In international supply chains, where customers and suppliers are in different countries, it is crucial to have open and intensive communication with suppliers. Especially for customers in Europe with suppliers in China, where the geographic and cultural differences can be huge, risks caused by non-transparency are intense. A close relationship with the supplier is key to ensuring smooth production and stable quality. With the experience of bdp Mechanical Components (bdp MC) in international procurement since 1982, we would like to give you the following seven points as recommendations for supplier management.

There are three most common types of supplier audits in the manufacturing industry: system audits, process audits, and product audits. The focus of each of the three is different:

Evaluation, selection and continuous measurement of suppliers belong to the most essential processes performed in organizations today. Traditionally, competitive bidding was the primary method for awarding purchase contracts. In the past, it was sufficient to obtain three bids and award the contract to the supplier offering the lowest price. This approach has changed over the years. Nowadays companies commit major resources to evaluate a supplier’s performance and capability across many different areas. The supplier selection process has become so important that teams of cross-functional personnel are often responsible for visiting and evaluating suppliers.

For many European companies, suppliers' continuous improvement in projects with Chinese suppliers is a complex task covering the whole project and product lifecycle and takes a long time. Moreover, visible results at each stage are especially important. Therefore, great carefulness is needed for process improvement.