Air Conditioning Market Procurement Intelligence Report

A changing ecosystem within the Engineering Components market also affects the procurement process, cost dynamics and supplier attractiveness for the buyers of Air Conditioning. Suppliers are continuously taking efforts to improve efficiencies and productivity and deploying processes and technologies. Some of these investments are likely to increase their costs in the shorter term, but learnings from other sectors keep the suppliers optimistic about a lean cost structure in the longer run.

Suppliers are under an enhanced pressure to offer greater quality, options that suit unique requirements and overall experience of the customer stakeholders involved.

Customers are expecting service and experience levels which are at par with what ecommerce and consumer sectors of today offer. Moreover, competition keeps intensifying and demand and supply dynamics keep shifting.

It has become imperative for category managers to remain as agile as possible in terms of their procurement practices. However, it is not always easy to quickly spot and implement alternative practices in a category like Air Conditioning. To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

For example, Buyers should engage with suppliers that have adopted a global delivery model as it reduces buyers' risk. In this model, any disaster/emergency at any operating facility of supplier will result in the work being transferred to a different facility, thereby ensuring continuity of the project and reduced risk for buyers. This model also provides buyers access to skilled labor from across the globe, thereby improving the quality of engineering products provided by the supplier.

Buyers must have a clear understanding of the subcontracting policies, if any, of Air Conditioning suppliers. Factors such as cost incurred, service quality, adherence to timelines, and regulatory compliance of subcontractors employed by suppliers should be carefully assessed prior to engagement.

Competitive bidding as a cost optimization tool is extremely potent but should be carefully deployed only when there is no significant differentiation among Air Conditioning suppliers.

Air Conditioning procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Air Conditioning procurement. Some examples include: