Martin Bauer Group awarded AEO Certificate - Transparent business culture confirmed

The Martin Bauer Group has been certified as an Authorised Economic Operator since the beginning of 2010. The family run business from Vestenbergsgreuth is one of the first companies to be awarded the so-called AEO Certificate in the trade and in the region. The award is regarded as being an important indicator for high quality and safety standards in the sense of a transparent, trustworthy business culture all over the world.

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"As far as the Martin Bauer Group is concerned, safety and security mean a lot more than just offering our customers high-quality products. For us, safety and security also mean fostering a transparent and trustworthy business culture," explains Martin Wedel, Managing Partner of the Martin Bauer Group. The company now has confirmation of this in writing: a few weeks ago, the chief customs office in Nuremberg awarded the world's leading supplier of products associated with tea, extracts and botanicals what is referred to as the AEO Certificate.

AEO stands for Authorised Economic Operator. The voluntary certificate was developed by the European Union in 2008. The aim of the initiative was to prevent devious business practices in a globalised world and make international supply chains more transparent and therefore safer and more secure. In the meantime, the AEO Certificate is now perceived as an important quality and safety criterion. This is because it attests to the firm's reliability and trustworthiness as a partner in international commodity management. Another benefit enjoyed by the certified company is that all customs formalities can be processed more efficiently. This means that AEO-certified companies are no longer required to undergo many time-consuming inspections during the customs clearance process.

Comprehensive examination

A company has to fulfill a wide range of conditions in order to obtain certification. Apart from satisfying the relevant statutory and safety requirements, evidence of reliability and solvency must also be demonstrated. The actual AEO certification procedure performed by chief customs office experts is preceded by a great deal of preparatory work. As Ludwig Preis from the Logistics/Customs department in the Martin Bauer Group and responsible for the certification process explains: "We had to complete an extensive questionnaire, which asked about the security measures implemented for our computer systems, for example, and the people who have access to our premises, as well as details of our processes for incoming deliveries and the processing of materials." The Martin Bauer Group also asks its business partners to provide a safety and security endorsement as a supplementary measure. Ludwig Preis: "The AEO Certificate is a formal expression of an ideal to which we attach great importance within the Martin Bauer Group, and this to establish a transparent, trustworthy business culture in all branches of industry."

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