Dragon Sourcing launched a 14-week project to enhance the aluminum industry’s competitiveness. The project aimed to find and assess suppliers in China. The case study outlines the project’s objectives, methodology, and outcomes. Our main goal was to find new suppliers in China. Categories included spools, steel pipes, wear parts, electrical cables, ladders, collector bars, copper bars, HDPE pipes, and mobile parts for Komatsu and Caterpillar. The deliverables included creating a supplier database, securing NDAs, and generating reports. Recommending suppliers for audits was one more deliverable.
Approach
We used a multi-faceted approach—this involved demand and supply market analysis. Our team conducted a telephone pre-screening. Additionally, we administered NDAs and developed RFI/RFQs. The process was carefully planned. It aimed to assess potential suppliers thoroughly.
- Demand Analysis: Focused on 24 RFQ items, anticipating a spend of USD 1.05 million.
- Supplier Engagement: Out of 1,039 vendors, 428 passed the first pre-screening, resulting in 92 NDAs and 106 RFI/RFQ answers.
- Category-Specific Insights: We identified 126 suppliers in the HDPE pipe category, 48 of them passed pre-screening, and we received 22 RFI/RFQ responses. The RFQ detailed the demand for various DN sizes and quantities, highlighting the specificity of the project’s requirements.
Results and Insights
The project culminated with significant findings and achievements:
- Comprehensive Supplier Engagement: Achieved a vast engagement level, with hundreds of suppliers contacted and dozens shortlisted across multiple categories.
- Potential Savings Identification: Potential savings ranged from 0.1% to 12.8% across 20 items for the HDPE pipe category alone. 79 out of 88 suppliers across various categories showed potential savings ranging from 1.8% to 26.5%.
- Supplier Database and Evaluation: We developed a comprehensive supplier database with NDAs, RFI/RFQ reports, scorecards, and company profiles. This database will support future sourcing decisions.
- Strategic Supplier Recommendations: The project recommended 6 suppliers for auditing based on a comprehensive evaluation using a balanced scorecard approach. This process highlighted suppliers with the highest potential for cost savings and strategic partnerships.
Dragon Sourcing improves the competitiveness of the aluminum industry by evaluating and selecting suppliers precisely. We found multiple ways to save costs and improve the client’s supply chain in China’s manufacturing industry.