As for procurement, Sourcing plywood and MDF suppliers is a skill that must be mastered. Any new product or project Sourcing that requires the introduction of new plywood and MDF suppliers needs to be started step by step and time. The steps and precautions for Sourcing plywood and MDF suppliers are described in detail below.
The Sourcing of plywood and MDF suppliers is generally divided into eight steps:
1. Understand the Sourcing needs and expectations of plywood and MDF suppliers Before Sourcing plywood and MDF suppliers, it is necessary to communicate with relevant teams (engineering, quality, business, delivery and other teams) to understand the needs and expectations of plywood and MDF suppliers, so as to achieve targeted Sourcing .
1) Why do we need to Source new plywood and MDF suppliers? Can existing plywood and MDF suppliers meet the requirements?
For plywood and MDF suppliers, they are generally familiar with the company’s requirements and operating procedures. For some new products or projects, if the existing plywood and MDF suppliers meet the procurement strategy and product requirements, they should try to choose existing plywood and MDF suppliers.
2) The purpose of Sourcing plywood and MDF suppliers is different
a) The purpose of cost reduction;
b) Increase capacity
c) Purpose of improving quality or delivery;
d) The purpose of product certification.
3) What kind of plywood and MDF suppliers should be Source ed? These factors need to be considered: manufacturing process, capacity, quality control, technical capacity, scale and location
For example, a company needs to Source 1-2 ceramic plywood and MDF suppliers in Chinese Mainland to increase production capacity (ceramic process capability is required, preferably terracotta process) to meet the growing demand for orders and meet the company’s certification requirements.
2. Companies with different selection criteria for plywood and MDF suppliers will have different selection criteria for plywood and MDF suppliers, but the following eight factors will be considered. Therefore, before selecting plywood and MDF suppliers, please clearly define the selection criteria and proportion of plywood and MDF suppliers according to the communication results with relevant teams.
1) Quality&Compliance Quality system, quality control and product certification
2) Capacity&Capacity Production Process, Self made Process and Capacity
3) Technology&Innovation’s technical ability, design and product Sourcing ability, innovation ability (new materials, new processes, new technologies)
4) Scale&Management Plywood and MDF supplier scale and management status, team management, plywood and MDF supplier management
5) Competitive quotation and commercial terms of cost&terms plywood and MDF suppliers
6) Financial status
7) Willingness’s willingness to cooperate
8) Location Location of plywood and MDF suppliers
3. Select plywood and MDF suppliers
1) Professional exhibition Guangzhou Fair, Shenzhen Electronics Fair
2) Network
Search engines: Baidu, Google, Bing
Industry websites: Canton Fair website, Made in China
3) Sales person’s visit
4) Recommended by friends or colleagues
5) Industry Association
6) Company’s pool of plywood and MDF suppliers (existing and potential plywood and MDF suppliers)
4. Preliminary screening, generally 8-10 potential plywood and MDF suppliers will be selected
1) Collect basic information, generally including company nature, company location, floor area (building/use area), annual output value, staff size (quality personnel/technicians/general workers), major customers, quality certification, self-made processes, technical capabilities, business terms, Leadtime, financial status, whether there are legal disputes, etc.
2) SWOT analysis: define the SWOT analysis of each plywood and MDF supplier according to the basic information of plywood and MDF suppliers and the selection criteria of plywood and MDF suppliers, so as to have a preliminary judgment and screening of plywood and MDF suppliers, and finally select 3-5 plywood and MDF suppliers for field inspection.
5. Field visit to plywood and MDF suppliers
This inspection is not a formal review, but only to verify whether the basic information provided by the plywood and MDF suppliers is consistent with the actual situation, and to understand the actual situation and cooperation intention of the plywood and MDF suppliers. Generally, the procurement and SQE will inspect together.
Key inspection points: quality control status, production process capability (including automation level), capacity, technical capability, enterprise management capability, cooperation willingness, etc.
6. Secondary screening
Select 3-5 plywood and MDF suppliers according to the results of field investigation and the selection criteria for plywood and MDF suppliers, and arrange quotations according to the technical data of the products.
Note: The confidentiality agreement must be signed before the technical data is provided, and the communication meeting between plywood and MDF suppliers and the technical department must be arranged before the quotation to ensure that the quotation provided by plywood and MDF suppliers is accurate.
7. Formal review
According to the official quotation and selection criteria of plywood and MDF suppliers, 1-2 plywood and MDF suppliers shall be selected to arrange a formal audit. The quality department, the technical department, the delivery department and the procurement department shall be invited to audit the plywood and MDF suppliers together according to the company’s audit list.
8. Select plywood and MDF suppliers
According to the results of the formal audit, the plywood and MDF suppliers are finally selected, and samples are arranged for confirmation. At the same time, it is better to arrange a half year trial period for the selected plywood and MDF suppliers, and inspect whether the plywood and MDF suppliers meet the requirements of the company through small batch orders.
matters needing attention:
The Sourcing of plywood and MDF suppliers is a prudent process, and the procurement needs to ensure fairness, impartiality and openness. The final selection of plywood and MDF suppliers must be approved by other relevant teams, and the information should be disclosed as much as possible in the process;
The Sourcing of plywood and MDF suppliers shall be handled as a project. After understanding the needs and expectations, the Sourcing progress of plywood and MDF suppliers shall be set, and each step shall be followed up to see whether it is completed within the expected time;
For different projects or products, the selection criteria of plywood and MDF suppliers will vary (quality first or price first). Therefore, the selection criteria and proportion of plywood and MDF suppliers should be negotiated with relevant teams to avoid subsequent disputes;
The Sourcing of plywood and MDF suppliers should conform to the planning of procurement strategy and be forward-looking as far as possible. Therefore, when communicating the Sourcing needs and expectations of plywood and MDF suppliers, we should not only consider the needs of this new product or project, but also understand the expectations of the next generation of products, so as to avoid repeated Sourcing or the Sourcing of new plywood and MDF suppliers in a single project.
