A globally leading technology provider for modern baking processes
MIWE Michael Wenz GmbH has been a technologically and internationally leading manufacturer of bakery technology for decades. As an innovative, family-run Mittelstand company with a clear quality DNA, MIWE not only develops ovens for artisan bakeries, food service and industrial production environments, but also plays a defining role in shaping modern baking processes along the entire value chain.
With a globally established network of suppliers, service providers, subsidiaries and service partners, MIWE operates a globally oriented, professionally organised procurement structure that places high demands on contracts, supplier and supply chain management and international legal relationships.
Strengthening contract structures in international procurement
At the beginning of 2021, one thing became clear: MIWE's dynamic and steadily growing international business was generating a constant need for qualified commercial law expertise in strategic procurement. However, as with many fast-growing Mittelstand companies, there was no in-house legal department.
The organically grown contract landscape had produced heterogeneous structures that could lead to delays in day-to-day business. At the same time, MIWE wanted to avoid instructing external counsel separately for every detailed question, not least for reasons of cost discipline and efficient organisation. The SCM division management therefore set out to develop the contract landscape professionally: structured, internationally capable of acting and with strategic foresight.
Integrated legal support for strategic procurement
The Maxfeld team then took on the role of an external, closely integrated legal department dedicated to MIWE's procurement function. The aim was to go beyond ad hoc advice and structurally strengthen operational processes through continuous, low-threshold legal support.
Since then, the advice has been closely aligned with the procurement processes: quickly available, directly approachable and deliberately practice-oriented. This allows legal questions to be addressed before they create risks or slow down processes.
In terms of content, the ongoing advice covers all topics relevant to modern industrial procurement:
- Supplier terms and conditions, liability, warranties
- Acceptance and testing processes
- Delivery delays, contractual penalties
- Development and project contracts including IP rights, know-how protection and confidentiality
- International contract architectures (choice of law, Incoterms, logistics, enforceability, outsourcing)
- Compliance and supply chain obligations (supplier codes, audit and documentation duties)
- Continuous training of the strategic procurement teams responsible for contract negotiations
The collaboration follows MIWE's internal priorities: topics are channelled through Mr Rüdiger Steinfelder as Head of Global Procurement, while day-to-day legal support remains flexible and immediately available. The benchmark is always the same: pragmatic solutions that can be implemented quickly and secure the high operational effectiveness of MIWE's procurement.
Standardised contract structures and greater legal certainty in global procurement
In parallel with the ongoing advice, MIWE's entire contract landscape was systematically structured, modernised and harmonised.
The result:
- robust, consistent standard contracts tailored precisely to MIWE's needs
- clearly defined templates and guidelines
- a noticeable acceleration of contract-related process steps in supplier management
- a reduction of risk potential in national and international contract business
Thanks to its close involvement in day-to-day business, MIWE now receives early, strategically valuable legal assessments that minimise risks and visibly strengthen the professionalism of its procurement. Particularly in IP, project and compliance matters, MIWE now has a structure that is both legally sound and user-friendly.
The combination of standardisation and immediately available expertise sustainably increases the efficiency of procurement and provides certainty for everyone who works with contracts.
