Procurement plays an increasingly strategic role at Ontex. Our team manages the space where geopolitical shifts, new regulations, and rising sustainability standards overlap. Balancing these different requirements while maintaining affordability is a constant focus for our department.
As an international manufacturer, Ontex adds value by translating complex retailer and healthcare needs into technically sound, affordable, and innovative products. We bridge the gap between global supplier capabilities and specific customer requirements.
“Pricing remains a primary focus, but it is always balanced against our commitment to quality and progress,” says Dominiek Tytgat, VP Procurement Direct Materials. “By aligning our sourcing strategy with our innovation promise, we make sure every material is compliant, high-quality, and contributes to the performance our customers expect.”
Innovation through collaboration
In this environment, innovation becomes a shared effort. At Ontex, innovation is driven by close collaboration with our suppliers. We combine our internal product development expertise with the specialized material science of our partners.
“We look for innovation in two directions,” Dominiek explains. “Our engineers may develop a lab concept requiring specialized material that isn’t available on the open market. In other cases, suppliers bring us new market trends, such as softer top sheets or embossed materials, which we then evaluate for our products”.
A practical example is how we rethink the ‘building blocks’ of our products. By working with suppliers to change how raw material is structured or manufactured, we can often improve performance while lowering costs. This allows us to deliver higher quality without increasing the price, but it requires partners with technical expertise to help us engineer these specific solutions.
Building partnerships
Reliability depends on long-term stability rather than short-term transactions. Ontex prioritizes “strategic matches”: suppliers for whom we are a significant partner and who are vital to our operations.
“The goal is to strip unnecessary costs from the total value chain,” says Dominiek. “We do this through our Supplier Collaboration Program, to stay aligned on future goals.” This includes regular strategic updates every 6 months to review quality, logistics, and R&D pipelines.
Ensuring resilience in a changing world
Current global instability, from geopolitical tensions to logistical bottlenecks, has made agility a necessity. These recurring disruptions impact both the physical flow of goods and global energy markets, which creates immediate cost pressures for everyone in the value chain. Dominiek explains:
“Our approach is built on maintaining long-term stability for our customers. By integrating a robust dual-sourcing strategy, we ensure we are never dependent on a single point of failure. This allows us to manage regional disruptions pragmatically without compromising our service levels.”
This flexibility allows us to shift allocations quickly during supply chain shocks, guaranteeing that our factories keep running and our customers are served.
Strategic alignment with retailers
For our retail brand customers, product specifications are the foundation of our work. Since the customer owns the design and material parameters, we must be disciplined in sourcing components that precisely match those standards.
“Our retail partners set the bar, often including certifications like Oeko-Tex,” Dominiek explains. “We leverage our global volume to source materials that meet those criteria while keeping the final product affordable for the consumer.”
Solving the puzzle
Procurement acts as a hub connecting R&D, manufacturing, and the market. Dominiek concludes:
“I view our job as a puzzle. We have to fit together several pieces: keeping our solutions affordable and sustainable, while ensuring we remain fast to the market and smart in our manufacturing processes. It requires constant adjustment and an agile team to make sure the final picture works for our customers.”
