Where NOT to buy, or why manufacturers like PK MS are always latest fashion
What a procurement specialist needs to know
Consider a few typical situations that suppliers face:
Companies without a warehouse or a specific “place of residence”
Where will such a supplier get its products from? There is nothing to talk about. No warehouse – no order.
Owners of large warehouses
It is believed that a large warehouse is only a plus: a good choice, fast shipments, and the first paragraph of the article confirms this… In fact, no. First, there may be stale goods in the warehouse. Of course, here the shelf life is not as important as in the case of, for example, dairy products. But, you must agree, the part inspires confidence only if we know that it has definitely not gone out of the “ship repair fashion”.
Secondly, even the largest warehouse may not have every urgently needed part, and if they promise to find it, they will most likely turn to the manufacturer. That steadily increases both the terms of order execution and its cost. Why lengthen the chain (and increase the price) when you can work directly?
Thirdly, the warehouse will not be able to produce a non-standard part. But the manufacturer can.
For example, PK MS manufactures parts and equipment according to customer drawings, technical specifications or samples. Last year PK MS supplied non-standard water and gas tight covers for a ship built in Germany, which was repaired at one of the shipyards in St. Petersburg.
Lowest Price Promises
It is difficult to blame the suppliers who are trying to save on absolutely everything, because even in everyday life we are looking for discounts and great deals everywhere. What’s wrong with this tempting promise?
The lowest prices usually cover unfair manufacturing and low-quality products, lack of necessary certificates and questionable materials. Further enumeration is superfluous. The low prices offered by suppliers without production should be especially alarming. Just imagine: they will not work at a loss… It turns out that their products were initially even cheaper. So can we even talk about quality? To find a favorable price and be sure of the quality please contact the manufacturer. And here we will reveal the secret: it is always easier to get a discount from the manufacturer!
Suppliers without certificates
Trusting such companies is like being treated with homeopathy: there are no guarantees that you will recover, but some people say that it helped someone. The certificate is a guarantee of reliability. Trustworthly suppliers even have RRR and RMRS approval marks on their advertising papers.
What is the manufacturer’s advantage here? It is that he is responsible for both the quality of the raw material and the quality of the finished product.
By the way, the products of PK MS are undergoing hydraulic tests at the stand certified by RMRS and RRR. We check every part in the batch and immediately understand where the defect was found and decide if the replacement is required. At the hydraulic test bench we also test non-standard products, then we obtain register approval and transfer the finished products to the happy customer. This is usually takes about 5-7 days.
Seekers of big bulk orders
Usually they are attracted by the fact that the price for one product becomes lower as the batch they buy grows. Such a procurement specialist drives himself into a purchase of more than it is required, saying ‘it will come in handy anyway’ when there is a ton of leftovers. At the same time, there is a possibility that the product will turn out to be poor-quality or simply wrong model, and you will have to look for another one without using the large batch you have bought. The manufacturer is almost always ready to fulfill your order in limited quantities. Thus, in PK MS the share of orders for small lots is almost 30%.
Enemies of specific deadlines
Usually intermediaries can work quickly only if they have the products in stock in the warehouse. Or if the equipment they are looking for has already been ordered and is just about to arrive (though ‘just about’ term is extensible to an indefinite size). Under other circumstances, they are not always ready even to state the arrival time, since they depend on the third parties. Producers, on the contrary, have a clear idea of their plan and can coordinate actions depending on the workload. How can manufacturers be prompt? It’s simple. In PK MS there is a certain stock of serial products in a state of semi-readiness. We can make any batch of it according to the customer’s requests and the products will already be in the package in hours or days.
Companies with a bad reputation among employees
It is useful to study the reputation of the counterparty not only as a supplier, but also as an employer. Several points can be alarming here. Feedback on violation of working conditions is notable: it is impossible to focus on poorly organized production and be responsible for the quality of work. High staff turnover is also a bad call. Indeed, in such a flow, people do not have time to join the process, they are not interested in development and training, and the quality of products suffers even worse.
In PK MS everyone works for a common result. We have an old tradition of high-quality training and mentoring. Our team is always ready for honest conversation and cooperation.
‘Ship equipment and procurement’ magazine, #4 (2019) magazine’s website
