Truth from a New Energy Vehicle Purchasing Manager: Challenges and Responses in Purchasing+ View more
Truth from a New Energy Vehicle Purchasing Manager: Challenges and Responses in Purchasing
+ View more
Date：2024-08-23 10:45
Dear colleagues in the new energy vehicle industry:
Hello everyone! As a CNC processing purchasing manager with decades of experience in the new energy vehicle field, I deeply understand that the purchasing work in this industry is full of challenges and opportunities. Today, I would like to share some heartfelt words with you, hoping to help you be more smooth in purchasing and avoid those pits that may cause us heavy losses.
First of all, never just look at the price. When I first entered the industry, I also made this mistake. I thought that finding the supplier with the lowest price was a success. But reality gave me a heavy lesson. Once, I was attracted by the low price of a supplier and signed the contract in a hurry. As a result, during the production process, in order to reduce costs, they used inferior raw materials, resulting in the strength and corrosion resistance of the processed parts far from meeting the requirements. This not only caused the company to lose a lot of money but also seriously affected the quality and delivery time of our products. Therefore, when choosing a supplier, we must comprehensively consider multiple factors such as price, quality, and delivery time, and not just look at the price.
Secondly, we must deeply understand the strength of the supplier. This includes their equipment, technical team, production process, and financial situation. For the new energy vehicle industry, the precision and quality requirements of parts are very high. If the supplier's equipment is not advanced enough and the technical team is not professional enough, then it is difficult for them to produce products that meet our requirements. At the same time, we also need to understand the financial situation of the supplier to ensure that they have enough funds to support production and will not affect our orders due to a broken capital chain. Just like I once encountered a supplier who seemed normal on the surface, but during the cooperation process, due to a broken capital chain, they were unable to purchase raw materials on time, resulting in a delay of several months for our orders.
In addition, contract terms must be carefully formulated. Clearly defining conventional terms such as product specifications, quality standards, and delivery dates is far from enough. We must also make detailed agreements on possible risks. For example, for cost changes caused by fluctuations in raw material prices, a clear adjustment mechanism should be specified; for liability for compensation for quality problems, a clear calculation method should be formulated. I once had a situation where because the terms for quality compensation in the contract were not clear enough, when quality problems occurred, we got into a long and drawn-out dispute with the supplier, causing huge losses to the company.
In negotiations with suppliers, we must master psychological tactics. Don't be easily influenced by the demands of suppliers. Be good at listening to their demands, but also firmly express our positions. When suppliers request a price increase on the grounds of rising costs, we should not immediately refuse. We can first understand their specific situation, and then put forward some suggestions for improving the production process and increasing efficiency to jointly find ways to reduce costs. If a price increase is really unavoidable, we should also strive for more added value, such as extending the warranty period and increasing technical support.
To obtain the raw production materials, we need to create a stable supply chain. This means concentrating on forming long-term, cooperative partnerships with a select group of high-quality suppliers. These suppliers can ensure not only consistent quality but also pricing and priority rights to at least some of the range of materials we need. Suppliers of our new energy vehicle industry raw materials are mostly very large, well-capitalized businesses that enjoy significant market power. But we too have some market power, since by 2033 we hope to supply a million cars a year. If we secure our partnerships with these suppliers, we can rest comfortably knowing that we have worked through to the rights that ensure we and not someone else have a secure right to a range of not readily substitutable materials.
Hello everyone! As a CNC processing purchasing manager with decades of experience in the new energy vehicle field, I deeply understand that the purchasing work in this industry is full of challenges and opportunities. Today, I would like to share some heartfelt words with you, hoping to help you be more smooth in purchasing and avoid those pits that may cause us heavy losses.
First of all, never just look at the price. When I first entered the industry, I also made this mistake. I thought that finding the supplier with the lowest price was a success. But reality gave me a heavy lesson. Once, I was attracted by the low price of a supplier and signed the contract in a hurry. As a result, during the production process, in order to reduce costs, they used inferior raw materials, resulting in the strength and corrosion resistance of the processed parts far from meeting the requirements. This not only caused the company to lose a lot of money but also seriously affected the quality and delivery time of our products. Therefore, when choosing a supplier, we must comprehensively consider multiple factors such as price, quality, and delivery time, and not just look at the price.
Secondly, we must deeply understand the strength of the supplier. This includes their equipment, technical team, production process, and financial situation. For the new energy vehicle industry, the precision and quality requirements of parts are very high. If the supplier's equipment is not advanced enough and the technical team is not professional enough, then it is difficult for them to produce products that meet our requirements. At the same time, we also need to understand the financial situation of the supplier to ensure that they have enough funds to support production and will not affect our orders due to a broken capital chain. Just like I once encountered a supplier who seemed normal on the surface, but during the cooperation process, due to a broken capital chain, they were unable to purchase raw materials on time, resulting in a delay of several months for our orders.
In addition, contract terms must be carefully formulated. Clearly defining conventional terms such as product specifications, quality standards, and delivery dates is far from enough. We must also make detailed agreements on possible risks. For example, for cost changes caused by fluctuations in raw material prices, a clear adjustment mechanism should be specified; for liability for compensation for quality problems, a clear calculation method should be formulated. I once had a situation where because the terms for quality compensation in the contract were not clear enough, when quality problems occurred, we got into a long and drawn-out dispute with the supplier, causing huge losses to the company.
In negotiations with suppliers, we must master psychological tactics. Don't be easily influenced by the demands of suppliers. Be good at listening to their demands, but also firmly express our positions. When suppliers request a price increase on the grounds of rising costs, we should not immediately refuse. We can first understand their specific situation, and then put forward some suggestions for improving the production process and increasing efficiency to jointly find ways to reduce costs. If a price increase is really unavoidable, we should also strive for more added value, such as extending the warranty period and increasing technical support.
To obtain the raw production materials, we need to create a stable supply chain. This means concentrating on forming long-term, cooperative partnerships with a select group of high-quality suppliers. These suppliers can ensure not only consistent quality but also pricing and priority rights to at least some of the range of materials we need. Suppliers of our new energy vehicle industry raw materials are mostly very large, well-capitalized businesses that enjoy significant market power. But we too have some market power, since by 2033 we hope to supply a million cars a year. If we secure our partnerships with these suppliers, we can rest comfortably knowing that we have worked through to the rights that ensure we and not someone else have a secure right to a range of not readily substitutable materials.
Finally, we must concentrate on the new technologies and processes being introduced in our industry. They are being developed just as rapidly as in our industry—if we fall behind in understanding and applying them, we can lose our market share. The last time I found an auto industry process that could help us and not cost us anything extra (it was a new automotive manufacturing technique that promised improved quality and precision at lower costs), I captured the knowledge and worked with our suppliers to get it introduced to our plants.
In short, the purchasing work in the new energy vehicle industry is full of challenges. But as long as we do it with our hearts and continuously learn and accumulate experience, we will be able to avoid those pits and purchase high-quality products and services for the company and promote the development of the company. I hope my experience can be helpful to everyone. Let's contribute our strength to the development of the new energy vehicle industry together!
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