Case Study: Perfect Bread & Global Procurement at MIWE

Client & Industry

MIWE Michael Wenz GmbH has been a technologically and internationally leading manufacturer of baking technology for decades. As an innovation-driven, family-owned mid-sized company with a strong quality DNA, MIWE not only develops baking ovens for artisan bakeries, gastronomy and industrial production environments, but also plays a key role in shaping modern baking processes across the entire value chain.

With a globally established network of suppliers, service providers, subsidiaries and service partners, MIWE operates a professionally structured, internationally oriented procurement organization that places high demands on contracts, supplier and supply chain management, and cross-border legal relationships.

Initial Situation / Challenge

At the beginning of 2021, it became clear that MIWE’s dynamic and steadily expanding international business activities were generating an ongoing need for qualified commercial legal expertise within Strategic Procurement. However, the company did not have its own in-house legal department – a typical characteristic of many fast-growing mid-sized enterprises.

The organically developed contract landscape had led to heterogeneous structures that could cause delays in day-to-day operations. At the same time, MIWE sought to avoid instructing external counsel for every individual issue — acting pragmatically, cost-consciously and in line with the goal of maintaining an efficient organization. The Head of SCM therefore aimed to professionally further develop the contract landscape in a structured manner, ensuring international operability and long-term strategic foresight.

Solution / Legal Approach

The Maxfeld team subsequently assumed the role of an external, highly integrated legal department dedicated specifically to MIWE’s procurement function. The objective was not selective advice, but a structural strengthening of operational processes through continuous, low-threshold legal support.

Since then, the advisory work has been closely aligned with procurement processes – readily available, directly accessible and deliberately practice-oriented. This enables legal issues to be addressed before they create risks or slow down operations.

Substantively, the ongoing advice covers all topics relevant to modern industrial procurement:

• Supplier terms and conditions, liability and warranty
• Acceptance and testing procedures
• Delivery delays and contractual penalties
• Development and project agreements, 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 verification requirements)
• Continuous training of the Strategic Procurement teams involved in contract negotiations

The cooperation follows MIWE’s internal priorities: topics are bundled through Rüdiger Steinfelder, Head of global Procurement, while day-to-day legal support remains flexible and immediately available. The guiding principle is always pragmatic solutions that can be implemented quickly and that safeguard the high operational effectiveness of MIWE’s procurement function.

Outcome / Added Value

Alongside the ongoing advisory work, MIWE’s entire contract landscape was systematically structured, modernized and harmonized.

The result:

• robust, consistent standard contracts precisely tailored to MIWE’s needs
• clearly defined templates and guidelines
• noticeable acceleration of contract-related process steps within supplier management
• reduction of risk exposure in both national and international contractual business

Through close integration into day-to-day operations, MIWE now benefits from early, strategically valuable legal assessments that minimize risks and visibly strengthen the professionalism of its procurement function. In particular, in IP, project and compliance matters, MIWE now has a structure that is both legally sound and user-friendly.

The combination of standardization and immediately available expertise sustainably increases procurement efficiency and provides certainty for all employees working with contracts.

Team / Expertise

The legal support of the procurement function is led by Johannes Egelhof, whose focus lies on supporting external legal departments and structuring complex procurement contracts.

Daniel Gößling is responsible for litigation and dispute resolution in conflicts with suppliers as well as contractual disputes.

Both experts combine in-depth expertise in IP matters, development agreements, compliance requirements and international contract structuring – a clear advantage for MIWE as a globally positioned, technologically sophisticated company.