Operational efficiency, digital transformation, and sustainability applied to the supply chain. These were the main results achieved by Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA), a company of the Votorantim Group, by implementing Linkana as a platform for supplier management and qualification.

In this content, you will learn all the details of the project, including:

• The context of CBA before Linkana;

• The challenges faced by the supply area;

• The evolution of the qualification and ESG process;

• The impact on SLA, compliance, and supplier maturity;

• The adoption of Tier 2 practices and performance panel;

• How CBA became a national reference in supplier management with a lean team.

About CBA: a reference in sustainability and vertical aluminum management in Brazil

CBA – Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio is one of the country's main foundational industries, being the only fully verticalized aluminum company in Brazil, operating from mining to the final product, including self-generated energy.

With over 6,000 active suppliers and presence throughout the national territory, the company carries in its DNA a commitment to sustainability, governance, and innovation. And it was precisely this commitment that drove the search for a robust solution to restructure CBA's supplier base management — a challenge strategically addressed starting in 2020.

The challenge: 42 days to qualify a supplier and lack of document control

In 2020, CBA faced a common scenario in large Brazilian corporations: manual, slow, and decentralized qualifications. The complete process of approving a supplier took an average of 42 calendar days, hindering operations and creating bottlenecks in the purchase and service contracting flow.

Furthermore, the company was preparing for its capital opening on B3, which required high levels of governance, traceability, and regulatory control—something impossible to ensure with the model at the time.

The platform used was SAP Ariba, efficient for purchases but not specific for supplier qualification and document compliance. This made it difficult to standardize, control risks, and comply with legal and ESG requirements.

The choice of Linkana: technology to boost supplier management in Brazil

It was in this context that CBA discovered Linkana, which was still in the early stages of market entry but already offered an innovative proposal: to centralize, automate, and make the entire process of supplier qualification and monitoring auditable based on reliable data integrated with the company's ERP.

Even being one of the platform's first clients, CBA saw in Linkana a complete alignment between its needs and what the technology proposed. The partnership was built collaboratively, with joint progression of the solution.

Phase 1 – Implementation and base reorganization: over 3,000 suppliers qualified in the first year

The first stage of the project was to create a strategic focus: CBA began the qualification of 2,500 suppliers with some level of transactions in the base year of 2020. All new suppliers registered in 2021 were added to these. In a single year, more than 3,000 suppliers were qualified on Linkana.

This phase involved much more than technology. The company also revised internal processes, engaged areas such as compliance and supply, and conducted extensive cultural work with suppliers so that everyone understood the benefits of the new approach.

The result? A 50% reduction in SLA in the first cycle, dropping from 42 to 21 days.

Phase 2 – Document governance and risk-based categorization: 93 qualification categories

With operations stabilized on Linkana, CBA proceeded to a more refined management of its supplier base. The team created 93 qualification categories, classified by type of supply and risk level, with specific document requirements for each.

Eliminatory criteria for high-risk suppliers were adopted, and categories were merely informative for low-impact cases. This enabled much more accurate regulatory control, reducing errors, automating checks, and gaining speed in the process.

Phase 3 – ESG as a strategic factor: maturity assessment and new sustainable categories

Starting in 2022, CBA made a bold move: inserted criteria for sustainability, governance, and social responsibility (ESG) into the qualification journey.

Six new sustainability categories were created, linked to the existing 93, so each supplier would be evaluated based on its segment. For example:

• Recycling companies have different requirements than mining companies;

• Administrative service providers do not need to present the same documents as industrial suppliers.

In this stage, the goal was not to eliminate less sustainable suppliers but to understand the level of ESG maturity and propose continuous development.

Phase 4 – Expansion and impact: from 1.3 to 2 in the ESG index and over 6,000 CNPJs evaluated

After the pilot with strategic suppliers (representing 75% of the company's spend), ESG qualification was expanded to the entire base. Nearly 6,000 suppliers (root CNPJs) were evaluated based on evidence and documents submitted via Linkana.

The average ESG maturity index, which was 1.3 (on a scale from 1 to 4), increased to 2, indicating that suppliers not only adapted but evolved significantly. The process came to include on-site audits and self-assessment, completing the ESG cycle.

Phase 5 – Tier 2 and performance panel: traceability and whole-supply chain management

In 2024, CBA hit another milestone: monitoring Tier 2 – the main suppliers of its suppliers. Today, about 380 Tier 2 suppliers are being monitored with public data integrated into the Linkana platform.

Moreover, the company launched the Supplier Performance Panel with documentation indicators, qualification time, and ESG index. This panel supported the first CBA supplier award event, reinforcing the culture of partnership and excellence.

The ESG index accounts for 20% of the final performance score for strategic suppliers, encouraging best practices and rewarding those who invest in sustainability.

Phase 6 – Continuous optimization: SLA reaches 8 days with a lean team and automations

Today, with only 3 people in the supplier management area and 2 professionals dedicated to onboarding via Linkana, CBA can:

• Manage 6,000 active suppliers;

• Control over 110,000 documents already reviewed;

• Reduce the qualification SLA to just 8 calendar days.

The company continues with the objective of keeping this process alive, evolving with national and international benchmarks and improving the supplier experience across the chain.

Conclusion: Linkana as a catalyst for high-performance supplier management

The partnership between Linkana and CBA demonstrates that it is possible to digitally transform supplier management in Brazil, focusing on performance, compliance, ESG, and scalability.

More than technology, Linkana delivers a new mindset for companies that wish to strategically and sustainably evolve their procurement and supply area.

Want to transform your company's supplier management like CBA?

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