier Hour took place on 29 September 2021 and was attended by over 500 representatives of Nokia’s key suppliers. The overall goal of the event was to provide an overview of Nokia’s priorities in the digital era: how the company focuses on sustainable growth by capitalizing on the benefits of digitalization, and to show appreciation towards supplier excellence through the annual Nokia Diamond Awards program.
Nokia Supplier Hour was kicked off by Nokia President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark’s, keynote. Pekka thanked suppliers for their support during the global pandemic, and the global semiconductor shortage, and expressed appreciation towards strong and resilient partnerships and those suppliers who work with Nokia “to respond to the growing demand for connectivity across the world and to seize the new opportunities digitalization is creating across industries.”
He further emphasized that digitalization and sustainability go hand in hand: “We see technology as central to solve the pressing issue of our time”, sustainability being a unique selling proposition presenting great opportunities Nokia must capture together with its partners. Pekka gave several examples on how Nokia is investing to minimize environmental impact, while also mentioning a series of new products, including the latest AirScale portfolio and FP5 routing silicon, that have reduced power consumption.
Pekka ended his keynote by encouraging suppliers to keep the dialogue open and continue to work with Nokia to develop a truly resilient supply chain, while aiming to achieve bold targets together when it comes to emissions, waste reduction, and labor and human rights.
Ricky Corker, Nokia Chief Customer Experience Officer, then joined Pekka to further deep dive into the topics of sustainability and growth opportunities, bringing to the table Nokia’s customer perspective.
Ricky stated that sustainability is also very high on the agenda of Nokia’s customers: compared to last year there was a 50% increase in customer sustainability requirements, these often being pre-requisites to even start the bidding process. Beyond energy efficiency, our customers for example expect Nokia to invest in renewables and good circular practices, minimizing waste, and we deliver: in 2020 Nokia managed to purchase 39% of its electricity from renewable sources versus the target of 35%, and recycled 68% of facility waste versus the target of 65%.
Addressing Nokia’s strategy on growth Ricky shared Nokia’s go to market approach targeting four market segments, and how this approach enables Nokia to better define customer requirements and work more closely with suppliers while improving chances to “deliver it right the first”.
Nokia Supplier Hour was also about celebrating the best of the best. The announcement of the winners of the Nokia Diamond Awards, Nokia’s yearly awards program rewarding supplier excellence, was next on the agenda.
The winners and finalists of the 2021 Nokia Diamond Awards are:
Sustainability: Analog Devices, Infineon, WUS Printed Circuit
Innovation: NXP, Nefab, Spirent Communications
Supplier of the Year: Infineon Technologies
The award sponsors and the jury praised the extraordinary achievements, creativity and commitment of the suppliers
Warm congratulations to all finalists, and special congratulations to 2021 Diamond Award winners Infineon, Nefab and Wus Printed Circuit.
The second part of the event was dedicated to an insightful live Q&A where the Chief Operating Officers of the Nokia Business Groups answered often challenging questions from suppliers. The panel consisted of Bernard Pailleux, Christian Foerster, Pekka Nurmi and Siraj Amin.
Suppliers were keen to know about Nokia’s manufacturing localization optimization plans, As-a-Service models, the expectations Nokia has towards suppliers on supply chain resilience, possible business opportunities exist beyond the telecom sector and much more.
Suppliers were also asked to share their view on what might have major effect on global supply chains in the next five years via a short poll. Availability of supply together with digitalization came in as winners, ahead of trade regulations and climate change.
When commenting on the results all panel participants emphasized that open and transparent communication is key to overcome future challenges.
Feedback received from suppliers show that these events are highly appreciated and they contribute towards building trusted and strong business relationships:
“The session we had today was quite informative and thought provoking. It really helps to align ourselves with Nokia’s initiatives.”- supplier participant
Engage with us on social media, by following #NokiaSupplierHour and #NokiaDiamondAwards!
#NokiaSupplierHour is a 90-minute-long virtual event, dedicated to Nokia’s key suppliers, having the objective of strengthening relationships and provide a forum to share the latest market and technology trends and Nokia directions and priorities.
