Marc Staudenmayer first started ARAIA in 1997 in Cologne as a consultancy specialised in purchasing. Over the years ARAIA's business scope went from purchasing to supply management. There under, three business fields are to be considered: purchasing, procurement and logistics.

With a reputable customer base in Western Europe, ARAIA operates today worldwide with offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Istanbul, Cologne, Munich, Mumbai, Olomouc, Shanghai und Warsaw.

1997

Establishment of ARAIA in Cologne

ARAIA is recorded in the Cologne commercial register on January 1st, 1997. The first office is located in the Kaiserstraße in Bonn, in an old art nouveau house near Bonn central station.

1998

Expertise development

With already 20 consultants, ARAIA expands its services with the optimization of technical specifications. This year is considered as a major cornerstone for ARAIA's redesign-to-cost expertise.

1999

Growing Customer Base

In addition to its initial customer Deutsche Renault AG, ARAIA can rely on a client base of four customers. It becomes at this stage quite obvious that purchasing is a cross-sector subject as customers come from different industry sectors.

2000

Internationalisation of projects

ARAIA manages the first Global Sourcing projects. At the same time international customers have also been acquired. This explains the strong and essential international expansion in the following years.

2001

Relocation of the headquarters to Munich

Launch of a Knowledge Management

Munich becomes the new Headquarters for ARAIA on January 1st, 2001. The office is located in the Augustenstraße. Knowledge Management becomes a crucial part of the company's culture and is considered as a major success factor.

2002

ARAIA duplicates itself in a year

Opening of the Cologne office

ARAIA total revenues increases twofold from 2001 to 2002. ARAIA opens February 15 th , 2002 an office in Cologne on the Hohenzollernring. The APOS methodology is developed at this time and ARAIA can offer benchmarking projects for analysing the purchasing organisation, strategy and processes. The methodology is being improved and updated on a regular basis.

2003

Opening of the Hamburg office

Move of the Munich office in the "5 Höfe"

Due to further growth, ARAIA opens an office in Hamburg. The Munich headquarters moves in the newly launched "5 Höfe" between Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz. A study with the title "The Role of Purchasing in Companies in Germany and Europe" is conducted and published together with Prof. Koppelmann's Chair of Procurement at the Cologne University.

2004

Opening of the Warsaw office

ARAIA opens November 29th, 2004 an office in Warsaw in the Wierzbowastreet, near the Polish National Opera. Besides realising global sourcing projects for Western companies, the first customers in Poland are acquired for consulting projects.

2005

Introduction of the ARAIA Supply Management WheelT

ARAIA integrates its knowledge in purchasing, procurement and logistics in a broad concept: the ARAIA Supply Management Wheel. The business spectrum includes from now on the optimisation of purchasing strategy, organisation, processes and tools on the one hand and the process optimisation of purchasing commodities on the other hand.

2006

Opening of the Olomouc office (CZ)

Move of the Hamburg office

ARAIA sets up this year the next office in Eastern Europe, in the Czech city Olomouc. The main reason is to facilitate the sourcing activities in Central and Eastern Europe. The Hamburg office moves in the trendy Speicherstadt, with a view over the Elbe.

2007

Opening of the Shanghai, Istanbul und Mumbai offices

Developing of a new ARAIA overall concept for its 10th birthday

ARAIA expands its worldwide network and opens offices in Shanghai, Istanbul and Mumbai. The Shanghai office is situated in the city's downtown on the 17th floor of the Times Square Office Building. This office represents another milestone in the ARAIA's Asia services which have already been offered to all customers since 2000. The launch of the new overall concept in 2007 illustrates briefly and concisely ARAIA's new service range: "ARAIA reduces costs together with its customers while optimizing what, where and how is being purchased".

ARAIA reduces costs by optimizing with its clients what they purchase, where they purchase and how they purchase !