Balancer Market Procurement Intelligence Report

A changing ecosystem within the Engineering Products and Equipment market also affects the procurement process, cost dynamics and supplier attractiveness for the buyers of Balancer. 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.

Technology is improving productivity and creating fresh demand. Convergence of data science, automation tools, 3D printing, robotics, AI and big data has opened up multiple possibilities to better serve customers at a lower operational cost.

Volatility in the prices of key inputs is creating multiple issues that impact procurement within Balancer category such as benchmarking and budgeting of the procurement costs.

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 Balancer. To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

For example, Buyers must have a clear understanding of the subcontracting policies, if any, of Balancer 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.

Strong R&D focus is the sign of a supplier committed to enhancing the quality and cost proposition of its solutions. Buyers should collaborate with such suppliers for development of low-cost but highly efficiency products that can bring their OPEX down.

Buyers should assess the level of adoption of the latest technologies by suppliers to assess cost-saving opportunities and quality that can be provided by the latter. For instance, the adoption of technologies such as cloud computing will enable suppliers to reduce their internal computing hardware requirements for operations such as CAD and CAM. This can, in turn, enable them to reduce their operating costs, thereby suppliers can offer products at lower rates to buyers.

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